Conversations with Thought Leaders

DATE: 14 July 2021

HOST: David Webley, Founder & MD of Granite Consulting

GUEST: Dr. Kay Bretz – Author, Facilitator, Executive Coach, Keynote

Speaker, and Elite Athlete

This conversation explores the mental preparation of competing in ultra marathons and how these techniques can be applied to everyone's work and life challenges.

INSIGHT 1  To achieve step level gain, rather than just marginal gains, a fundamental shift in mindset is required. Although doing bits and pieces may enable the one percenters, it’s necessary to deliberately diverge from your default, to turn right instead of left, to attain your 22% step level improvement.

INSIGHT 2  We all have our limiting beliefs that are self-fulfilling and provide a safety net in work and life. It’s not until we honestly confront and dispel these limiting beliefs, which takes courage and vulnerability, that our true potential can be realised.

INSIGHT 3  When we accept that pain and discomfort is an essential part of the journey, and from which we learn the most, we can embrace it and use it as fuel for growth. Resisting pain can cause more suffering than the pain itself, and by accepting it, will often allow the discomfort to dissipate.

DATE: 9 June 2021

HOST: David Webley, Founder & MD of Granite Consulting

GUEST: Bill Davoren – High Performance Coach Development Manager, Australian Institute of Sport (AIS)

This conversation explores what high performance development looks like at an elite athlete level, and whether any parallels can be drawn to manage the performance of individuals and teams in the business world.

INSIGHT 1 When individual team members are prepared to make personal sacrifice to put team ahead of self, team performance is raised to a new level. This is where a team of champions can become a champion team, and the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

INSIGHT 2 There’s no point striving for the final percent of marginal gain until the ninety nine percent has first been attained. For teams and individuals at this level, the focus is then often more about maintaining, rather than attaining, their leadership position.

INSIGHT 3 As teams and individuals ascend to higher levels of performance, mental strength and resilience is of growing focus. At the elite level, it is usually mental strength, rather than physical talent, that is the differentiator.

DATE: 14 April 2021

HOST:

David Webley, Founder & MD of Granite Consulting

GUEST:

Geoff Purcell - Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Melbourne Water

This conversation explores the growth of Digital in organisations and across the community, how it has been expedited by COVID and social distancing, and the human impacts that leaders need to recognise and accommodate.

INSIGHT 1 As Digital becomes more pervasive, the boundaries between IT and the business are fading.  IT is being driven from the back to the front office, and technologists are becoming a more critical contributor to the broader business discussion.

INSIGHT 2 For technologists to truly add value, they not only need to understand the business, but also to nurture and strengthen their relationships with their colleagues within it.

INSIGHT 3 Managing the impact that the rise of Digital has on culture, one size does not fit all.  Apart from a principle of ensuring no one feels isolated, each team should have the autonomy of putting in place what works best for them.

DATE: 10 March 2021

HOST:

David Webley, Founder & MD of Granite Consulting

GUEST:

Professor Ken Sloan - Dep. Vice Chancellor, Monash University

This conversation explores the evolving corporate landscape and challenges leaders now face on a day to day basis.  It includes the importance of nurturing the right mindset that enables a leader to leverage the opportunities that adversity can present.

INSIGHT 1 2016 was a pivotal year.  As much as 2020 has transformed the world, 2016 was when there were a number of unexpected changes (such as BREXIT and the US election result) that marked a turn in the pendulum and started presenting substantial new challenges and adversity for leaders to navigate.

INSIGHT 2 The challenges of new ways of working are equal to the benefits. Leaders need to nurture a balanced and optimistic mindset that is both empathetic to how different people may be impacted, as well as proactive to leverage the opportunities it presents.

INSIGHT 3 Leaders need to move beyond response mode.  The leader's 'to do' list should not only include tactical items that are reactive by nature, but should also include proactive items that are 'operational' and 'strategic'.

TOPICS:

DATE: 24 February 2021

HOST:

David Webley, Founder & MD of Granite Consulting

GUESTS:

Renata Sguario - Founder & CEO Maxme

This conversation explores Human Skills. Their importance, not only in the workplace, but also in life in general. The growing gap in Human Skills that new virtual ways of working has highlighted and expedited, and how individuals and organisations can go about bridging that gap.

INSIGHT 1 In the new world of remote working, human skills are becoming more important and the gap far more evident.

INSIGHT 2 Uplifting human skills is more than just getting ahead.  Uplifting human skills will improve your sense of wellbeing and make you feel better about your life in general.

INSIGHT 3 Listening is a fundamental human skill and is the difference between listening to understand rather than just listening to respond.

TOPICS COVERED:

GETTING SH*T DONE IN UNCERTAINTY  

DATE: 25 November 2020 

HOST: David Webley, Founder & MD of Granite Consulting 

GUESTS: Julia Steel, Speaker, Author, Facilitator, & Coach  

This episode of CWTLeaders explores the obstacles and constraints during times of uncertainty, and provides insights to developing a mindset to overcome them.   

KEY INSIGHTS  

1. In time we will see the positive impact on culture that 2020 challenges has had. 

2. This year has provided great opportunity to pause, reflect, and adjust. 

3. Recognising what's important, rather than what's urgent, will enable what matters. 

4. It's the situation that's uncertain, not ourselves, and we have control of how we respond. 

5. Uncertainty doesn't diminish our enduring capabilities to overcome challenges and thrive..   

TABLE OF CONTENTS (PODCAST @ Spotify)  

05m30   Julia's Journey   & Backstory   

09m00   Impacts of 2020 on   Productivity   

12m30   Employee Expectations   

15m00   Building Virtual   Teams   

17m00   Impacts of 2020 on   Culture   

24m30   Removing the   Obstacles   

26m30   Mindset Reset During   Uncertainty   

27m30   Developing New Habits   

42m00   Building   Relationships Virtually   

44m45   Focus on What Matters   

50m15   2021 Cause for   Optimism

This conversation was part of an online forum that took place on Wednesday 25 November 2020, with attendees joining and posing questions from all around the world.

THE ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET - HOW ANYONE CAN BECOME FEARLESS AND GROW

DATE: 11 November 2020 

HOST: David Webley, Founder & MD of Granite Consulting 

GUESTS: Jo Burston, Founder & CEO Inspiring Rare Birds  

This episode of CWTLeaders explores entrepreneurship, how people can turn their passions into their livelihood, and the difference between a growth and fixed mindset.   

KEY INSIGHTS  

1. A passion for the cause and backing yourself are essential to entrepreneurial success. 

2. Failures are inevitable when pushing boundaries and should be leveraged to learn and grow.  

3. Adversity provides the impetus for innovation to occur. 

4. Your people must be exceptionally change ready to seize emerging business opportunities. 

5. Diversity nurtures different ways of thinking, yielding greater ideation and problem solving. 

6. A growth mindset helps to leverage failures, build resilience, learn and grow.  

TABLE OF CONTENTS (PODCAST @ Spotify)  

# The Catalyst for Change 

# By Accident or Design 

# Importance of Passion 

# Innovation from Adversity 

# Hiring for Human Skills 

# Fixed v Growth Mindset  

This conversation was part of an online forum that took place on Wednesday 11 November 2020, with attendees joining and posing questions from all around the world.

LEADING THE LEADERS  

DATE: 28 October 2020 

HOST:

David Webley, Founder & MD of Granite Consulting 

GUESTS: 

Tim Way, Managing Director & Career Coach, The Career Conversation 

Alana Bennett, Human Experience Fanatic & Coach, Connected Experience  

This episode of CWTLeaders explores the latest views and insights on leadership, with a particular focus on leaders who have leaders within their team, and how they should approach their role differently.   

KEY INSIGHTS  

1. Leadership is about shedding ego and enabling others to shine. 

2. Don't under-estimate the significance of the human element. 

3. Focusing on impact, rather than deliverables, will nurture trust and grow engagement. 

4. The right language will help people get to know each other and work together better. 

5. Leadership isn't easy, and it's important to make time for self care, to do it well. 

6. Personal branding looks different in a remote working world, and shouldn't be forgotten. 

7. Unlike the traditional 'ladder', a 'lattice' is a different way of thinking of leadership and type of contribution to be made.   

TABLE OF CONTENTS (PODCAST @ Spotify)

# Leadership is Enabling Others 

# Shifting Emphasis of Leadership 

# Impact and Contribution Over Deliverables 

# Leading in a Virtual World 

# Ladder and Lattice Leadership, Different Ways to Contribute 

# Leadership in Self Managed Teams  

This conversation was part of an online forum that took place on Wednesday 28th October 2020, with attendees joining and posing questions from all around the world.

CULTURE FUELLED GROWTH

DATE: 14 October 2020

HOST: David Webley, Founder & MD of Granite Consulting

GUESTS:

Con Mouzouris, CEO, Mantel Group

Caroline Henshaw, Head of Culture and People, Mantel Group

This conversation shares the journey and insights of the Mantel Group, and its use of a Principle based culture to drive substantial growth (0 to 300 team members in just three years), as well as be awarded one of Australia’s Top 10 Places to Work.

INSIGHT 1

People are more engaged in small organisations. This type of engagement is able to be maintained in a growing organisation by limiting the size of each division to an optimum scale of ~150 people (as per Dunbar theory), a level up to which people are able to have meaningful relationships with each other.

INSIGHT 2

One advantage of remote working has been to create a level playing field between team members. Prior to COVID, people working in remote locations were alone when dialling into meetings where the rest of the team were co-located. Under COVID and the remote working practices it has introduced for most people, everyone is now dialling in and no-one feels on the outer.

INSIGHT 3

An uncompromising culture provides not only a sense of identity internally, but is also outward facing and something customers are able to recognise as an organisation they wish to do business with. A strong culture that is defined by Principles also means there is less need for internal rules and policies as the Principles themselves are able to guide the right behaviour.

TABLE OF CONTENTS (PODCAST @ Spotify)

09m45 Nurturing Culture

11m45 Uplifting Trust

13m30 Mantel Group Principles

17m45 Top 10 Places to Work

21m00 House of Brands

36m00 Mental Health

39m15 Customer Relationship

46m15 Future Plans

48m15 Difficult Stakeholders

49m15 Talent Acquisition

51m30 Resilience to Growth

This conversation was part of an online forum that took place on Wednesday 14thOctober 2020, with attendees joining and posing questions from all around the world.

CUSTOMER FOCUSED AGILE TRANSFORMATION

DATE: 30 September 2020

HOST: David Webley, Founder & MD of Granite Consulting

GUESTS: Mark Bain, GM Technology Fred IT Group

This conversation explores transformation journey by Fred IT Group to a Customer Centric SAFe delivery model.

INSIGHT 1

A fundamental part of transformation is first asking the hard questions, and being prepared to answer them honestly. Until you truly face into the underlying problems, you are not able to solve them.

INSIGHT 2

Putting the customer at the centre of every conversation has enabled Fred IT to solidify its purpose and objectives. Even executives who had been in the business for several decades admitted to discovering new things about the customer. Clarification of purpose and objectives through a customer lens has made work much more meaningful for staff and resulted in an uplift in productivity and morale.

INSIGHT 3

Although KPIs continue to be used in certain areas, a greater emphasis on OKRs (objectives and key results) has helped to define a customer centric approach.

TABLE OF CONTENTS (PODCAST @ Spotify)

00m15s  Welcome and Introductions

07m15s An overview of Fred IT, Customers and Products

11m30s The Imperative to Change

12m15s  High Level Approach and Selection of SAFe

21m45s What Worked Well

24m00s Improvement Opportunities

29m30s Could the Transformation have Occurred During COVID

31m15s  Onboarding New Team Members Virtually

32m45s A Customer Centric Approach

36m15s Purpose to Drive Engagement and Better Outcomes

39m00s Key Challenges Faced

40m15s Level of Visibility for Business Prioritisation

41m30s KPIs versus OKRs

46m00s Getting People Onboard

50m00s Advice for Tackling Change Resistance

This conversation was part of an online forum that took place on Wednesday 30th September 2020, with attendees joining and posing questions from all around the world.