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Remember the 1980s when big hair was all the rage? Might have been fashionable, but not for women wanting to climb the corporate ladder. At that time, Tess, played by Melanie Griffith in the movie Working Girl said: “You wanna be taken seriously, you need serious hair.” She cut off her below-the shoulder tresses for a chin-length bob and one less barrier on her way up.   Beyonce leads the way Luckily times (and hair products) have changed. Beyonce is taken seriously and she has very big hair. She may not be climbing a corporate ladder, but she (and other big-haired corporate sisters) have paved the way for all big haired gals. I’m grateful. Unfortunately, it takes more than hair to look the part. I was once told that I’d lost a huge project because the potential client (a woman) said “honestly, I was expecting an older man in a suit”. Seriously.   Look the part You can’t change your gender. But you can influence how you’re perceived. The easiest way of all is to look the part. Raid your wardrobe, visit the hairdresser. It’s not that hard to fit right in. It doesn’t mean you need to be a

Getting a taste (and a whiff) of Durian from a floating market on the Mekong Delta. Happy 2019! I had an interesting start. All was well with the world… until C dropped a bombshell.   3 weeks’ notice. Everything you’ve seen on my website these past 3 years? That’s C’s handiwork making it happen.   At first it was all about me. I was going to be on a boat in the Mekong Delta on her very last day. Talk about inconvenient. It takes time to find someone. It takes time to onboard them and bring them up to speed. That’s assuming it’s possible. And of course, you can’t know if someone will ultimately disappoint or delight.   Then it was all about her. Really, 3 years is a great innings. We’re parting on excellent terms. And besides, C’s moving on to an exciting new venture in an unrelated field. I’m happy for her.   Finally, it was all about solving the problem. C made that easy for me. She recommended D – a new employee in her agency. New, as in, (pretty much straight out of college) new. Not ideal. But I sure was glad I was working with

Who doesn’t love Alice in Wonderland? It’s the theme for this year’s Melbourne tradition – The Myer Christmas windows. I thought they were old at 63, but the world first met Alice in 1865! Here you can see Alice, with the foul-tempered Queen of Hearts and her King in the background and the mad March Hare to her right. I had to think twice writing that. Isn’t it on the left? So, of course, that reminded me of the fun self-monitoring party trick… just in time for the holiday cheer.   Self-monitoring Self-monitoring is about how much you adapt to the context you’re in. If you’re a high self-monitor, you’re a bit chameleon-like. You’ll adapt to meet the demands of the situation. It doesn’t mean you’re inauthentic. You’re not trying to trick other people by being how you think they want you to be. You’re doing your best to meet your genuine need for self-enhancement. If you’re a low self-monitor, you’ll do what you do, no matter where you are. For you, it’s more important to not present a false image of yourself.   Who does better at work? The higher self-monitors. They’re better at getting along and getting ahead.

You know it’s summer when the agapanthus start to bud. They’re common in my neck of the woods. Maybe it’s because they’re low maintenance. Just add sun and water and they’ll be fine. But if you want to do better, add some fertiliser and chop off the spent heads. Recently, I’ve had clients – capable leaders – reach out, a little ashamed to say, ‘hey, what about me and what I need’? As a leader, you’re supposed to be low maintenance, like agapanthus. You’re supposed to be able to handle whatever is thrown at you and be fine. But what if you’re not? You’re a person first. And occasionally you’ll need a helping hand – in whatever form your preferred brand of fertiliser takes. It makes all the difference.

On Saturday night, the old hair rockers looked like they were still having fun belting out their hits. It was infectious. Getting 50,000 people up on their feet, singing along and having fun too? That was impressive. What’s even more impressive is that they’ve been rocking since 1983. That’s a long time for a band. 35 years. Sure it’s not the original lineup. But three of the five have been there since the beginning and Richie Sambora stayed 30 years. Actually, it’s a long time for any group of people. How long have you been working with your current lineup of colleagues? Jon’s known for his music his looks his acting his long marriage his philanthropy his business savvy (apparently all but Jon are paid employees) his work ethic even his rosé is considered the best in the world.   While I was thinking about how lucky was I to score tickets, I also wondered: How else do you get people to stay with you for so long? It wouldn’t be the money anymore (not with over 130m in record sales, they’ve got more than enough). It wouldn’t be the success anymore (they’re one of the biggest rock bands in

Check out what I drew with the help of Julian Opie and the NGV (National Gallery of Victoria) this weekend! Yes, you’re right. It’s a self-portrait. I’m feeling pretty chuffed considering I’m no artist. But I do love to remember to play. I had to drag my adult companions to the kids section of the exhibition. Where else could you do something as playful as this? It reminds me of the late, great Gordon MacKenzie. He spent most of his career at Hallmark Cards and wrote the wonderful book: Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool’s Guide to Surviving with Grace. In case you’re wondering: Orbiting is responsible creativity: vigorously exploring and operating beyond the Hairball of the corporate mindset, beyond “accepted models, patterns, or standards”—all the while remaining connected to the spirit of the corporate mission.   You’ll always be an artist When Gordon spoke in schools, he’d start with the kindies and, grade by grade, work his way through to the sixth graders later in the day. He’d always begin by asking: “Look, I’m an artist and I love to be around other artists. I look at your walls and you’ve got art on them so there must

Imagine stepping out onto your balcony one fine morning, only to be greeted by Mummy Ringtail and her two baby possums. These terrified eyes are peering up at you and pleading ‘please, don’t hurt me, let this be home’. And then your heart melts just that little bit more when you see the one on the right snuggled into that small green pot. You call yourself Cruella de Vil, as you remove yet another garbage bag of nest – the branches, sticks and leaves they bring with them. It lasts a couple of days… and then they’re back. This has been going on for over two weeks now. When will they get the message? Possums are disease carrying pests. They’ve got to go.   The courage to be disliked Lucky they’re a small family of possums and not an organisation full of people. Only I, and now you, know about Cruella. As a leader, sometimes you have to make tough calls. And then deal with the evil stares and the sudden silences walking past colleagues after you’ve let someone go. You have to muster the courage to be disliked.   The courage to leave Even tougher though is when it’s

Followers get the short shrift in leadership-land. As if they’ll blindly follow you, like sheep. As if they’re unworthy of a mention and indistinguishable. Would you say that about these cuties? You’ll have to go to Taiwan to see them – I was there earlier this year doing the tourist thing. Several months later, I still consider them a happy snap worth sharing. And you don’t have to look too hard to see that these sheep are all different.   You Choose Even if you’re a leader, you’re a follower too. That doesn’t mean you’re a sheep. Or a corporate prisoner. In fact, you get to choose who you are, who you become and which parts of yourself you reveal. As Erving Goffman, the brilliant sociologist said way back in 1961: “Our sense of being a person can come from being drawn into a wider social unit; our sense of selfhood can arise through the little ways in which we resist the pull”. You choose when you conform and when you resist… and how… anything from courageously challenging decisions to privately checking out. How do you resist the pull?

Feeling a bit prickly? Cactus-y? I’m wondering if it’s in the air. Two of my clients were armed and dangerous last week. Ready for a fierce conversation. They’d spent hours. Some on planning. But more on worrying and fretting… will this work? They were anxious and exhausted. And not at all confident that they’d get the results they were hoping for. Based on previous experience, that’s to be expected. Still, these senior leaders don’t shy away from responsibility. But a fierce conversation isn’t the only solution… even when: another senior leader sends an email onslaught unfairly attacking you, your team and one team member in particular. one of your directors is withholding key information for your upcoming board presentation. The Alternative Here’s what we did, that in both cases worked a treat. First, we climbed high onto the balcony to get the lay of the land. Then took a deep dive to look below the surface and work out what’s really going on for these troublemakers. Only then, when we were as clear as possible on the real problem(s), did we turn our minds to the approach. In the case of the email onslaught, totally changing her approach “disarmed” that

Has this pigeon nailed it? She’s standing out from her white-feathered friends, and at the same time, she belongs to this Party of Five. That’s what you want. To be part of the in-group… and to stand out from the crowd. The question is how. And that depends on whether you need to work on fitting in or standing out.   Fitting In According to researchers at Stanford and the University of California, if you’re a cultural misfit you’ll want to belong to a tight network – where most people know each other. That’s because there’s more internal trust in closed groups. Once you’re part of the group, your quirkiness will be endearing rather than a reason for rejection.   Standing Out But if you’re a cultural fit, then you’ll do better if you provide a bridge between tight networks. Your value-add is through sharing information across group lines, helping break down the silos. This is a time when it pays to talk to strangers.   Know Your Place Before you can work out whether to work on fitting in or standing out, you need to know who’s who… and who knows who in the zoo. And your place, where