Posts by Suzi McAlpine
The weight of the world: Taking care of yourself as a leader when the pressure’s on
Right now, your shoulders are probably feeling a bit heavy. No wonder. Between taking care of your people (often remotely) and deciding the best route forward when the map keeps changing due to a global pandemic, it probably feels like someone has shoved an extra couple of sandbags on your back as you try and…
Read MoreThree common traps to avoid when it comes to one on ones (and one thing to dial up)
One on ones with your direct reports are one of the most important meetings you’ll have as a leader. If you’re still not convinced, read this. But it’s not enough just to have them. How you approach your one on ones, and what you focus on during them, can be the difference between wasting time or…
Read MoreDead calm – How I’ve lost the wind beneath my sails.
For the last four months, I’ve been stuck in a dead calm. It’s as if I’m in in a yacht, rudderless, with no waves or wind to carry me forward. There’s no island in the distance, beckoning me. I keep waiting for a gust of wind to propel me ahead to the next ‘big thing’:…
Read More7 tips for delivering bad news to your boss
Not gonna lie. Delivering bad news to your boss ain’t fun. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a CEO delivering a “not-so-hot” revised forecast to the Board, or a project manager telling your boss that the project launch date is delayed….yet again. Moments like these will never be the most pleasant experiences of your professional life.…
Read MoreA useful tool when you’re about to lead change
Whenever there’s a new initiative or idea in your organisation, there will be forces that support it to happen – and forces that oppose it. Seems obvious, huh? But if, as a leader, you don’t acknowledge or sufficiently address the opposing forces at the beginning of a change process, the change process is more likely…
Read MoreOne of the most powerful and underused tools in leadership
When I was five, my dad taught me about planets using an orange and a plum. We were having breakfast and he crouched down beside me, held out an orange in one hand and a plum in the other, slowly rotating his hand to illustrate how the Earth revolved around the sun. As he spoke,…
Read MoreThe third red flag of burnout: Reduced personal accomplishment or professional efficacy
Because burnout is a gradual process, it can often to be tricky to spot. Luckily, there are three signs, or symptoms, of burnout. I like to call these signs the ‘red flags of burnout’. They are: chronic exhaustion, cynicism or depersonalisation, and a reduced sense of accomplishment or professional efficacy. I’ve already covered the first…
Read MoreName your uncomfortable feelings – and magic may follow
My interview for the TVNZ Sunday programme with Jehan Casinader is one of those experiences I’ll look back on and say, “Yeah. That was a good move.” It’s been brilliant for book sales, business, and providing a platform for me to bang on about Beyond Burnout. But what you don’t know is that I almost…
Read More5 phrases every leader should use (liberally)
There are probably some phrases you should leave out of your lingo when you’re a leader. “Do what I tell you to do ‘cause I’m the boss” “That’s a terrible idea” “You’re useless” These are a few examples of phrases to ditch if you want to build a trusting, high performing team. But there ARE…
Read MoreThe second red flag of burnout: Cynicism or depersonalisation
Someone suffering from burnout is likely to show a combination of three signs that I like to call ‘the red flags of burnout’. To look out for yourself as well as the people you lead, it’s important to keep an eye out for them – chronic exhaustion, cynicism or depersonalisation, and a reduced sense of…
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