Several years ago, I found myself in a scoping meeting at a prominent public sector health organisation. The room was filled with senior leaders eager to develop a set of values they believed would enhance the organisation’s performance. The proposed list was familiar: Integrity: Acting with honesty and transparency, adhering to strong ethical principles in…

If you’re a senior leader transitioning from an operational role, insights into becoming a wise elder might be just what you need. The heroic leader archetype has been glorified for too long, often leaving us, and our organisations, sluggish and inflexible. This model paints a picture of a powerful, charismatic figure leading from the front,…

This is a grassroots change programme. It is low-risk and high-reward. While not a quick fix, it fosters engagement that leads to sustained performance improvements across the organisation. Once implemented, this approach can be repeated cyclically, forming a foundation for ongoing continuous improvement. As with all change initiatives, it is easy to focus on the…

In the same way that life on our planet has developed, we can learn how to scale our businesses by observing and emulating nature’s strategies. Here are five elements where nature has taught us about successful growth and sustainability. These should all be part of a business growth health check. 1. Redundancy: Building Resilience Through…

How to Tell Whether Your Team Has Had a Good Day I’ve been consulting and coaching for 26 years, and one thing I’ve consistently noticed about managers is how much time they spend on administration compared to how little time they dedicate to performance. In fact, the situation seems to be getting worse. Before diving…

Introduction A Business Review is an essential process for evaluating how well a company operates. It looks at workflows, resource management, workplace culture, and overall efficiency to identify areas for improvement. The aim is to identify potential operational improvements, reduce inefficiencies, and enhance productivity. Typically conducted by productivity consultants, like those at Woodward Consulting Limited,…

Executive presence is your ability to inspire confidence among your peers, subordinates, and senior leaders, who are essential to your success. You must show that you are able, trustworthy, and a safe pair of hands with the potential for outstanding achievement.  Your executive presence will indicate whether you can deliver on your strategic objectives and…

Over many decades of working with organisations navigating transformation, I often hear staff talk about change fatigue. Change fatigue is associated with an expectation to take on many new working practices without being deeply engaged in them. These expectations frequently result from a strategic initiative developed at the executive level, where a knowledge of day-to-day…