A Brilliant Gamble

Behind all of my work with clients is a kind of screensaver - a story or image of the working future we can all look forward to. Bots and AI taking their place alongside human workers, small companies of primarily freelance workers, a possible shortage of jobs and need for a universal living wage, a diverse multi-generational workforce...I could go on. And in this episode I do! This week I share with you some of the elements of my screensaver. And whenever I'm having a conversation with a client, no matter how practical or immediate the topic, at some level I'm also connected with this screensaver, asking myself "How does this scenario relate to the future world I can see in my mind's eye? And what kind of leader can this person be TODAY whilst being congruent with the world of tomorrow?". I'm always thinking about how today's decisions either prepare the ground well for what's coming or prepare the ground badly for what's coming. And the guidance I give today always has that perspective built in. I hope you find today's thoughts interesting. Please stay in touch and share your own ideas on Instagram (@blairelyspalmer), Twitter (@blairepalmer) or email ([email protected]. And please, please, please write a review for iTunes as it helps people find us.

Behind all of my work with clients is a kind of screensaver - a story or image of the working future we can all look forward to. Bots and AI taking their place alongside human workers, small companies of primarily freelance workers, a possible shortage of jobs and need for a universal living wage, a diverse multi-generational workforce...I could go on. And in this episode I do! This week I share with you some of the elements of my screensaver. And whenever I'm having a conversation with a client, no matter how practical or immediate the topic, at some level I'm also connected with this screensaver, asking myself "How does this scenario relate to the future world I can see in my mind's eye? And what kind of leader can this person be TODAY whilst being congruent with the world of tomorrow?". I'm always thinking about how today's decisions either prepare the ground well for what's coming or prepare the ground badly for what's coming. And the guidance I give today always has that perspective built in. I hope you find today's thoughts interesting. Please stay in touch and share your own ideas on Instagram (@blairelyspalmer), Twitter (@blairepalmer) or email ([email protected]. And please, please, please write a review for iTunes as it helps people find us.

You'd think the tricky bit of having a team would be the people on that team. But in my experience the really tricky relationship is with your boss! I use that term advisedly. I don't mean the relationship you have with a true leader. I do mean the relationship you have with your manager when your manager embodies a "boss" mentality to get you to get stuff done. Not everything I suggest in this podcast is going to work for you. Every situation is unique. But you will notice that I put the responsibility for re-thinking how you approach this relationship on you. That's not because you're the problem! But it is because you are listening to this podcast, it's you I'm able to talk to and it's you who is highly motivated to change something. If you change how you see this relationship at least 50% of the dynamic is changed...and that might be enough. If it isn't you may have to consider a more radical course of action. I hope you enjoy listening and find the ideas provoke some thoughts of your own. Please feel free to share your feedback, stories and tips on twitter (@blairepalmer), instagram (@blairelyspalmer) and email ([email protected]). And please leave a review on iTunes as it really, really helps other listeners find us. Maybe your boss will tune in and that will help you! (Picture credit @benhughesart)

You'd think the tricky bit of having a team would be the people on that team. But in my experience the really tricky relationship is with your boss! I use that term advisedly. I don't mean the relationship you have with a true leader. I do mean the relationship you have with your manager when your manager embodies a "boss" mentality to get you to get stuff done. Not everything I suggest in this podcast is going to work for you. Every situation is unique. But you will notice that I put the responsibility for re-thinking how you approach this relationship on you. That's not because you're the problem! But it is because you are listening to this podcast, it's you I'm able to talk to and it's you who is highly motivated to change something. If you change how you see this relationship at least 50% of the dynamic is changed...and that might be enough. If it isn't you may have to consider a more radical course of action. I hope you enjoy listening and find the ideas provoke some thoughts of your own. Please feel free to share your feedback, stories and tips on twitter (@blairepalmer), instagram (@blairelyspalmer) and email ([email protected]). And please leave a review on iTunes as it really, really helps other listeners find us. Maybe your boss will tune in and that will help you! (Picture credit @benhughesart)

I don't really like the term delegation. Or empowerment. Or any of those other cliches for describing how loosely or tightly managers hold on to work they've distributed to others. But in the current system we have, you may well be in the position of having to divvy up work amongst your team and then make sure they do it. How do you do that in a way that is as close to empowering as you can get and makes the most of the incredible talent you have around you? And why don't people always grasp the opportunity to step up even when they've asked for it? That's today's podcast topic! Feel free to share your thoughts on Twitter (@blairepalmer), Instagram (@blairelyspalmer) or email me ([email protected]. And please rate and review this podcast on iTunes as it helps more people find us! Thank you!

I don't really like the term delegation. Or empowerment. Or any of those other cliches for describing how loosely or tightly managers hold on to work they've distributed to others. But in the current system we have, you may well be in the position of having to divvy up work amongst your team and then make sure they do it. How do you do that in a way that is as close to empowering as you can get and makes the most of the incredible talent you have around you? And why don't people always grasp the opportunity to step up even when they've asked for it? That's today's podcast topic! Feel free to share your thoughts on Twitter (@blairepalmer), Instagram (@blairelyspalmer) or email me ([email protected]. And please rate and review this podcast on iTunes as it helps more people find us! Thank you!

Sounds like an obvious question with an obvious answer, right? But maybe it's worth really thinking about it. Because we pay a huge price for our work in terms of our health, our freedom, our time, our priorities. Yes, work is an enabler for other things. It give us the money to make choices. And we may really enjoy the work itself. But what if the price is too high? How can you find the right place for work in your life alongside everything else that matters to you? In this episode I muse on the purpose of work in our fast changing world. Please do share your thoughts and stories with me on our Punks in Suits Facebook page, via twitter (@blairepalmer), Instagram (@blairelyspalmer) or by email ([email protected]). And please review this podcast on iTunes as it helps us move up the ranking and allows more people to find us. Thanks!

Sounds like an obvious question with an obvious answer, right? But maybe it's worth really thinking about it. Because we pay a huge price for our work in terms of our health, our freedom, our time, our priorities. Yes, work is an enabler for other things. It give us the money to make choices. And we may really enjoy the work itself. But what if the price is too high? How can you find the right place for work in your life alongside everything else that matters to you? In this episode I muse on the purpose of work in our fast changing world. Please do share your thoughts and stories with me on our Punks in Suits Facebook page, via twitter (@blairepalmer), Instagram (@blairelyspalmer) or by email ([email protected]). And please review this podcast on iTunes as it helps us move up the ranking and allows more people to find us. Thanks!

We are back! Series 2 of the Punks in Suits podcast is here. Over the summer I've been reading and making connections between what I've been learning about and leadership. I've had a few a ha moments! Today's topic is Integration, specifically, how integrated the different parts of your life are. If your life is out of whack in one area, e.g. work dominating, no amount of coaching, therapy or meditation will give you a sense of peace. If you want to share your experiences of blending the boundaries between work and the rest of your life or the challenges you are having trying to do that (no one said it was going to be easy), we'd love to hear from you! Twitter: @blairepalmer Instagram: @blairelyspalmer Email: [email protected] And please rate this podcast on iTunes as that pushes it up the rankings and we get more people listening! Thank you!

We are back! Series 2 of the Punks in Suits podcast is here. Over the summer I've been reading and making connections between what I've been learning about and leadership. I've had a few a ha moments! Today's topic is Integration, specifically, how integrated the different parts of your life are. If your life is out of whack in one area, e.g. work dominating, no amount of coaching, therapy or meditation will give you a sense of peace. If you want to share your experiences of blending the boundaries between work and the rest of your life or the challenges you are having trying to do that (no one said it was going to be easy), we'd love to hear from you! Twitter: @blairepalmer Instagram: @blairelyspalmer Email: [email protected] And please rate this podcast on iTunes as that pushes it up the rankings and we get more people listening! Thank you!