Illuminate the Change: Making decisions visibly as a leader

"Seeing is believing". And within the organisations we work with, people want to believe; believe in the purpose, believe in their leaders, believe in their own personal convictions about this place that they've decided to commit the majority of their waking hours towards.

When we illuminate our decision-making process, we make our leadership of change believable. That's because we're not just shedding light on the outcomes; we're spotlighting the rationale, the inclusivity, the rigour, and the alignment with organisational values that underpin those outcomes. We’re demonstrating how decisions align with the change objectives and how they contribute to the broader vision of the organisation.

More importantly and on the flipside...in the absence of being told the story, people will make up their own!

Our Sixth Principle of Change is "Make decisions visibly", so this article spotlights some of our favourite decision-making tools and pragmatic tips on how to give a sense of visibility for even the most sensitive of changes.

Change, Leadership, Org DevelopmentMark Winter23 August 2023Change, Agile, LeadershipComment

Change at the core: connecting to meaning and purpose

"People don't buy WHAT you do; they buy WHY you do it."

There is a striking poignancy to these words, 14 years on from when Simon Sinek enshrined them in TED Talk immortality.

Every client, I will ever work with...I will start with the Why. It's a pragmatic approach: people aren't resistant to change; they're resistant to change that doesn't make sense.

(Luckily, we at Apricot enjoy that 'sense making' work, irrespective of the layers of complexity and emotionally charged narratives of "yesterday".)

"Align change with what matters" is our First Principle of Change, which unsurprisingly mirrors our hallmark Apricot Health Index.

But how does that come to life in an organisational setting? I give my explainer in this article, plus give some tips on how to make even the most mundane of organisational change have some sense of meaning and importance.

#change #meaning #purpose

Org Development, LeadershipMark Winter13 July 2023Purpose, Meaning, ChangeComment

The biggest mistake I see leaders make: the planning fallacy

In crafting up the final touches on Apricot's First Principles of Change (coming soon 👀) I revisited the most consistent guidance I give to leaders and their teams: know what the Planning Fallacy is and actively outsmart it.

The Planning Fallacy is a cognitive bias where individuals underestimate the cost, time, and risks involved in a project while simultaneously overestimating their own previous experience and capabilities.

It's important to grasp the duality of this; we underestimate tangibles and "knowns" (cost, time and risks)...yet we overestimate the intangibles of 'experience' and capability. Take a quick moment to reflect, on how much of organisational life is skewed towards a trust in experience - sometimes for very good reason, but not without consequence.

And the real shocker: if you give highly experienced leaders, new information which challenges their original planning estimates...they tend to be reluctant to change it! 😧

Reasons why this happens and some high-level guidance on mitigating the Planning Fallacy in the full article, but working through the unique cultural nuances and particular 'friction points' within organisations is the kind of work we love ❤️

#change #projectmanagement #organisationaldevelopment

Beyond 'Making Your Bed': Prioritising Effectiveness over Efficiency

Forget about making your bed first thing in the morning! My objection: as we meticulously straighten our sheets and fluff our pillows, are we priming ourselves just to "be busy"?

Here's my wake-up call to continually fight the organisational inertia towards just doing tasks for the sake of them - and realise how this default thinking can steer us away from the most meaningful and impactful work.

#leadership #change #coaching

Performance, Org DevelopmentMark Winter25 June 2023effectivenessComment

How well do you really know Australia?

As a Performance Coach and Talent Manager for Campbell Page, I experienced one of the most significant growth periods of my life. My travels suddenly took me through vast swathes of this wonderful country - yet far from the tourist routes. From Warwick to Moruya, Moe to Elizabeth (and 54 other places, if we're counting ✈ ) I watched dedicated managers trying to make a difference in their local communities.

Performance, Org DevelopmentMark Winter17 April 2023