Author Archives: Genevieve Matthews

Leadership Survey Results
Since the beginning of this year, we’ve surveyed hundreds of business leaders to identify and check-in, as to “What are the current top 3 improvements you would like to see the team make?” Interestingly, it’s vastly different, here’s snap shot at some of the feedback Strategic direction, communication, service Engagement, accountability, team work Commercial insights,…

3 Reasons for Business Leadership Struggles
There are 3 reasons many leaders struggle with engagement, accountability and driving results in business – and 3 steps to getting leadership fit in the next 8 weeks to take the team on the journey. The challenges aren’t going away, the pace is probably unlikely to slow down either and we can only dream of…

Honing Your Coaching Skillset
Getting ready today to deliver a favourite Leadership Capability Development topic:Coaching & Mentoring. We’re going to be exploring the actual skillset of how to coach and/ or mentor. How to know what’s needed when and where, the questions to ask, how to dig deeper, or get someone ‘out of the weeds’. There is a lot…

Wise Advice from Yoda
Take a moment and try and pick up a pen near you. Yes, actually try and pick up the pen. At this point, you could be still reading or you might actually have picked up the pen. Because you see in the words of Yoda from Star Wars “You either do or do not, there…

Simple Systems for Time Management
We all often start the year with the best of intentions. Goals, Plans, new diary. It’s going to be an awesome year. Then … suddenly, remarkably rapidly, our day to day catches up with us again and it’s only February and we’re already feeling the wheels spin out of control again. Here are a couple…

Food for Thought – Cookies n Cream
Food for thought. So lots of conversations these last couple of weeks with middle managers feeling very ‘stuck in the middle’. It’s not the yummy ‘cream in the oreo’ feeling. It’s actually super uncomfortable, frustrating and demotivating. They’re in management roles yet not actually being empowered to lead or manage their team. It can happen…

Merry Christmas
As 2020 comes to a close, we would like to say Merry Christmas. It has certainly been a year of highs and lows in so many ways. A year to forget, yet a year to remember. Here at The Art of Extraordinary, we have been incredibly blessed to work with some amazing leaders who through…

Top 10 Triggers in the Workplace
Whether it’s for improving peak performance, peace of mind/wellness or healthy relationships, these top 10 triggers have an enormous impact in the workplace. This year has certainly had its challenges and they continue…! Whilst we may not be able to control what is going on around us, we certainly have the opportunity to adjust how…

Celebrate the Wins
No matter how micro or small, it’s a really important daily or weekly practice to celebrate the wins for a leader and as a team. Often we’re so focused on what’s next, maybe what didn’t work, that we might not take time to celebrate what actually did work. Or even what we learn from that…

Calm for Christmas
The sound of laughter, the smells of Christmas, red and green everywhere, a present is passed to you with the words ‘Merry Christmas’ and despite the beauty, joy and family in front of you, surrounding you, it’s hard to be present and focused. With so much on your mind, the presence of family or friends…

Forget to Plan or Planning to Forget?
Only 1 month till Christmas. 2021 is around the corner. When it comes to ‘Planning’ it’s one of those words that evokes varying responses. Some people love planning and let’s face it some people don’t. For some it’s a finely tuned capability and they can plan every minute of the day, large projects, or small…

Back to Basics
Recently took the plunge on committing to a 12 month fitness program. Finished last year’s soccer season with an injury. So making choices this year and really had to reassess what help most. See, have this secret vision. Want to be a really fit and healthy 90 year old. With this in mind, the next…

Flick the Switch or Blow the Fuse
What if you could flick the circuit breaker first before the fuse blows? When it comes to the human mind there is so much you can do to circuit break the traditional responses and reactions when it comes to being in overdrive, handling stress, overwhelm, frustration, disappointment or low self-esteem. The thing is only 20%…

Keeping the Battery Charged Up
What’s worked well already for you today? What can you improve on? A leader recently, rushed, stressed and so busy, came onto our Coaching Call pretty amped up. Made them stop, breathe… feel their feet and do a HD video of the surroundings. Could tell by the body language (over zoom), they thought I was…

Getting the Best out of the Team
Eleven people sat around the table. All part of a common cause, one team, a few similarities in character, very different in looks, speaking multiple different languages and completely unique in personality. All passionate and dedicated to customer and industry. Similar yet so very different. Running team meetings and wanting to best communicate with each…

Love Hate Relationship with Time?
Do you have a love/hate relationship with time? Time is a precious commodity, one which we too easily give away and can never get back. What’s your thing with time? Is it the wasted time in meetings (online or in person), going around in circles because people aren’t prepared, aren’t contributing or are reluctant or…

Developing Mental Fitness
Are you over or under-compensating with physical fitness? Ever considered working on your mental fitness? Will never forget sitting at the doctor’s after the antenatal depression diagnosis, as she said “Well you’ve probably been depressed for most of your 20’s and 30’s, you just did a lot of exercise to compensate.” No kid, a lot…

Are you leading the way?
Are you the light in the darkness? A beacon of safety and support? Are you leading the way? Great leaders know how to park their own ego, get out of their own way to help others learn, grow and develop. So that a team and business can thrive and do well even in very troubled…

Are your Values in Overdrive or Conflict?
Are your values in overdrive or conflict? One of the very first jobs I had was a ‘pinch me, I must be dreaming’ kind of job. Totally unreal and still to this day one of my most favourite ever. In fact as I get a little older, it’s the one I look back at now…

How Judgement impacts the Workplace
So there has been a lot of talk about elephants with coaching clients lately. The expression “The elephant in the room” is often a problem that everyone knows is there but no one wants to acknowledge or talk about / open up about. For many situations I’ve come across – the elephant – is huge, it’s…