We love just about everything that Malcolm Gladwell has written but during this, the week of International Women’s Day his recollection of the story of Ms Abbie Conant, American musician being selected and then unselected as the lead trombonist in the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra strikes us as pertinent (Blink Penguin Books 2005).
2 min read
Cracking the Code for True Equity
By Will Martin on 9 March 2023 5:44:32 PM
Topics: Leadership Inclusivity International Women's Day Embrace Equity
1 min read
Humility is a Super Power
By Will Martin on 27 May 2021 7:04:23 PM
In a recent bit of sport commentary, I heard a broadcaster say of a player “from up here in the box I always thought him to be a humble man, but his teammates tell me he’s actually very confident”. This made me reflect on how frequently I hear people mix up the complex relationship between humility and confidence.
Topics: Leadership Leadership Behaviours Humility
1 min read
Loyalty must go both ways
By Will Martin on 30 April 2021 3:33:51 PM
I remember a line in an old war movie. A wise old Colonel is telling a young officer “on the battlefield you represent me and the way you represent me, reflects on me”.
Topics: Leadership Leader in Service Leadership Behaviours
1 min read
Trust, Loyalty and Service
By Helen Martin on 23 April 2021 4:44:56 PM
My great-grandfather Edwin (Ted) Leane was one of The Fighting Leanes of Prospect – once called the “most famous family of soldiers in Australian history” by historian and war correspondent, Charles Bean.
Topics: Leadership Leader in Service Leadership Behaviours
1 min read
Leadership, Culture and Values
By Will Martin on 9 February 2021 4:32:25 PM
As an active Navy reservist, I watched with interest late in 2020 as the Department of Defence took seven sets of intra-Defence organisational Values (Navy, Army, RAAF, Special Ops Command, Australian Public Service, Australian Defence Force Academy and Cadets), poured them into a big values magi-mix and produced a new set of Defence Values…a sort of ‘one size fits all’. There was very sound strategic reason for this, specifically the ongoing push for “better alignment in support of a stronger, more capable, Joint and integrated Force”.
Topics: Leadership Values Culture
4 min read
Teamicide kills creativity
By Will Martin on 6 October 2020 3:14:43 PM
One way a leader can murder team performance is to selfishly place themselves in the middle of everything, right in the hub. Picture an old sailing ship helm. Hub in the middle, spokes and a rim at the outer limit. This is hardly original thinking but in my mind if the leader is in the hub, team members sit on the handles that protrude from the outer rim and the spokes are lines of communication.