The leadership blind spot: are your people experiencing the workplace you think they are?
Quite often, I’ll meet with a business leader who’s adamant they don’t have a culture issue. They know their people. They’re accessible. They care about doing the right thing. But when I ask how they know what work feels like for their employees, they’ve never measured it. Then we’ll talk about turnover. “Okay, so half […]
What Happens When We Remove the First Rung?
This blog is taken from The Real Work magazine | Edition 4 | coming in December 2026. The Real Work is a print magazine about work, culture, and the decisions that shape how people actually experience their jobs. Discover it here. A few months ago, an article on the front page of our local paper […]
The Social Contract of Work
Maybe the problem isn’t that employees have become less loyal. Maybe the deal changed. We spend a lot of time talking about employee engagement. Why people leave. Why they stay. Why they’re burnt out. Why they don’t seem as committed as they once were. Why employers are struggling to attract people, even when the salary […]
So… what actually matters more? Pay or employment conditions?
If you ask most business owners this question, the conversation usually lands in the same place. “People only care about money now.” And look — in a cost-of-living crisis? Of course pay matters.People need to pay rent. Feed their kids. Fill the fuel tank without having a small emotional breakdown at the bowser. But here’s […]
Employees as consumers: the shift most businesses are still avoiding
Let’s call it what it is. Most businesses track their customers better than they understand their own people. They know what customers buy, when they buy it, what they click on, what they abandon halfway through. They adjust pricing, messaging, and offers based on behaviour. But when it comes to employees? Annual survey.Maybe. And even […]
What shaped how you work – and is it time to update it?
We all bring a work origin story into the workplace — shaped by technology, leadership, and the world we grew up in. This article explores how those stories influence behaviour, why generational tension isn’t about attitude, and whether it’s time to let go of narratives that no longer serve us.
What my CliftonStrengths report taught me about how I work – and why it matters
I first completed my CliftonStrengths assessment back in 2019 as part of a leadership masterclass through Business Chicks. Coming from a HR and recruitment background I was more than familiar with the range of personality / aptitude / capability tools out there. But this? This was different. What I didn’t expect was how accurately the […]
Why employee engagement is a business strategy, not an HR initiative
Alright, let’s talk about employee engagement. Not the tick a box kind. Not the annual “how are you feeling?” survey that gets talked about for a few weeks and no clear next step. I’m talking about engagement that actually moves the dial on retention, performance and profit. Because the culture we create really does matter. […]
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