John Barton is the CEO of MGD, a Brisbane based wealth management company. What struck me when we first met, many years ago, was his generosity in sharing his knowledge and his time. 

John is driven by an absolute focus on values, quality, teamwork and corporate citizenship, and while this is apparent in his work, it also comes across in his volunteer community work. He is currently the Chair of Business South Bank and sits on the board of the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital Foundation. 

He has almost 30 years experience in banking, financial services and wealth management roles, and, unsurprisingly, a strong focus on the charitable and not-for-profit sector as part of MGD’s Philanthropic Advisory team. He is also fascinated by the area of behavioural economics – the study of emotions and psychology and how they influence real-world finance and investment decisions.

Away from the office, John is a regular cyclist and is frequently seen riding his bike in and around Brisbane. He also enjoys golf and sharing a good cabernet.

You can connect with John at www.mgdwealth.com.au and on LinkedIn or Twitter.

You can listen to this episode via the link below, on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or via the podcast app on your smartphone. 

What John Barton and I talked about:

• We are social beings

 You can connect with me on LinkedIn or Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #thisconnectedlife and tagging me @melkettle.

Mel Kettle is all about connection, communication and collaboration. She works with CEOs, leaders and teams to help them better communicate and collaborate (online AND offline) to achieve better relationships, revenue and results. Mel is a facilitator, trainer, speaker, author and mentor who provides practical advice that achieves results while having some fun! Download her latest whitepaper, The Social CEO – from invisible to influencer or order a signed copy of her book, The Social Association. To inquire about working with Mel, please email [email protected] or call her on 0404 600 889.

How do you ask, listen and observe?

In this podcast episode, I talk about how we ask, listen and observe.

There’s nothing like having to run much of your life through a video screen to realise that you need to brush up on your asking, listening and observational skills! Can you relate? 

One of the most challenging aspects of our COVID-19 normal is that we are no longer able to connect and engage with our people in many of the same ways we have previously. There are no more face-to-face meetings. No more in-person events. No more quick conversations in the corridors or lunch-rooms or as you pass by a colleague’s desk. 

Our primary form of communication now is either over the phone or, more likely, using some sort of video-conferencing technology. Whether you are using FaceTime, Zoom, MS Teams, BlueJeans, or even Houseparty, many of our usual non-verbal communication cues are more difficult to identify, if not completely absent. 

This is why it’s even more critical that we are aware of how and when we ask questions. Whether we are truly listening, and what, and how much, we are observing of the other person or people we are connecting with. 

In this episode you will learn:

• Why we need to ask questions

What are you asking? How are you listening? And what are you observing about your people? (And, what do you think they are observing about you?!)

You can connect with me on LinkedIn, Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #thisconnectedlife and tagging me @melkettle.

I feel like I say this ALL THE TIME, but I loved this conversation with Zoë Routh. We met about three years ago when I joined Thought Leaders Business School, and I liked her immediately! We have loads of things in common – a love of food and travel, pet chickens, and we both have close ties with Canada.

Professionally, Zoë is a leadership expert specialising in the people stuff. She shows leaders and teams struggling with office politics and silos how to work better together.

She is also the author of three books, with her fourth book, People Stuff - the power of perspective for better leadership, due out mid-2020.

Zoë is also the producer of the Zoë Routh Leadership Podcast, dedicated to exploring perspective in people stuff so we can live and lead better.

Zoë is an outdoor adventurist and enjoys telemark skiing, has run 6 marathons, is a one-time belly-dancer, has survived cancer, and loves hiking in the high country. She is married to a gorgeous Aussie and is mother to a few garden-wrecking chooks.

You can connect with Zoe at www.zoerouth.com and on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

You can listen to this episode via the link above, on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or via the podcast app on your smartphone.

What Zoë Routh and I talked about

• Having chickens at pets

You can connect with me on LinkedIn or Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #thisconnectedlife and tagging me @melkettle

Are we all sick of Zoom yet? I’ve been averaging about 20 hours a week on Zoom, and last week was closer to 30 as I was on an online course for four days.

Let me tell you, it’s been an energy KILLER.

Which is fitting as this episode is about managing your energy.

A critical component of leadership is knowing and managing your own energy levels.

Albert Einstein said everything is about energy.

And he is completely right. Because if we don't have energy, we don't have the ability to do what we want to do or what we need to do in life. 

In this episode I talk about:

• The types of energy – physical, emotional and spiritual

What gives you energy? And what saps it?

Thanks so much for listening! Please subscribe if you haven't, so you don't miss an episode. 

You can connect with me on LinkedIn or Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #thisconnectedlife and tagging me @melkettle

• Doctors are not gods

• Space Conference, Byron Bay

• Coping with changing routines

• Brené Brown

• being a Super-Connector