Suzi McAlpine

DECEMBER 11, 2023

One of the biggest mistakes leaders make is not taking the time, or calling on the courage required, to increase their self-awareness. Increasing our self-awareness not only means getting clearer on things like our values, strengths and ‘how we see the world’, it also means understanding ‘how the world sees us’. To see yourself clearly,… The post How to ask for feedback and increase your self-awareness first appeared on Suzi McAlpine | The Art of Leadership.

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Suzi McAlpine

NOVEMBER 27, 2023

You don’t need lots of time to practice good leadership. In fact, there are a number of super effective leadership practices that take less than five minutes. You might think that if something takes so little time, surely it can’t have a super big impact. Not true. Practiced consistently, these speedy leadership initiatives pack a… The post 5 things that take 5 minutes and will make you a better leader. first appeared on Suzi McAlpine | The Art of Leadership.

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Suzi McAlpine

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

As humans, we’ve got more than a handful of complex challenges facing us right now. To name just a few: Weather and climate-related events cost the global economy US$313 billion in 2022 A report by Gallup and Workhuman discovered turnover and lost productivity due to employee burnout cost businesses around US$322 billion globally According to a report… The post 4 ways to solve problems creatively first appeared on Suzi McAlpine | The Art of Leadership.

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Suzi McAlpine

OCTOBER 30, 2023

If there’s one thing that’ll get most managers in a pickle, it’s dealing with conflict in their team. That tug of war. The slight that’s festering. The miscommunication that’s led to simmering, surly and sulky. The bun fight that’s bigger than Ben Hur… Most of us (me included) would rather sidestep the whole messy thing… The post 3 lessons for leaders to navigate conflict first appeared on Suzi McAlpine | The Art of Leadership.

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Manager 252

Suzi McAlpine

OCTOBER 17, 2023

When it comes to burnout, one of the most common myths is that if you suffer from burnout, you’re either mentally weak, can’t handle stress, or a poor performer. The research shows unequivocally that this is not the case. In fact, it could be your most passionate and highest-performing employees who are most at risk of… The post Are high performers more at risk of burnout?

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Suzi McAlpine

OCTOBER 3, 2023

I was supposed to write a leadership blog for you today. But when I came to write it this afternoon, I had nothing. Instead, I wanted to tell you about the holiday I’ve just spent with my whanau. There was nothing spectacularly different about this holiday. It’s one we take every year in September to… The post Not your usual leadership blog first appeared on Suzi McAlpine | The Art of Leadership.

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Suzi McAlpine

SEPTEMBER 19, 2023

I had a cool boss early on in my career called Carol. Carol was the ‘Queen of Wise One Liners’. She delivered these with penetrating wit, a minimum of sugar coating, at pace – and usually in between bites of an apple, which seemed to be her main sustenance during work hours. There were many… The post Feel Like Running Away? Then Do The Opposite. first appeared on Suzi McAlpine | The Art of Leadership.

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Suzi McAlpine

SEPTEMBER 5, 2023

Leadership is full of half-truths and well-worn assumptions. This week, I explore five of the recurring myths about leadership I come across – and provide tips around what we, as leaders, can be doing (and thinking) instead. So, what are these common 5 myths? 1. I’m really approachable, so my team tell me the truth.… The post 5 leadership myths – and what you should believe instead. first appeared on Suzi McAlpine | The Art of Leadership.

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Suzi McAlpine

AUGUST 22, 2023

When was the last time you changed your mind about something?What is something which you used to believe in strongly, but don’t anymore? When I asked myself these two questions this morning, I had to think long and hard. And that made me feel uncomfortable. I fall prey to confirmation bias. I’m strident when it… The post What have you changed your mind about?

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Suzi McAlpine

AUGUST 8, 2023

I was thrilled and honoured to get a sneak peak of Lauren Parson’s book Thriving Leaders Thriving Teams, and its full of practical pearls of wisdom for leaders. This topic really got me thinking so I’m delighted to have Lauren share an excerpt from her book and sprinkle your day with goodness in a book… The post How to speak your team member’s language of appreciation (so your praise doesn’t miss the mark). first appeared on Suzi McAlpine | The Art of Leadership.

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Suzi McAlpine

JULY 25, 2023

“We do not learn from experience… we learn from reflecting on experience.” That’s what American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer John Dewey said. And I think he was bang on. Although it might seem like there’s less time than ever in your diary for reflection, it’s probably even more important than ever. Now, more than… The post Go the retro. 5 ways you can build in reflection to improve performance. first appeared on Suzi McAlpine | The Art of Leadershi

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Education 199

Suzi McAlpine

JULY 23, 2023

Dear leadership teams, I want to start this open letter by saying I see the pressure you’re under right now. The imperative to deliver on multiple (and sometimes conflicting) obligations is both real and strident. It probably feels a bit like everything is falling into the ‘urgent and important’ quadrant – burning platforms all over… The post An open letter to leadership teams first appeared on Suzi McAlpine | The Art of Leadership.

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Suzi McAlpine

JULY 11, 2023

Not everyone wants to be a manager. Some people love doing what they’re good at; they’re functional experts who have worked hard to develop their craft. They’re probably known as one of the best in the organisation at this ‘thing’. They might even have a reputation that stretches beyond your business. They want (and deserve)… The post You’re great at this job, let’s make you a manager!

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Manager 147

Suzi McAlpine

JUNE 27, 2023

Improving your leadership can start simply by purposefully identifying the leader you want to be. One way to get started is to think of leaders you admire, then work out what it is you respect about them. They might be public figures you’ve admired from a distance, or people in your own life who have… The post What would Malala do? Looking to your heroes for leadership inspiration first appeared on Suzi McAlpine | The Art of Leadership.

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Suzi McAlpine

JUNE 13, 2023

Last week, I was feeling a bit down on myself. I’d set some goals around a key business strategy a few months ago and hadn’t made much progress. All I could see was where I’d fallen short. What started as a quiet, critical conversation with myself about my lack of progress developed into a strident… The post Teflon and Velcro: 5 tips for when you’re being too self-critical first appeared on Suzi McAlpine | The Art of Leadership.

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Suzi McAlpine

MAY 30, 2023

Maybe it won’t surprise you, but studies show that 50% of people would fire their boss if they could. On top of that, 40% of employees between the ages of 24 and 35 are thinking about quitting their job. Those are some pretty sobering statistics. It seems that overall, we’re doing a shoddy job of… The post Why coaching can help you retain your people?

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Suzi McAlpine

MAY 16, 2023

Last weekend, my two older bros and I took a road trip to Nelson Lakes. This 24-hour excursion was about hanging out as siblings and remembering our dad, who died seven years ago. Our time together was filled with reminiscing about our beloved father. How he loved chocolate and whiskey. How he would vacillate between… The post 24 hours with my brothers: The power of connection in life and leadership first appeared on Suzi McAlpine | The Art of Leadership.

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Suzi McAlpine

MAY 2, 2023

Most teams know when a conversation in the group may be heading into difficult territory, coming unstuck or going skewwhiff. Interpersonal tension might be rising. Someone’s body language or facial expression shows they’re frustrated. The person who’s usually vocal goes quiet. Or perhaps you all start talking over each other. You’ve become oppositional and people… The post Learning to pause when things go sideways: a guide for tense conversations in teams first appeared on Suzi McAlpine |

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Suzi McAlpine

APRIL 18, 2023

You’re a CEO who needs to get a significant project signed off from the Board. You’re a mid-level manager keen to let the exec team know they’re piling on too many conflicting priorities. You’re a front-line leader who wants your direct manager to adopt your idea. What do these three situations and leaders have in… The post 5 ways to influence up as a leader. first appeared on Suzi McAlpine | The Art of Leadership.

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Manager 264

Suzi McAlpine

APRIL 3, 2023

Diversity and inclusion is always a hot – and important – topic in leadership, and rightly so. This week I share a guest post from Zoe Dryden, Managing Director and Owner of leadership training and facilitation programme, Second Base. Like me, Zoe works as an executive coach and lives in sunny Nelson. She’s also an… The post Your heart may be in the right place, but is your behaviour following suit?

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Inclusion Diversity Manager 187

Suzi McAlpine

MARCH 21, 2023

If you’re still not sure whether nailing feedback conversations should be one of your main skills to prioritise as a leader, check out these studies: Gallup data shows that when employees receive “meaningful feedback”, they are almost four times more likely than other employees to be engaged. Meaningful feedback isn’t the norm, however. In another recent… The post 5 mistakes you’re probably making when you give feedback first appeared on Suzi McAlpine | The Art of Leadership.

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Suzi McAlpine

MARCH 7, 2023

You might have heard of the 1% improvement rule utilised by Head of British Cycling, Sir Dave Brailsford when he applied the theory of marginal gains to cycling with the UK team who went on to achieve gold medals. Brailsford said, “The whole principle came from the idea that if you broke down everything you could… The post The 1% rule – what it is and why it’s useful for you as a leader first appeared on Suzi McAlpine | The Art of Leadership.

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Suzi McAlpine

FEBRUARY 21, 2023

One of the most common traps leaders fall into is to dominate, not facilitate. It shows up in meetings. It rears its head when a team is faced with a complicated calamity. And we often see it when assessing the merits of an innovation. This dynamic can even be present when leaders and their direct… The post How to facilitate – as opposed to dominate – your meetings first appeared on Suzi McAlpine | The Art of Leadership.

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Suzi McAlpine

FEBRUARY 7, 2023

Stress in and of itself is not a bad thing. In fact, a certain amount of stress is not only useful for our wellbeing, it’s also good for our performance. As the author of Beyond Burnout, I’m the first one to call out chronic or extreme stress as pretty damaging. But I’ve started to see… The post A healthy dose of (eu)stress in the workplace never hurt anyone – here’s why first appeared on Suzi McAlpine | The Art of Leadership.

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Suzi McAlpine

JANUARY 24, 2023

This year, I’m doing something hugely counter-cultural with my business. Some might even say I’ve completely lost my marbles. Instead of growing my business, I’m shrinking it. This is an absurd move – at least if you consider the standard collective wisdom in business. It’s especially ludicrous given the wave my business is currently riding.… The post The road less travelled – 5 tips if you’re stepping off the beaten path first appeared on Suzi McAlpine | The Art of Leadership.

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Travel 322

Suzi McAlpine

DECEMBER 14, 2022

It’s a ridiculously simple question. But it’s not only one of the most powerful coaching questions I’ve used, it’s one that we don’t often ask ourselves – and one that can be difficult to answer. More often we ask ourselves: What should I do? What do others want me or need me to do? What… The post What do you want? first appeared on Suzi McAlpine | The Art of Leadership.

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Suzi McAlpine

NOVEMBER 28, 2022

I have three close girlfriends who are “my people”. They’re the ones I’d call first when the thing I fear the most happens. The ones I send ugly face, greasy hair pics to on a far too regular basis. They’re the humans who have hugged me, and have sat quietly beside me with compassion and… The post What your closest friendships can teach you about how to be a better leader first appeared on Suzi McAlpine | The Art of Leadership.

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Suzi McAlpine

NOVEMBER 15, 2022

Chances are, by the time you read this blog today at work, you’ve already had to deal with a problem or two. Solving situations, diffusing disagreements, fighting fires. These are par for the course as a leader. You might have encountered a big, strategic problem like how do we ensure our business is futureproofed when… The post Three simple ways to tackle problems better as a leader first appeared on Suzi McAlpine | The Art of Leadership.

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Suzi McAlpine

NOVEMBER 2, 2022

So, you have a team member who isn’t performing. It’s easy in this situation for leaders to fall prey to the fundamental attribution error where we attribute another’s actions to their character or personality, while attributing our own behaviour to external situational factors outside of our control. In other words, we tend to cut ourselves… The post Getting clear on expectations with the GETSET model first appeared on Suzi McAlpine | The Art of Leadership.

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Suzi McAlpine

OCTOBER 18, 2022

I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer, but burnout doesn’t seem to be going away. In fact, since I published my book Beyond Burnout in 2020, rates of burnout around the world have soared. We can’t go blaming the pandemic for all our burnout woes (it was on the rise prior to covid-19). But… The post Taking bookings for 2023 first appeared on Suzi McAlpine | The Art of Leadership.

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Suzi McAlpine

SEPTEMBER 30, 2022

Ten years ago yesterday, stomach in knots and feeling like a fraud, I pressed ‘publish’ on my first blog for The Leader’s Digest. And so began one of the best endeavours of my professional life. Writing this blog has improved my writing skills. It paved the way for me to write my bestselling book, Beyond… The post Happy 10th Birthday to The Leader’s Digest!

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Suzi McAlpine

SEPTEMBER 21, 2022

High performance in teams doesn’t happen by accident. When I think about the teams I’ve been part of where we performed really well over time, in each case, this high performance wasn’t accidental. It was carefully nurtured by the leader of that team. These leaders were purposeful in doing a few specific things. Here are… The post Five ways to build a high-performance team culture first appeared on Suzi McAlpine | The Art of Leadership.

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Suzi McAlpine

SEPTEMBER 7, 2022

There’s a skill that’s one of the most important for leaders to get better at right now. It’s nothing new. No trending buzzword like ‘the great resignation’ or ‘quiet quitting’. But although it might not be in vogue, it’s a skill every leader should start brushing up on. And soon. What am I talking about?… The post Sensemaking: What it is, why it’s important right now – and how you can get better at it first appeared on Suzi McAlpine | The Art of Leadership.

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Suzi McAlpine

AUGUST 23, 2022

Groov is an organisation I’m a huge fan of. It started when Sir John Kirwan – a founder of Groov – agreed to write the Foreword of my book Beyond Burnout. Since then I’ve had some great conversations with JK and done a customer-exclusive webinar with Dr Fiona Crichton. This is an article I wrote… The post When it comes to burnout, what’s the latest – and what’s working?

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Suzi McAlpine

AUGUST 9, 2022

We feel more positive about our work when we can use our strengths to do it. When we work from our strengths, we feel energised, it increases our emotional fulfilment, and in essence, we feel strong. Strengths are where what we enjoy doing and what we’re good at meet. I’m sometimes surprised at how… The post Are you operating in your sweet spot?

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Operations 323

Suzi McAlpine

JULY 26, 2022

There are loads of benefits to working remotely. For one, we can roll out of bed with time for a workout, wear trackpants on our lower half all day and cook up a storm in our home kitchens at lunchtime – all obvious perks! But leading remotely can bring its challenges. That lack of face-time… The post 8 tips for leading a team remotely first appeared on Suzi McAlpine | The Art of Leadership.

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Benefits 284

Suzi McAlpine

JULY 12, 2022

If the last two years have shown us anything, it’s that rapid and unpredictable change is unprecedented – as is the unprecedented use of the word ‘unprecedented‘ I might add. You might have heard of the nifty little acronym VUCA. It’s on steroids right now. Responding to the pandemic, climate change, supply chain issues, hybrid… The post The most important leadership qualities to develop in 2022 first appeared on Suzi McAlpine | The Art of Leadership.

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