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Great leaders share three behaviours

  Research consistently shows leadership that is people focused and enables employees to perform is the most effective - Servant and Level 5 Leadership are great examples of this. There are lots of ways of expressing this, whether it be managerial grid's people vs results focus; John Maxwells 'be devoted to your people but expect excellence'; Gilbert Enoka 'have the fierce determination of a viking but the heart of a mother'; or Brené Brown 'have a stiff back and a soft front'. This article adds another perspective to how this can work from a leadership coach, Marcel Schwantes. He writes highly effective leaders:

• Put their people first. Not in the corporate‑poster way — in the practical, everyday way. They clear roadblocks, offer real support, and create psychological safety so their team can think, speak, and perform without fear. Their power comes from elevating others, not protecting themselves.
• Share credit generously. Great leaders don’t make themselves the hero (in fact Level 5 leadership found the hero charismatic leaders damaged their organisations in the medium to long term). They highlight contributions, celebrate wins publicly, and make sure the right people get recognized. That simple act builds trust faster than any team‑building exercise. NZ research found this had the biggest impact on workers wellbeing - people getting recognition/acknowledgement at work were 30x more likely to be doing well mental health wise.
• Own their mistakes. When things go sideways, they don’t deflect, spin, or blame. They step up, take responsibility, and model accountability. That honesty doesn’t weaken them — it makes people respect them more.

It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership. 

42% of Employee Turnover Is Preventable – Coaching is the answer!

According to Gallup’s latest research, here’s what’s actually driving employees out the door — and why many leaders still don’t see it...

1. People Don’t Feel Cared About as Humans This is the biggest one — and the most ignored.  When employees feel invisible, undervalued, or treated like interchangeable parts, disengagement is inevitable. Feeling genuinely cared about by a manager isn’t “soft leadership" - it's effective leadership. John Maxwell framed this as "be devoted to your people, but expect excellence".
2. Weak Management is Eroding Commitment  Many managers were promoted because they were great individual contributors — not because they know how to lead people. The result? • Poor communication • Little to no coaching • Recognition that’s either rare or nonexistent
3. People are Guessing What Matters Confusion kills motivation. When people don’t understand what’s expected of them — or how their work connects to something bigger — they stop caring. Purpose doesn’t come from mission statements. It comes from clarity. When you don't have clarity your workload becomes overwhelming leading to stress.
4. Personal Growth Has Flatlined People aren’t just quitting jobs. They’re quitting stagnation. When learning stops, engagement fades. Employees want to grow skills, expand responsibility, and see a future.
5. Burnout Is Being Treated Like a Badge of Honor Overwork, constant urgency, unrealistic workloads, and zero flexibility are pushing even high performers to rethink everything. Burnout isn’t a resilience problem. It’s a systems problem. When stress becomes normal our personal productivity and our leadership effectiveness are significantly reduced. If you are working 70+ hours per week, you have probably achieved about as much as if you had worked 55 hours.

The Art of Giving and Receiving Advice

  One of my favourite pieces of research is the finding that people giving advice are more likely to change their behaviour than those receiving it. This is because the person giving advice is actually thinking about it and processing the information at a deeper level. The person receiving the advice is just hearing it. And as well know, most of what we hear we forget. Harvard Business Review nails it: Great advice isn’t a monologue — it’s a brainstorm.You don’t need to be a guru. You need to be a collaborator. Start Doing This:

• Ask questions before you offer solutions.
• Share your experience with humility and empathy.
• Help the person tailor your advice to their own messy, real-life situation.

• Launch into advice without listening first.
• Assume your advice is a perfect fit.

Do you need wellbeing or willpower to achieve your goals?

  This is a fascinating study tracking people's will power and wellbeing over time. Increases in well being preceded increases in will power rather than vice versa! A summary of the article can be found here. Often when I am asked to coach someone it is because they can't see their way out of their current situation - and that's leading them to be stressed. After we establish where they want to get to we then look at where they are currently - this often includes poor wellbeing. I start them off on a few basic things to improve their self care. When we catch up the next time they have had some wins on the self care front and are feeling better about their problem as well. I always thought that the process of them getting some small wins created a positive impact that started to help them see they can control more than they realised (getting them into the influence part of the circle of influence). Based on this research, perhaps their self control/will power also improves with increases in wellbeing? So how do we make some changes to improve our wellbeing without having willpower! The answer is start with something so small that your brain can't talk you out of it. Here's a short video on forming habits - the domino's analogy is a great way of thinking about achieving big goals by starting really small! We also need to have something to remind us to do it. The Power of habit cue, routine and reward is a great way of kick starting a new habit and having the tools to make changes.

Want to improve employee wellbeing? Try listening to them!

A recent communication blog from the Glasers, they reminded us of the power of listening to improve employee well being. Rosalind Chow in Inc pointed out that only 20% of employees typically participate in wellbeing programmes. Rosalind suggested making listening a habit through:

• Making time for real conversations. Block space for check-ins that aren’t rushed or transactional. An Executive I coached recently was saying he was always late for meetings because he took the time to talk to his people. His PA was always chasing him and trying to get him to the next meeting on time. Rather than not stop and chat we talked about having 45 minute meetings that gave him time to have the checkins and still be on time.
• Practice active listening. Ask follow-ups, reflect what you heard, and show you understood.
• Follow through. If someone shares a concern, act — or explain why you can’t. This is a key part of the trust equation!
• Lead by example. Your behaviour sets the tone for the entire team.