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Last week was Tom Cruise movie week on TV. I watched a couple of Mission Impossible reruns. Not sure if you’ve seen any of them… there’s always a seemingly impossible mission (should he choose to accept it) that Tom aka Ethan Hunt is asked to take on. Of course he accepts and of course he succeeds. Last week, my client Celia (not her real name), started the contracting role she’d chosen to accept. A real life Mission Impossible! Unwittingly she’s walked into a political bees’ nest and has already being stung. By the boss who considers herself Queen but actually isn’t her Queen. But she is a key internal client with $$$ power. Already Celia knows she needs to hire another contractor to help get the work done. Ideally for six months. She put this to her real Boss…“you won’t get budget for six, go for three”. So that’s what Celia requested. Three months was agreed. At least that’s what she thought. When Celia went to get final sign off, would-be Queen said one month was agreed at the meeting. And besides, that was all she was going to approve. Celia went into a mini panic. With only one month

Being given lots of responsibility but not the same level of authority sucks. That happened the first time I made ‘manager’. At performance appraisal time I’d put forward my bonus and pay increase recommendations. But they fell on deaf ears. The Big Boss had her own ideas… It was demeaning. I was the one working closely with these people. I was their manager. I was angry. I’m pretty sure I expressed my displeasure in the nicest possible way. Still, I had to suck it up and recommit to being my best. Matching the level of authority with the level of responsibility is good management practice. Everyone knows that. If you’re the Big Boss you know it requires trust and relinquishing control. I guess it’s easier said than done. One day, Sarah [not her real name] decided she deserved a pay rise. I’d already recommended it, only to be told: “Not enough runs on the board”. The Big Boss couldn’t see the potential I could. The Big Boss couldn’t see how much responsibility [and authority] Sarah had already taken on. I said to Sarah: “I’ll try”. It was all I could do. I figured that’s what I’d want from my Boss

Smart leaders recognise and reward all the talent on their team.   He was loud. He was subversive. I couldn’t control him. He did his very best to disrupt the group and undermine me.   He was the guy who had a sheet of blank butcher’s paper up on the wall. When I asked him: “What’s that”? He replied: “It’s Art”.   He tested my leadership. And he was good at it.   It lasted a couple of weeks… until I stepped up. I knew he wouldn’t be happy as part of the chorus. I was House Music Captain. It was my final year of school. What to do with him? At least I had formal power.   I gave him a role. As it turned out, it was one where his strengths came to the fore. Singing the only solo line: “Or blow me a kiss and that’s lucky too”.   I felt as lucky, as lucky can be. We were singing Chim Chim Cher-ee from Mary Poppins.   He loved the part, settled down and we were a team. And in case you’re wondering, he went on to study at NIDA (so did Cate Blanchett, Baz Lurhmann, Sam

It’s that time of year again. The end. I think you’re supposed to look back on your achievements, reflect on what you did well and learn from what you didn’t. Then you’re supposed to garner some kind of steely resolve and create New Year resolutions to become an even shinier you. Mark Twain famously said, “Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I’ve done it thousands of times.” It’s Groundhog Day. So… how do you learn from experience? I like Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey’s work (from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education). They highlight mindset over behaviour. They suggest that if you haven’t been able to change your behaviour, despite your best efforts, it might be because those behaviours are protecting you from something. Like a defence mechanism. There are more complicated underlying reasons. You might have heard it’s best if you try to change just one thing at a time. It should take 21 days. I hope it works for you. It might. What if it doesn’t? Kegan and Lahey say, “The failure to enact visible goals is often due to the “success” of enacting unseen ones”. But what about our

I can’t believe that it was five years ago that I was called in for a follow-up.   “It’s usually nothing”, the kind lady at the end of the phone told me. “It’s common after your first mammogram.” She meant to reassure me. I was kind of numb. I walked into the hospital and just did whatever they asked.   A more targeted mammogram? …Sure. An ultrasound? …Ok. A bioposy? …Now I’m scared.   I didn’t need to wait the week for the results. It wasn’t just the escalation of tests. Their body language told me. It was written on their faces. So much of what we communicate doesn’t need words.   Still, they said that the results from the biopsy take a week.   For a week I told myself they might be wrong. I might be wrong. I want to be wrong.   So today is an especially special day. I got the all clear (again). I’m feeling emotional and grateful.   It’s been 5 years. It’s a major milestone in Cancer-land.   I don’t think I really understood vulnerability before. There is something about this anniversary and remembering that always brings tears to my eyes. I can’t help it.   I

I don’t know about you, but as much as I like Christmas carols, they are driving me a little cray cray. I’m hearing them everywhere. Last week I stopped over in Fiji for a couple of days on my way home from a business mastermind in San Diego. They were playing Deck the Halls along the main pathway of the resort I was staying at. Now that was a surprise! I thought it’d be total peace and quiet. To be honest, it was a little annoying too. There are some places you simply don’t expect to hear music. Like walking along that pathway. And most workplaces I know of. And it got me thinking… why don’t we use music more at work? I was inspired recently to learn about Dr Catherine Crock here in Melbourne. She works with children with cancer at the Royal Children’s Hospital. She wanted to reduce the distress for children and their families. Hospitals can be scary. So she teamed up with some of our top musicians to create a collection of CDs. Classical compilations. The results speak for themselves. It is now used within 12 Children’s Hospitals and wards around Australia, in operating theatres, treatment

I love my neighbour. He used to be a fashion buyer and is in the midst of a career change. He’s a green thumb and studying to be an agricultural scientist. Thanks to him there are free herbs for all – he grows them on the nature strip with a sign that says ‘Help yourself’. Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. …along with coriander, Thai basil, mint, chili and strawberries at the moment. See why I love him? I was put off last week. I was outside when a woman walked by with her dog. Like most people she stopped to have a look at the herbs. And then she allowed her dog to his business on them! I was mortified. Appalled, from across the road I said “really?” Mostly too myself but she heard it. She looked only slightly sheepish and pulled her dog away. I guess it’s fertilizer. Still. It seemed disrespectful to me. Inconsiderate. Unfortunately, this kind of thing happens at work too. The disrespect. The lack of consideration. The meanness. No thought for how others might feel at all. No understanding or care for the impact of their actions. I do hope this isn’t your experience, or something you’ve witnessed.

A little while ago (back in September) I wrote about how the grumpy waiter got lucky. I’d gone to a café with a friend. I was grumpy. The waiter was grumpier. When I pointed this out she said, “You watch. I’m going to make him smile before we leave.” And she did. Here are some of the comments I received at the time: Awesome!! OK Ms Pizer, you made me smile 🙂 , while sitting in 1 and a half hours of traffic, I didn’t even recognize when the traffic started moving again. I’m in a better mood.  Thank you. I enjoyed reading your story and will definitely apply that method of communication with someone grumpy in the future! Awesome 🙂 Making the grumpy waiter smile is a great pay-it-forward kind of game – with anyone who’s grumpy. It’s fun, it’s free, and everyone ends up in a better mood. I’ve been playing it myself lately. I went into the local ‘inconvenience’ store. That’s what the lady behind the counter likes to call it. She says they seem to always be out of stock of something. She was grumpy that day. I set to work. While she was making my coffee, the banter

Why do people use jargon? It’s convenient. As you’ll see, to the uninitiated, it can hide a multitude of workplace sins while making you look fabulous. “Raise your profile. You need more presence. You won’t get the opportunities you want until you start to get noticed more (by the bigger bosses). Oh, and improve your presentation too.” That’s what a boss said to one of my clients. But what does that even mean? How do you do that? My client was stumped. At the time, all she could think to ask her boss was: “Do I need to get a new wardrobe?” Is that what was meant by presentation? “No” came the hurried reply, with no opportunity for following up right then. My client wasn’t going to meet up with her boss for another two weeks. She was left wondering. Not only about her presentation, but what he meant by presence too. Step up. Stand out. Improve your executive presence. Executive presence is a word that gets bandied about. Not surprisingly, executive presence is important – counting for 26% of what it takes to get promoted according to a study of senior executives by the Centre for Talent Innovation. Still,

Managing up is one of those things we all need to master. Why not see what we can learn from those who manage us? If anything, it’s a great place to start because there’s nothing at stake.