Wil Massara is an inspirational 18-year-old who has been making a big difference on the youth leadership front. We discuss inspiration, motivation, leadership and insight.
Find out more about Wil Massara and Youth Leadership Australia at: www.ylaaus.com.
Stay tuned on what's next in our Unshakable journey... see you soon.
Jeremy Watkins helps people find an abundance of energy and vitality for whatever they are doing. I've personally benefited from insights he has shared during the challenging lock down period. In this interview we dive deep into what it means to 'become better' and how to balance that against not feeling 'good enough'. Jeremy gives some really practical tips and tools to help track, manage and enhance your energy and vitality. Free tools are available here. I reckon you'll find his enthusiasm and transparency infectious.
I will be sharing next week the talk I had with Wil Massara last 29th of July. Wil is an inspiring young man who is changing the game with his Youth Leadership Academy, so stay tuned for that.
Thanks for joining us live or on recordings of the Unshakable webcast. I'm taking a few weeks in the bush to recharge and celebrate 25 years married with my wife. I look forward to connecting with you on the webcast again soon, and will let you know about future guests and times. I hope you are doing well in the current circumstances.
“We need to think this through!” Workplaces have been changed by COVID, probably forever, but making those changes work long term will require more.
Professor Gary Martin and I discussed current and evolving issues for workplaces and their leaders as we recover from COVID.
Stay tuned for other exciting guests this July.
Bonnie Davies is a master of unboring things. We discuss purpose, impacts on the events industry, why things get boring and what to do about it. Bonnie is Founder, CEO and Creative Director of Gelo, derived from Greek word for Laughter. She balances playfulness with professionalism. Enjoy!
Next week, I'll be speaking with Emeritus Professor Gary Martin, CEO of Australian Institute of Management in WA. Gary is a regular contributor to media and is considered a thought leader in workplace trends, business leadership and workplace learning and development. We'll be talking about emerging workforce and workplace trends post COVID.
Come and Join us 2:00 PM Perth time on Wednesdays.
This week we were joined by the amazing Rachel Callander wherein she went through some questions we can ask ourselves, our community, or our team to help us navigate communications as we head back to reconnecting and rebuilding relationships.
If you wish to contact Rachel or receive a copy of her workbook or tools around communication, you may visit her website at: rachelcallander.com.
And to watch our earlier sessions, you may check on the playlist here.
We have a fantastic line up of guests for the Wednesday webcast in June:
June 3
Mark Butler - Mental health, Stress and Mindset. Mark has researched mental health in workplaces extensively in a 25-year career globally. We'll explore the line between personal and collective responsibility for robust mental health and resilience.
June 10
Grant "Axe" Rawlinson - A Kiwi based in Singapore and an adventurer that makes the stuff I have done look mild. He played international rugby and has over 50 expeditions across the globe under his belt including walking across countries, cycling across continents, climbing Mt Everest and crossing sea's completely by human-power. We'll talk decision-making, goals in uncertainty, mindset when all seems lost.
June 17
Shaun Nannup - Human being and Aboriginal Elder. Shaun connects people with powerful stories of belonging. Aboriginal people have culture dating back at least 60 000 years in Australia. Shaun and I will discuss connection, sustainability, and what's important when you are focussed on legacy beyond your lifetime.
June 24
Bonnie Davies - Founder, CEO and Creative Director for Gelo. Bonnie is all about “Unboring things”. Bonnie is constantly rewriting the playbook for creative, performance based businesses. She also creates and becomes Famous Sharron. We'll talk innovation, doing things differently, refusing to quit and ask why so much stuff is boring.
Come and Join us 2:00 PM Perth time on Wednesdays.
More from Mike
Subscribe to Mike’s weekly Unshakeable Newsletter here.
Join the weekly Don’t Panic - Surviving COVID19 webcast here.
Download a 1-page resource on the power of gratitude in Unshakeable teams here.
Buy a copy of Mike’s book “Thrive and Adapt” here, or sign in for a complimentary PDF copy
Contact Mike to discuss organisation wide Well-being and Resilience programs that create Unshakeable teams:
+61 423 193 196
I had a wonderfully warm and generative conversation with Suzanne Waldron. We discussed so many things including economics, contentment, striving and production, change, art, spirituality and more. There are sure to be some gems for you in there - enjoy!
To watch our earlier webcasts, you may click on the playlist here.
Next week…
More than Talk with Rachel Callander, Global speaker, Author and master communicator. Connection is key to humanity. Connecting/reconnecting with people, reversing isolation, communication with artful care.
More from Mike
Subscribe to Mike’s weekly Unshakeable Newsletter here.
Join the weekly Don’t Panic - Surviving COVID19 webcast here.
Download a 1-page resource on the power of gratitude in Unshakeable teams here.
Buy a copy of Mike’s book “Thrive and Adapt” here, or sign in for a complimentary PDF copy
Contact Mike to discuss organisation wide Well-being and Resilience programs that create Unshakeable teams:
+61 423 193 196
Forecast is never about predicting, it's about preparing.
This week, Michael Ford joined us to talk about 'how a robust forecasting process is essential as we design pathways through and out of COVID'.
The discussion touched on:
Forecasting
Growth
Budgeting
Recovery
To watch the webcast, click on the link below:
Here's again our guests in the next couple of weeks:
20 May - People Impacts with Suzanne Waldron, Human behaviour specialist and TEDex Curator. COVID19 impacted many and will for some time. Many people also made an impact during this time. A lively exploration of globally important issues and thinking.
27 May - More than Talk with Rachel Callander, Global speaker, Author and master communicator. Connection is key to humanity. Connecting/reconnecting with people, reversing isolation, communication with artful care.
See you in our next session!
More from Mike
Subscribe to Mike’s weekly Unshakeable Newsletter here.
Join the weekly Don’t Panic - Surviving COVID19 webcast here.
Download a 1-page resource on the power of gratitude in Unshakeable teams here.
Buy a copy of Mike’s book “Thrive and Adapt” here, or sign in for a complimentary PDF copy
Contact Mike to discuss organisation wide Well-being and Resilience programs that create Unshakeable teams:
+61 423 193 196
This week, Brian Smith, Founder and CEO of QuadIQ, shared what security threats, and opportunities we may need to navigate through post restriction world, and his thoughts in using the COVIDSafe App.
To watch the webcast, click on the link below:
If you have questions for Brian or if you wish to know how QuadIQ can help, you may contact him through: brian.smith@quadiq.com.
To watch our earlier sessions, you may click on the playlist here.
Here's again our line-up for May as we switch our focus to recovery and evolving:
13 May - Forecasting for Real with Michael Ford, Founder and CEO of Castaway Forecasting, an Aussie business going global. Meaningful forecasting? Wishful thinking, doomsday or warm figures plucked from the air. We’ll get real about forecasting that makes a difference.
20 May - People Impacts with Suzanne Waldron, Human behaviour specialist and TEDex Curator. COVID19 impacted many and will for some time. Many people also made an impact during this time. A lively exploration of globally important issues and thinking.
27 May - More than Talk with Rachel Callander, Global speaker, Author and master communicator. Connection is key to humanity. Connecting/reconnecting with people, reversing isolation, communication with artful care.
See you in our next session!
More from Mike
Subscribe to Mike’s weekly Unshakeable Newsletter here.
Join the weekly Don’t Panic - Surviving COVID19 webcast here.
Download a 1-page resource on the power of gratitude in Unshakeable teams here.
Buy a copy of Mike’s book “Thrive and Adapt” here, or sign in for a complimentary PDF copy
Contact Mike to discuss organisation wide Well-being and Resilience programs that create Unshakeable teams:
+61 423 193 196
This week, Mike interviewed Stephen Young, expert in crisis response about recovery from a crisis. Steve led the response/recovery team for Cyclone Larry in Queensland, 2006. At the time it was the largest natural disaster response in Australian history - Steve and his team significantly contributed to current crisis response and recovery methodology.
"Whilst we may well be ready to recover, personally, or as an organisation or small business, those around you may not be ready to recover...
Recovery solutions are typically complicated because they are multi-faceted. Everybody recovers at different speeds."
To watch the full video, you may click on the video link below:
You may access and share Steve's the 5 Key Crisis Leadership Task here.
To learn more and connect with Steve, you may visit his website at: www.tpcm.com.au.
And watch the rest of the webcast series here.
As mentioned in this session this week, reflection is an important piece to our recovery, so we are pressing pause next week... no new content or guests.
We would instead take the time to touch base with the people present in the call; tackle questions that may have arisen from what we have discussed over the last few weeks; and to know what you would like to hear in the coming weeks.
More from Mike
Subscribe to Mike’s weekly Unshakeable Newsletter here.
Join the weekly Don’t Panic - Surviving COVID19 webcast here.
Download a 1-page resource on the power of gratitude in Unshakeable teams here.
Buy a copy of Mike’s book “Thrive and Adapt” here, or sign in for a complimentary PDF copy
Contact Mike to discuss organisation wide Well-being and Resilience programs that create Unshakeable teams:
+61 423 193 196
It was a great session with Pip Loader this week, with this quote to sum it all up:
To watch the full video, you may click on the video below:
You may download and share the Show Up Worksheet here.
To learn more and connect with Pip, you may visit her website at: www.piploader.com
And watch the rest of the webcast series here.
As we saw a couple of weeks ago, a leader during a crisis such as Covid-19 crisis ideally fulfills 5 Key Leadership Tasks, these are Sense-making, Decision-making & Coordination, Meaning-making, Accounting & Termination, and finally Learning. During next week’s session, we will have Stephen Young back to discuss the challenges we will face planning for recovery from this unprecedented global crisis. History shows that those that plan their recovery well and that learn from a crisis will not only bounce back, but more importantly they’ll bounce forward.
Better practice recovery demands that the crisis leader develops an in depth understanding of the context, the complexities, the coordination and communication requirements that recovery will require.
Stephen will discuss the principles and pillars of recovery and respond to key questions about what you can do within your own organisations to recover from and bounce forward out of this crisis.
More from Mike
Subscribe to Mike’s weekly Unshakeable Newsletter here.
Join the weekly Don’t Panic - Surviving COVID19 webcast here.
Download a 1-page resource on the power of gratitude in Unshakeable teams here.
Buy a copy of Mike’s book “Thrive and Adapt” here, or sign in for a complimentary PDF copy
Contact Mike to discuss organisation wide Well-being and Resilience programs that create Unshakeable teams:
+61 423 193 196
Stephen shared with us three of the 5 Key Leadership Tasks:
Sense making
Decision-making & coordination
Meaning making
Here is the handout to Stephen's discussion.
To learn more and connect with Stephen, you may visit his website at: www.tpcm.com.au.
You may also listen and share last week's video below:
Click on the complete playlist for Don’t Panic - Surviving COVID19 here.
Watch out for this week's video with Pip Loader on the topic SHOWING UP IS HALF THE BATTLE!
How are you showing up right now? Are you bringing your best self to the table? Or are there cracks appearing in your ‘diplomacy dike’?
Whether you are leading or working in a team, are a parent with kids now home 24/7, or you are simply wanting to focus your time and energy where it is needed the most right now, this session will provide a practical framework to help you work through how to show up as the best version of you, for yourself and others, as we navigate this current journey.
Pip Loader works in Leadership & Team development, helping people connect, create and deliver impact in their day-to-day work and lives. This session is part of based on a section of her ‘Meaningful Leadership’ coaching program (and slightly adapted for current times!) Pip is a firm believer that ‘Everything we do, starts and ends, with people’.
More from Mike
Subscribe to Mike’s weekly Unshakeable Newsletter here.
Join the weekly Don’t Panic - Surviving COVID19 webcast here.
Download a 1-page resource on the power of gratitude in Unshakeable teams here.
Buy a copy of Mike’s book “Thrive and Adapt” here, or sign in for a complimentary PDF copy
Contact Mike to discuss organisation wide Well-being and Resilience programs that create Unshakeable teams:
+61 423 193 196
Resilience is the ability to bounce back. With catastrophic fires across large parts of Australia at the moment, resilience is being tested. There are short-term ‘bounces' like these hard working firefighters grabbing a quick break, any way they can before the next round of solid work. Individuals and communities are in the immediate ‘bounce' of saving life, animals and property. There are resources being rallied, evacuation centres set up, help being sent.
When the flames are finally extinguished the longer ‘bounce' of resilience begins - rebuilding houses and communities, restocking farms, recreating infrastructure. There will be even longer bounces in our environment as plants and animals try to re-establish themselves in damaged areas. Some places will take decades to recover, if they ever fully do.
I have been reflecting on immediate and longer term actions I can take to contribute to the resilience of my fellow Aussies at this time. I’m running a Thrive and Adapt course in Perth in February. The course is all about tools to help people deal with stress and pressure - to handle the circumstances that they face. I’m taking the following actions:
$50 from every ticket sale will go directly to bushfire relief. That will be spread between community and environmental rebuilding efforts.
I’m offering a tailored version of the course to DFES in WA with spaces for 50 emergency services volunteers to attend free of charge.
If you want to join me on the Perth course to make this contribution bigger you can book a ticket here.
In 2004, I was part of specialist survival crew for the Pilbara grand finale of Pushed to the Limit a BBC reality show to find Britain’s toughest family. We gave the two final families a few days of survival training and set them off on a multi-day survival challenge. It was tough. It was hot. They were far from their comfort zone.
Each family had two adults and two under 18 years old. One family was a single mum, 21-year-old daughter, 16-year-old son and 14-year-old daughter. The 14-year-old was the stand out example of adaption for the week.
On a particularly tough day they walked many kilometres along a river in the Pilbara. They’d done it hard, making many mistakes and errors of judgement that sapped their energy and stacked the deck against them. They were on the verge of giving up. Mum had been the stalwart leader of the team, but was exhausted. She had carried 15 litres of water all day even though they were walking beside large fresh water pools. Even with the abundance of water she was badly dehydrating herself. The family lost their compass and flint. Confusion about navigation and inability to light a fire added to the pressure. Late in the day they dropped their tin can, losing their ability to purify water by boiling and make a cup of tea (tea is a great way to create a sense of control and familiarity under duress).
The family began to fragment. The 16-year-old son became a constant burden to the rest of the group and was pushing them to pull out of the contest.
At one of the checkpoints they were met by Chris Ryan (ex-special forces and BBC host) who got stuck into them about their poor performance. The 14-year-old burst into tears, followed by others in the family. It was a low point for all of them and looked like it might be the end of their story.
A short while later the 14-year-old daughter made a massive adaption. She lifted her head and dried her tears. She reflected on Ryan’s feedback with the family and decided that they needed to lift their game. She stepped up to lead the family. For the rest of the scenario she drove leadership, planning, support and motivation. She held the family together and rallied them through their toughest moments.
In that moment, and for the rest of the course she was an Adaptor, taking full responsibility for her results and rallying her family to do the same. She made no excuses, and was prepared to fully face the circumstances. She was prepared to carry others if necessary. Pulling out was no longer on her radar. She brought strength and certainty to a difficult situation. Her family made it to the finish line largely because of her leadership.
I was recently asked what lead me to do the work I do. The answer is multi layered and it’s been a lifetime journey. This 2 minute video is part of the story. What motivates you?
Humans are actually really good at change. Our drive to make things better and easier has been one of the key success factors for our species. And yet so often there is resistance to change, even when we know it is a good thing we are trying to implement. The source of resistance is rarely explored, but if you can identify it clearly, it’s much more likely you will succeed!
Things had been dodgy to say the least. The organisation was losing money, and while it was never proven it was pretty likely that some was being internally skimmed. A new CEO was appointed and she was met with a tangled web involving people at all levels right up to the board. Had the organisation continued “as is” it would have been broke in 18 months and likely facing a number of legal ramifications. People were suspicious and guarded. It was an emotionally charged and manipulative environment. There was very little trust. The organisation was far from unshakeable and on the verge of being shaken to the core.
As the new CEO uncovered the extent of the chaos, the organisation slipped further with people running for cover behind blame. Factions began making threats in an attempt to ensure compliance or silence. Threats ranged from minor to very serious.
In the aftermath there was very little trust. In rebuilding the organisation there was a strong swing to creating policy and procedure (P&P) for everything. It’s an understandable reaction - an attempt to lock the doors and bar the windows.
However the higher the quantity of P&P, the lower the effectiveness:
Higher quantities of P&P increase the likelihood that some or all of your staff are operating outside the ‘rules’. The more there are, the less it is possible to know, understand and apply them all. In fact, time and effort will be spent finding work-arounds and short cuts.
High volumes of P&P increase the annual workload of review and update. If the team takes the task seriously, it requires a detailed look at each document and how it is serving the organisation (or not). High volumes tend to result in a ‘tick and flick’ mentality that does nothing to contribute to the security that P&P are trying to create.
People who will do the wrong thing will find a way, regardless of how thick the P&P file is.
P&P is a great killer of innovation and improvement.
High volume P&P implies staff aren’t to be trusted and need every element of their work guided by the organisation.
It raises the centre of gravity, by taking decisions and processes up the hierarchy. In turn, this restricts thinking and creativity at the coal face.
High volume becomes addictive, as every little gap in P&P is hunted down and filled. It’s like rabbits or those wire coat hangers from the dry cleaner.
Unshakable organisations are lean on Policy and Procedure, but do not leave the organisation without guidelines. Ray Dalio’s book “Principles” is a great example of detailed guidance that leaves heaps of room for flexible approaches to changing conditions.
A great principle for organisations who want to be unshakable is to reduce P&P as much as possible.
When reviewing documents, ask yourself “Is there any reason why this document could not be deleted or shortened?”
The boat was skittish and unstable. Every time a small wave rolled beneath us we struggled to keep it upright. We were planning for an extended sea kayak trip and this experience told us there was work to be done. Fighting the boat for days on end, at times miles from shore was never going to work.
The solution turned out to be simple. A paddling friend suggested attaching a 1kg diving weight to the lowest point inside the boat. That small weight lowered the centre of gravity and suddenly the boat was easy and delightful to paddle.
If you want to build an unshakeable team, lowering the centre of gravity is just as important. Old world organisations relied on hierarchy and decisions being made at the top. It used to work. Now it’s way too slow, and too easy to disrupt. Lower the centre of gravity by empowering your team to make decisions close to where the action is. Here are some ways to do it. We’ll talk more about them in coming articles.
Reduce bureaucracy. Be relentless in the pursuit of making things easier and smoother. Pay attention to where people take short cuts and either enhance the process or adopt the short cut.
Set clear boundaries for autonomy. If people know where they can make decisions and be backed by leadership, they’ll start doing more things, more effectively in direct response to the challenges of their work. As a leader focus on removing barriers and establishing the direction. The team will come to life.
And when disruptive situations occur your team will be more unshakeable.
"The team don't like or respect him", he said. "But I can make a difference to how the team operates, even if I'm not the leader."
It was an inspiring conversation with a young man who understood leadership. He was working in a team where the official leader was dictatorial and inconsistent. The team spent a lot of time over the 'water cooler' complaining about their boss and the direction he was taking them.
"That just adds to the dissatisfaction and tension. When people push back they make themselves a target."
When I asked what he did differently, here's what he shared:
I don't buy into gossip. It doesn't help anyone. If something is factual, i share what I know, otherwise I stay out of it.
I don't talk behind people's back, and when I hear others doing that, I pull them up. If I have feedback to give, I'll do that straight up with the person it concerns.
I do the best job I know how, even when I don't like how the instructions are given.
If I'm told to do something unreasonable, I respectfully say why I think it is unreasonable.
I maintain my own standard of work and encourage others to do the same - It's easy to let it slip when you don't like the boss, but that reflects as much on me as on him.
It's a great example of leading from wherever you are. This young man is making a contribution to his team and his workplace that adds value and quality. What he is doing makes his team more unshakeable.
How do you lead from where you are?
I tossed and turned. It didn’t seem to matter what what position I lay in, I couldn’t get to sleep. My mind was a whirlwind of activity . It churned with ideas and sequences for an upcoming workshop with a new client. I tossed and turned some more, eventually falling asleep, only to spring awake almost immediately. It was as if the whirlwind had prodded me awake. After a while a thought adds to the whirlwind, “If this keeps up, I’ll be shattered tomorrow!”. It adds to the stress. The more I try, the less I sleep.
When I talk to my coaching clients, I’m not alone in finding it hard to relax and switch off sometimes.
It seems we get the “whirlwind” from 3 categories:
Stressful thoughts about things yet to be completed, things that make us worried or anxious, overload, tight timelines, big decisions…
Creative thoughts like big ideas, great solutions, new directions…
Processing thoughts like when you have learned something new and your mind is filled with it and how it fits with other things you know…
Fortunately, the Guerrilla Mindfulness tactic can be really effective in those moments.
Guerrilla Mindfulness is:
3 long, slow rhythmic breaths
Acknowledge how you feel
Clarify your intention
When I can’t sleep for the whirlwind I use it this way:
Focus on the rhythm of your breathing. Make the breaths in and out the same each time. Breathe into your belly. To do that, ‘lock’ the muscles of your ribs together and let your belly expand and contract with each breath. Try to keep your ribcage still as you breathe in and out. Let the belly fill and empty. Breathing this way is deeply relaxing.
Acknowledge how you feel, without getting into the story of why. You might be stressed, anxious, frustrated, excited, or curious. Use as few words as you can to describe your feelings. Acknowledging your feelings in this way reduces the stress hormones in your system.
Be clear about your intent - it might be ‘I’m going to park this for now, relax and sleep.”
Go back to breathing into your belly - slow, deep, rhythmic. I usually find I’m asleep before I count 7 cycles. If the whirlwind interrupts your breathing, be kind to yourself. Gently notice the thoughts and return your attention to breathing. Even if you don’t sleep, your gentle focus on the breath will have you more relaxed tomorrow than a night with the whirlwind.
Sometimes you’ll wake up again during the night with the whirlwind spinning again. Rinse and repeat as often as you need to. I also find it helpful to do a quick brain dump into a notebook to get the whirlwind off my mind.
And of course, if you find yourself getting stuck in a pattern of long term sleeplessness, seek help.
Next time, we’ll talk about using Guerrilla Mindfulness when you need to be switched on and ready for action.
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Mike House Pty Ltd
