Tag Archives: personal development
3 Reasons Why Leadership is about Looking Inwardly
Today in conversation with a leader, she mentioned how everyone else was to blame – different team members, partners to the business – she took no responsibility for the part that she plays in it all. I called it out pretty quickly and we had a VERY good heart to heart. Self–awareness is beyond critical…
Taking Power Breaks
Lots of people are anxious, stressed, stressed out, and some at complete burnout phase; running on empty with the extremely intense experiences we’ve been living through personally and professionally these last few years; especially in tourism. We often think we need a break, time out, and we might try to grab a few minutes during…
Action Taker or Avoider?
Whilst contemplating today’s blog topic, Frank arrived… literally in person. My awesome landlord for the office. We’ve had some flood damage issues upstairs, causing a few problems in my space. I let him know Friday, he saw it Saturday, then popped in today with the repair guy to discuss fixing it next Monday. Wow. Impressive.…
Bravery at the Front
“She must be fearless” my brother James said. “Actually she’s not” I replied. On Anzac Day, Lucy my 11-year-old rose early, the alarm ringing at 5.45 am. She’d been up for half the night, nerves taking hold. Each year for the last few years, she’s committed to playing The Last Post at 6 am and…
Know when to Stop and Take Stock
How often do you stop and take stock with how you, the team and business are tracking? In the last 18 months with so much going on, it’s been pretty easy to get VERY caught up in the day to day. Dealing with the urgent priorities. We get very used to that pattern of behaviour…
Top 4 Lessons from Life in Lockdown
No one is super human. We’re all human. In our house a few weeks ago blood was drawn. Just a quick momentary brain snap between both kids which resulted in an inch long fingernail scratch across a child’s face. It was so quick and happened in an instant. As I sat very calmly talking through…
Individual Development Plans
Do you have one? Do you know what your strength areas are? Do you know what you’re working on improving for 21/22? At this time of year many businesses have completed or are working through their performance review processes, getting and giving feedback. It’s an interesting time of year and it’s when many businesses either…
Being Ok to Ask for Help
One very common trait of high-performing leaders, I’ve noticed and actually done myself in the past, is not asked for help, when it was really needed. Not reached out when it was vital to do so. It’s a hard learnt lesson, that didn’t serve me and something I practice what I preach now. Commonly it’s…
WELL-BEING must come first
Are you feeling overwhelmed, anxious, way more tense than normal… is EVERYTHING taking its toll? Is your resilience low, vitality vanished and are you feeling flatter than ever before? If not… that’s fantastic, and if yes, perhaps this is you or someone you know, friend, family member, colleague or a team member, then please read…
Stretching Limits Personally & Professionally
When it comes to pushing oneself, I’d always had a limiting belief “I can’t do water colour painting”. You might think… well why does that matter?! Professionally probably not that much, I’m not a Picasso or even an aspiring Archibald artist, I simply adore art for my own passion. Something important to note, it wasn’t…
Overriding Negative Thoughts
Leadership is busy enough as it is without wasting valuable time either physical hours or brain space on replaying or rehashing conversations, giving ourselves a tough time or wishing/hoping that others would actually be able to mind-read and do what we want without us actually saying it! Or saying it and it goes pear-shaped, ending…
What Role do you Play?
Chatting with a great leader the other day. Holds a senior executive role within a business. He’s passionate, amazing with people, great technical skills. However… here’s the big BUT coming. He is SO caught up in the day to day that he cannot step away and be strategic, plan or focus on the bigger picture.…
Panic or Problem Solve
Yesterday whilst we having a leisurely cuppa with dear old friends we hadn’t seen in a while, there was a knock at the door. Then this voice “Not sure I can come in he said”, sensing immediately something was wrong, I bounded out of my chair, was out the door and into action. There was…
Facing Difficult Conversations
Here’s a few ideas on how to stop avoiding the difficult Conversations and be courageous for constructive conversations instead! Are you needing to have a conversation with someone? It could be a business discussion or something personal. It’s on your mind. It’s been niggling, bugging you and you’ve been putting it off? Firstly – ask…
Overcoming Presenting Nerves
“Staring out across the audience, I could feel the nerves wanting to take over, the feeling of dread coming back into the pit of my stomach… NO, I said to myself, you’ve got this. I focused on the far wall of the room, just slightly above everyone’s head and breathed, in and out, in and…
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…
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…
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…
Case Study:
The training was engaging and we had a great group to work with throughout the program. I feel better equipped to manage my stress at work. I am now more focused and better at setting priorities.
Wildlife Coast Cruises
Jess Patman
and Brett Lacco
Case Study:
I learnt a lot about communication and adaptability. Particularly how to find middle ground with people. I learnt a lot about how to deal with challenging behaviours with external stakeholder relationships.