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Coaching is a transformative, developmental partnership that empowers the person being coached to grow, navigate complexity, and achieve excellence. Anchored in trust, and the belief that everyone has the answers within them, it provides a reflective space to explore internal narratives, mindsets, behaviours, and goals. Coaching emphasizes heightened self-awareness, authenticity and sustained behavioural change.   Executed well, coaching inspires bold thinking, ignites intrinsic motivation and mindful action, enabling others to improve decision-making and elevate performance. It fosters transformation and drives success by creating a space for thoughtful contemplation and deliberate action in an increasingly fast-paced world.   Coaching is future focused, addressing professional challenges, while supporting holistic individual growth.   Checklist for Leaders: Thriving Through Coaching 1.     Self-Awareness and Reflective Practices o   Allocate time to pause and reflect choices, challenges and opportunities o   Ensure radical presence o   Observe personal strengths, blind spots, and triggers. o   Engage in deep reflective practices to recognize narratives, biases, beliefs and habitual actions and their impact on decisions. o   Foster a growth mindset. o   Recognize impact on others. o   Meta-cognition practice. 2.     Build Trust and Vulnerability o   Create safe spaces for open dialogue, transparency, vulnerability and feedback. o   Approach coaching with authenticity and a willingness to share challenges. o   Use coaching to explore and stretch beyond comfort zones. o   Develop the coaching relationship 3.     Challenge Habitual thinking o   Use coaching to explore and stretch beyond comfort zones. o   Challenge and refine thinking. o   Observe and act on thinking that is limiting personal growth o   Consider the immediate and longer-term. o   Explore options to transform leadership styles. o   Make more informed thoughtful and intentional choices. 4.     Adopt a Systemic Perspective o   Observe systems, including dynamics and culture. 5.     Embrace Continuous Learning and Behaviour Change o   Use adult learning principles: attention, reflect, apply + reflect for sustained change. o   Practice learned behaviours within your environment to reinforce change. 6.     Legacy and decision making o   Align leadership choices with personal and organizational values. o   Balance goals with self-care o   Identify a leadership legacy that inspires and influences others. o   Improve decision making and improve outcomes 7.     Recognize Boundaries o   Distinguish between coaching and therapy; focus on professional growth and future goals. o   Decide when personal challenges are relevant to bring into the coaching dialogue. 8.     Champion a Coaching Culture o   Embed coaching practices within the organization. o   Encourage team members to adopt reflective practices for improved performance. 9.     Address Rapid Change Effectively o   Create space for processing disruptions and adapting strategies. o   Embrace coaching as a tool to navigate complex, volatile environments.   Adopting these principles can maximize the value of coaching to support others in being at their best and cultivate a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Think about a great workplace experience, what words would you use to describe it? And then consider an unpleasant one?  That's often a question we ask when looking to describe workplace culture, we refer to things more often felt rather than seen .   Workplace culture sits beneath the surface.  When beliefs, values and ideologies are shared between colleagues pervasively and implicitly, they form workplace culture.  The core of what we do at PeopleQ is bringing visibility to workplace culture, so leaders can be intentional rather than passive towards it.   When something is visible, we are more likely to pay attention, without visibility, it's out of sight, out of mind.   Bringing visibility to workplace culture requires an organisational shift from thinking culture just happens.  From a passive leadership mindset to a more intentional, inclusive, and empowered leadership mindset where we proactively look for, and nurture potential, foster connection and trust and  turn the volume up on all voices  to make it a great place to work.  And there are numerous benefits to this. Productivity goes up.  Turnover reduces.  People are Happier at work.  Customer Satisfaction improves as a result.  Business flow is more rhythmic rather than irregular.    It’s all about the choices we make!  Today, the cost of disengagement in Australia is estimated at AU$211 billion annually. And low engagement typically culminates into an 18% reduction in productivity and results in higher turnover which is estimated to result in a $3.8b loss to productivity.  Yikes, disengagement + turnover amplify each other and productivity losses. Thriving shouldn't just be a word used to describe our workplaces, or on career pages and socials. It should be what people have the potential to experience at work.  And if we’re going to be intentional about nurturing a thriving workplace culture, we should also consider what is needed to protect it as people come and go from our workplaces.   For us, this means acknowledging the role of your Talent Team and Hiring Managers as first responders of workplace culture.  You heard it here at PeopleQ first, talent teams as First Responders of Workplace Culture!   As first responders, what considerations might be important when assessing potential employees for workplace culture.  We jotted down a few of our thoughts to share with you on this.    1️⃣Start with Inclusivity Identify if potential new employees are willing to listen to others with a curious mindset resting their judgments and biases, as well as show appreciation for others' contribution to foster belonging.  And share with them why inclusivity is so important to protecting your workplace culture, inviting them to imagine how they might contribute to this.    2️⃣Check in on Self-Awareness  There is no doubt this is the super-skill of the decade .  So take a moment to understand if your potential new employee is regularly flexing their self-awareness.  Self-reflection is a skill that enables a deeper sense of self, to stretch our habitual thinking patterns resulting in more productive choices for ourselves.  It signals a willingness to adapt and grow.     3️⃣Team Team Harmony doesn't mean avoiding robust discussions, it means a collective curious approach to improving the status quo whilst appreciating and inviting individual contribution.  So ask potential new employees what team harmony means to them and how they demonstrate appreciation for individual contribution whilst supporting the team to achieve greater outcomes as a collective.  What stories and experiences can they share, and if their team experiences have not been great because they’ve come from a poor workplace culture, then invite them to imagine themselves in your team’s environment and to describe what opportunities and growth they can see for themselves.  It's an interview and coaching question wrapped up in one!   4️⃣Accountable for culture We all contribute to workplace culture.  And therefore, we should all be accountable for workplace culture.  So set your potential new employee up for success and ask them what role that might play in being accountable for a thriving workplace culture.   As first responders of workplace culture we acknowledge it's not so black and white, here are a few things to consider to either adjust or finesse your approach.     What’s the Leader’s and Organisation's appetite for protecting/improving workplace culture?  The higher the appetite, the more creativity you can serve up.     It’s not as easy as assessing previous experience and capability, so decipher between what can be developed or nurtured versus what is nature.  And now would be a great time to consider a move away from personality assessments, personally we prefer a more skills based approach like hiring for emotional intelligence.    Honour diversity and neurodivergent talent in your processes.  We don't think the same and different environmental elements will either amplify our talents or have the opposite effect.  My son was recently diagnosed with mild ADHD, and I’m fairly certain, as my husband constantly reminds me, it came from me.  Environments that enable him to thrive will amplify his talents, but a leader who doesn't understand the divergence in thinking, will easily get frustrated with the lack of focus and quickly shut down any potential.     Skills Shortages can have a detrimental effect on an organisation's ability to fulfil its customer’s needs.  And so we get that in these periods, long hiring times could domino quickly and negatively impact the organisation.  In these times, be prepared for what you’re willing to sacrifice, get creative and proactively strategise for these periods with your employer branding efforts now.   Which leads us to the next point, building your employer brand brings enormous benefits.  Get to work and talk to experts like Brett Mitchington or Outhire for the latest tech in this space.  A strong employer brand can reduce the cost per hire by 50%. For more information on how PeopleQ can help support your workplace cultures to thrive, get in touch.  Speak to Melina Lipkiewicz (PeopleQ)  or Suria Ward  today.

I often hear people express a desire for a coach or a mentor, and when they share what they’re truly looking for, I feel a strong urge to clarify the differences between these two roles. Both are incredibly valuable, but they offer distinct outcomes, and understanding this can help you make a more informed choice.  Let’s take a moment to explore the pros and cons of each.  A mentor can play a vital role in sharing knowledge and insights. They help you build a solid understanding of issues related to your division or business performance, and may provide strategies to enhance your outcomes. Many people choose mentors based on their achievements, looking up to those who have paved the way in areas they aspire to grow in. A mentor becomes a trusted resource you tap into. In my own experience as a mentor in corporate, I've seen how mentees select mentors based on what they’ve accomplished, and I’ve been fortunate to mentor others eager to learn . External mentors are often selected because of their remarkable achievements in fields that resonate with our own aspirations, whether similar or adjacent.  It's a two-way relationship where mentors can also   learn from their mentees. This dynamic enriches the experience for both parties and results in bonds beyond the professional landscape.  The wisdom lies with the mentor, whose responsibility it is to impart it with their mentee.   It's a loosely structured professional relationship with a conversational approach. Talking time might be equal, but generally skewed towards the mentor who has the answers. Mentors don’t need specific qualifications and are generally selected based on their business achievements and accolades.   EMCC Global's definition of mentoring is; “Mentoring is a learning relationship, involving the sharing of skills, knowledge, and expertise between a mentor and mentee through developmental conversations, experience sharing, and role modelling. The relationship may cover a wide variety of contexts and is an inclusive two-way partnership for mutual learning that values differences.” A coach's role is a collaborative creative partnership, and it’s important to recognize how this dynamic differs from that of a mentor. In this relationship, the coach takes a step back to observe and listen holistically, noticing language, behaviour, action, somatics, beliefs, mindsets and assumptions. They ask thoughtful, powerful questions that encourage you to reflect on what matters most to you, helping to stretch your usual thought patterns to open up new possibilities and ways of being. This relationship is structured and intentional, built on a foundation of chemistry between you and your coach. Together, you identify objectives and aspirations, often working with an internal sponsor. The focus is very much on behavioural change and personal growth. A skilled coach creates a safe space for you to explore and rewrite your narratives, encouraging you to question any limiting beliefs that may be holding you back. The underlying belief is that you have the answers within you, and the coach’s role is to facilitate that discovery by providing a reflective environment that helps you tap into your own wisdom. A coach is a thinking and accountability partner where they require you to do the work, bring a point of focus to your sessions and commit to actions.  While a mentor may champion your journey, the coach holds you accountable for the work you choose to undertake To find out more about what coaching is, visit one of our previous blog here .   Coaches are required to be certified and credentialed and engage in ongoing learning.  To be a great coach requires that we get coached, it’s rare to find a coach who isn't being coached themselves! The ICF’s definition of coaching is; Partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. The process of coaching often unlocks previously untapped sources of imagination, productivity and leadership. Partnering with a coach is a game changer in business and life because the impact is sustainable change that's confidence boosting. To partner with one of our certified coaches, get in touch today and create the impact you desire. melina@peopleq.com.au I suria@peopoleq.com.au

People often inquire into your back story, and I do prefer keeping that conversation for more intimate in person settings, as most who work with me know. But perhaps it’s time to share a tiny bit more about WHY I am.  I am a change maker, an initiator, a start-her-upper, a risk-taker, a higher performer, a leader in my field. And I love working with Leaders.  I fell into leading at 21, fell being the operative word. I courageously put my hat in the ring for a leadership role I had no experience or qualifications for. NONE. ZILCH.  Someone believed in me ❤️ and as a result, he offered me my first leadership role in the Wealth sector, and then had to talk me into accepting it, as I spun out of control doubting myself. I still have visions standing in his office as he poured energy into building my confidence. I will never forget what Ian did for me. He gave me HOPE and a FUTURE when outside of work I was falling apart and subjected to partner abuse.  At that point in life, Ian became my 2nd hero after Dad. That moment changed everything for 3️⃣ reasons 👇 👇 👇  1️⃣ He believed in me when I should have believed in myself, Lesson 1  2️⃣ It was the start of what would be my calling, Lesson 2 3️⃣ It built my confidence which helped me say NO to partner abuse. Lessons 3 plus.  I’ve never really had interviews after that, I naturally evolved from role to role. Whilst I have spent most of my career in corporate, my leadership journey has invited me to 👉 initiate reform, lead change, centralise and do myself out of a role 👉 start-up teams, divisions, new products - Intrapreneur if you may and now entrepreneur 👉 turn around underperforming teams to award winning. I've managed businesses with budgets over $10M and under $1M. SIZE is irrelevant. The issues we face leading are comparable; 👉 Grow and continue growing regardless of market conditions 👉 Build your network, staying connected with customers regardless of position 👉 Accept rejection as a path to growth 👉 Balance being strategic and operational in the early phases 👉 Lean into to discomfort and have those difficult conversations 👉 Build the team's culture , get everyone collaborating and loving on each other!  👉 Inspire, motivate and build others’ confidence. Most importantly BELIEVE and back your people.  👉 Be comfortable that your people will outgrow your capabilities 👉 Deal with under performance productively 👉 Change to continuously improve and innovate to stay relevant 👉 Jump back from setbacks quickly, no time to wallow 👉 Everyone needs something from you, then you've got family who also need you. I’ve also learnt you can't go it alone. There is no leading without followers, your second follower is the most important of all. For they are the ones that back you whilst keeping everyone on the dance floor with you ❤️ - a shout out to Suria Ward ! For more information on our executive coaching services, email melina@peopleq.com.au

Did you get along to these amazing two days put on by The Hatchery?  If not, put it in your diary for 2025. Wow, what an amazing experience it was to be the MC for a line up of extraordinary women who captivated over 200 leaders with their stories, expertise, and wisdom! Throughout the summit there were many powerful moments that resonated with me and inspiring themes emerged over the course of those two incredible days. Here is my viewpoint of what emerged. Listen with Head, Heart and Gut! 🌟  Embrace the power of listening with your head, heart, and gut - Leigh Sales emphasized this which themed throughout the insightful advice shared by many of our speakers. Leigh also reminded us genuine listening is a highly skilled craft, and whilst I inherently know this as a coach, she illuminated the magic that unfolds when you listen beyond words.  🌈 Simple language and thoughtful questions can unlock profound insights beyond our imagination! Take what you need from feedback. Not everything is true, hold on to that. We are frequently bombarded with feedback, stories, and information, and as women, there is a tendency to feel accountable and take it all on board. No, you don't need to take it all . Be selective and decide what is true, important, and relevant to you. You absolutely deserve the seat!   If you're not at the table, you're on the menu.  Thank you April Lawrie - every woman in the room felt the power of this message. We embraced it, we cheered for it! This empowering message echoed throughout the entire event. Sandy Pitcher emphasized our right to be at the table , as did Julie Gillard. Theresa May urged us to believe in ourselves and embrace our strengths, echoing the sentiments of many other inspiring speakers. Empower yourself, Tame the inner critic. Women are more likely to underestimate their own abilities compared to men. We have a tendency to analyse situations thoroughly, absorb all feedback, and lead with empathy and understanding.  And it often leads us to under estimating our contribution and the value we bring, poking holes at what we are missing rather than celebrating what we are. Whilst these traits are admirable, it's time to inject assertiveness into the mix! Let's value our own opinions, speak up more and evaluate feedback received objectively instead of being overly self-critical as a result of it. Taming the inner critic is key to unleashing our full potential! Surround yourself with the right people.  Role Models, Mentors, Coaches, Ally's and Sponsors appeared in every woman’s story.  Have them in your corner. Asking for help and support is a testament to strength of character, not a flaw. Wherever you are on your path, seek them out, and when you witness other women on their journey, BE that for them.  Don't just find them, be them, imagine the change we would collectively create. Theresa May surrounded herself with trusted allies who offered invaluable feedback that propelled her towards her aspirations, as well as aiding her personal growth.  She emphasised the importance of nurturing these connections highlighting respect and mutual appreciation for each others input and worth as cornerstone to developing that trust. We’ve always believed at PeopleQ that trust is a lever for accelerating performance. Courage to dream, resilience to persist.  Pursue your dreams and develop your strengths with unwavering determination.  We witnessed through Helen Clark's story what achievements are possible when you do.   Theresa May emphasized the significance of her upbringing, where she viewed everyone equally and was encouraged to believe she could achieve anything she wanted. Are you actively fostering a similar environment and mindset for the next generation of leaders or are our biases subtly influencing us? Creating lasting change requires a multi-generational effort. Let's take a moment to reflect on how we can initiate change today and influence future generations positively. Theresa May also highlighted that criticism doesn't crush others, tone delivery and intent does. Leaders are not always the experts in giving (and receiving) feedback.  Use tone and delivery wisely and check-in on our intentions. Empowering leadership during challenging times! Jane Pickering from Eldercare discussed the essential qualities of leadership in times of crisis. She described the need to embody agility, optimism, fact-seeking, decisiveness, and a commitment to over-communicate. Communication, regular check-ins and seeking feedback fosters connection during uncertain times. And our ability to lead with empathy, kindness, and trust is paramount in guiding teams through adversity. Taking care of our expectations.  Our Panel on secret women's business delved into the challenges women face in silence while navigating the evolution of their bodies in preparing for and giving birth and post these years.  The powerful message here was that women work like we don't have children, and parent like we don't have jobs.  It's time to redefine our expectations and prioritise self care and shatter the veil of secrecy surrounding women's experiences. Leading with Purpose! All speakers were united by the powerful thread of purposefulness! A sense of purpose empowers us with clarity, resilience, and fortifies us with a strong sense of self and guarantees perspective. The significance of embracing purpose, serving others, prioritizing their needs above your own is the secret to making a positive impact, expanding your influence, and attracting support from others! Grab at Opportunity, the power of YES.  Say yes, don't criticise what you have or don't have, what you can or can't, most of these women said YES first, dealt with the rest after.  Another common theme through the summit but most interestingly emanating from the panel discussion on leading with authenticity.   Change is generational.  Inequity for Women still exists, and inequity for our First Nations people is heart-breaking.  I had the pleasure of meeting the extraordinary Dana Shen - her grace, clarity, understanding and unique talent for driving forward thinking ways to uplift diversity are unmatched. Dana and the panel brought awareness to the importance of allyship in contributing to a more diverse workplace and world. Over the two days it was apparent that we are only just scratching the surface on equity, on diversity, and to bring about real change, we must engage with both the current and future generations simultaneously and beyond. Hope to see you back at the summit in 2025! For more information on how PeopleQ can help, email melina@peopleq.com.au or suria@peopleq.com.au

Coaching is a reflective space, where you collaborate with someone experienced in holding space for you in a way that is trusting, safe and equally challenging so that you feel stretched.  The idea is that leaders quickly muscle up on new ways of being to keep bringing their best self to the workplace.   Most leaders consider their executive coach their hidden advantage  A reflective tap they can turn on when they need to turn up their decision-making capabilities. The range of topics brought into the coaching arena are wide, and link directly to the challenges leaders face daily. Core themes circle around a desire to work on themselves and muscle up their leadership skills and meta cognition to improve both capacity and capability, how to lift capability of other leaders and teams and organisational productivity, navigating challenging peer relationships whilst also collaborating and influencing peers, managing up - a Director, a CEO, a Chair to transforming workplace culture and planning for the future, to grow, to scale, to stay relevant! We dive into an array of area’s, dependent on what the leader is needing at the moment, and ready for.  A simple topic on time management can deep dive into procrastination and navigating a perfectionist mindset. Elevating confidence can rollercoaster into unpacking self-doubt, imposter syndrome and limiting beliefs to help leaders rewrite their narrative.   Coaching is a powerful partnership designed to help you unlock your potential and achieve your goals. It’s a supportive process where as skilled coaches we work with you to explore your aspirations, overcome obstacles and develop strategies tailored to your unique circumstances.  But why is coaching so important? Life and work can be challenging, and sometimes we need an extra hand to navigate through uncertainties. I should know, I’ve been in those shoes when access to a coach was limited and rare and an objective external perspective was critical to navigating the challenges ahead.  Luckily, I had a coach in my network I could tap into.  Having experienced it on the other side, and being told my strength is coaching other leaders, it made sense this became the path that keeps my cup overflowing.  I love what I get to do as a coach, it's an honour and a privilege to hold space for other leaders. Coaching provides a safe space for reflection, growth, and learning. It encourages you to tap into your strengths, gain clarity, and cultivate the skills you need to thrive as a leader.  Whether you’re wanting to enhance your leadership capabilities, foster personal development or navigate significant change, coaching can be a transformative experience, which is the feedback we receive from all our clients. Ultimately, coaching is about you—your journey, your growth, and your future. We’re just here to support you to realise your full potential! We offer executive coaching, leadership coaching, business coaching and integrated coaching as part of your leadership development programs. Let's get you coach matched! Reach out and tap into your hidden advantage today. melina@peopleq.com.au 0498 800 008 I suria@peopleq.com.au 0407776888

Suria and I recently discussed the importance of emotional literacy in emotional intelligence, exploring the connection to leadership and the benefits of having a precise vocabulary for emotions. We discussed how emotional intelligence (EQ) helps us understand and manage emotions in ourselves, and others, leading to better decision-making and relationships and through our personal experiences, highlighted how emotional awareness can prevent misunderstandings and conflicts. 💖Developing a robust emotional vocabulary ensures we are more precise in understanding and expressing our own emotions as well as those of others. This results in more effective open communication and understanding and enables a leader to exercise empathy and gain true insight into the viewpoints of others, to facilitate better decision-making. In challenging situations, unaddressed emotions can actually lead to dysfunction and discord. I should know, I've been here! Leaders with high emotional intelligence comprehend the importance of recognizing and managing emotions to effectively navigate complex situations. ✔️Emotional literacy is linked to leadership and decision-making. Being able to name and tame emotions helps leaders navigate complex, emotionally-charged scenarios more effectively. Leaders can sometimes mask their genuine emotions by using softer language like frustration, apprehensive of showing vulnerability which does nothing to aid trust. Identifying and naming emotions precisely can foster alignment and cultivate a more transparent and authentic group dynamic. In a situation I shared, this didn't occur and resulted in dysfunction and dire strait results, had we been more open we could have discovered similarities in our sentiment, and this could have resulted in being more empathetic towards each other and aligning our efforts. Rather, we got stuck and the problem intensified! 💖Vulnerability and transparency around emotions within a team or group setting can create alignment, empathy, and better problem-solving. The study of emotions explains that recalling a situation can evoke the same feeling over and over, as experienced in my situation - despite attempting to stay rational, we all neglected our emotions (major mistake), leading to a highly charged atmosphere that lingered for the next day or so - imagine how our meetings went for the remainder of the day! Using naming to tame not only enables us to think more productively it aids us in moving forward as well. 👉Replaying or ruminating on intense negative emotions can prolong their impact , so it's important to find a balance between acknowledging them and moving forward. The significance of naming emotions, reflecting on them, and using them as data to make informed decisions, ultimately enhancing leadership effectiveness. The intensity of emotions can impair our ability to think clearly and make logical decisions, and leveraging emotional intelligence can help mitigate this impact. It's also important to pause and reflect during emotionally charged conversations. ✔️ Pausing to reflect  on emotions, rather than avoiding or diminishing them, is crucial. This allows you to manage the intensity of emotions to make wiser decisions. When engaging in difficult conversations, pause and take breaks in order to regain composure. This is especially important when considering the influence of the Negativity Bias. Our brains have a tendency to focus on negativity, causing us to narrow our perspective and thought process when triggered. Reflecting on a past conversation with Suria, we remembered how intense emotions limited our awareness of potential business risks. Emotions can provide valuable insights in the context of risk management, whereas ignoring emotions in complex situations may result in a breakdown. Emotional intelligence involves using emotions as data - understanding their meaning and purpose, rather than getting caught up in or avoiding them. Here are our tips for leaders. If you are in the habit of using basic emotions, practice with a more extensive emotions vocabulary See emotions as data to make more effective choices Name them to tame them Expressing emotions in the moment shows vulnerability which builds transparency When we understand how someone feels, we are more likely to empathise with them, so create a safe space for people to open up about their emotions In an emotionally charged scenario expressing emotions can create alignment and a way through it Pause to reflect on what data emotions are offering up. In intense scenarios, swap to reflect on benefits to mitigate the negativity bias Avoiding or diminishing how you or others' feel results in a more explosive conversation down the track. Don't avoid, acknowledge. To discover how our coaching or leadership programs can help you muscle up on emotional intelligence, contact Melina or Suria.

Have you found yourself feeling a bit... 🤔 flat, stressed, challenged, or possibly even burnt out? 🔥 If so, you’re not alone. We all experience stress from time to time, and temporary stress typically subsides once a perceived threat is gone. But what many of us are dealing with today is different—the threat isn’t passing. It’s constant, and it’s draining us. I’ve been there. In my corporate life, I felt like I was walking an emotional tightrope, teetering between what felt like resilience and collapse. Like many people, I convinced myself that my high-functioning anxiety was actually a strength. I believed it was helping me get through each year, meet every deadline, and handle all the rising demands in my role. As my portfolio grew, so did the budgets, the expectations, and the pressure. But the worst part wasn’t the mounting stress—it was the fact that I saw it as a good thing. I wore my high-functioning anxiety like a badge of honour. I told myself that the more I pushed through, the stronger I was becoming. I thought I was increasing my capacity for stress, but in reality, I was pushing myself past the breaking point. I was always in overdrive, never fully recharging, and running on fumes. If this sounds familiar to you, you’re not alone. The Circuit Breaker It wasn’t until I took a short stint of maternity leave that I realised how deeply I was entrenched in this cycle of stress and burnout. Maternity leave gave me a brief escape, a pause that allowed me to reflect and recalibrate. When I returned to work, I was determined to be more mindful, to approach my role with more clarity, energy, and purpose. I was optimistic that this break had reset my mindset, and I felt stronger than ever. But old habits die hard. It didn’t take long before I slipped back into my usual patterns. Like slipping into a comfy pair of worn-out sneakers, I found myself falling into the same trap—pushing myself without ever stopping to fully recharge. The familiar sense of depletion crept back in, and I was once again running on empty, caught in a loop that felt impossible to break. Searching for a Better Way I knew deep down that there had to be a better way to function at a high level without burning myself out completely. The idea that you have to sacrifice your well-being to succeed is pervasive, but it’s a myth. I was determined to find a way to be successful at work without feeling completely drained at the end of each day. That’s when I discovered HeartMath through my work at PeopleQ. HeartMath is a science-based approach that focuses on heart rhythm coherence techniques, helping people manage stress, regulate emotions, and create a state of balance in their lives. This method is grounded in research, and it offers practical, evidence-based tools that align the heart, brain, and nervous system. The Game Changer:  HeartMath has been a game changer for me personally. Instead of relying on anxiety as a driving force, I’ve learned how to create coherence between my emotions and physiology. It’s not about ignoring stress or pretending it doesn’t exist—it’s about learning how to regulate your response to stress in a healthy, sustainable way. The techniques I’ve learned have empowered me to manage stress in the moment, allowing me to stay calm and focused even in high-pressure situations. I’ve discovered how to recharge my energy instead of constantly depleting it, and I no longer feel like I’m simply surviving each day. It’s been an eye-opening journey to realise that stress doesn’t have to control me. In fact, I can perform at my best without it. Through HeartMath, I’ve learned how to listen to my body and mind, recognize when I’m approaching burnout, and take action before reaching that point.  Thriving, Not Just Surviving If you’re feeling overwhelmed, always on the edge of burnout, I want you to know that there is a better way. High-functioning anxiety might feel like it’s helping you stay on top of things, but it’s actually holding you back. The more you push without rest, the more you’re chipping away at your well-being. HeartMath has given me the tools to break free from that cycle, and it’s possible for you too. It’s about learning to thrive—not just survive. You can still perform at the top level, but with the added benefit of feeling more balanced, more energised, and more in control of your life. Stress doesn’t have to be your default setting. It’s time to take off that badge of honour and start a new chapter, one where you embrace balance, resilience, and true well-being. Interested in learning more? If this resonates with you, I encourage you to explore our HeartMath Resilience Advantage Program. Whether you're in the corporate world or managing the demands of daily life, these tools can help you align your heart, brain, and nervous system in a way that promotes long-lasting resilience. There's a better way forward, and it starts with letting go of the old narrative that stress equals success.

Our curiosity led us to analyze data from the past 4 years and use a heatmap approach to validate the trends we sensed emerging in coaching.   It became clear that coaching focus begins with self, then extends to team and organizational performance, navigating peers, and managing up. Periodically returning to delve deeper into mindset, triggers, and internal narratives. In technically led sectors where leaders are promoted for their technical IQ, conversations were consumed with the leader’s desire and (lack of) ability to empathise and build more collaborative teams and cross working relationships.   Stepping up was on the agenda for every leader Entrepreneurs had a wide range of priorities and concerns, transitioning from self-focus to scaling up and establishing efficient systems for ongoing expansion. They demonstrated remarkable agility and originality in their approach. Executives and CEOs want leaders to take charge and bridge the divide between the effectiveness of the senior leadership team and the frontline leaders, with an inconsistent CEO consuming the majority of challenges senior leaders faced. Enhancing Self-Awareness was a consistent priority for all leaders.  This challenges and coaching in this areas was extensive and profound, encompassing reflective practices, recognising strengths, blind spots and triggers, exploring procrastination, motivation, self-doubt, internal narratives and releasing control (to step up and empower leaders), promoting wellbeing, changing mindsets, establishing boundaries, exercising meta-cognition, setting personal goals and developing confidence and self-awareness. Coaches were referred to as either accountability partners or thinking partners Transformation only occurred when leaders were willing to do the work on self first and felt safe enough to open up and unpack their thinking. At PeopleQ, we adopt an integrated approach to coaching because no single coaching style proved to be more effective than others. The best coaching outcomes supported leaders to observe the system within which they operate and 360s are an integral part of executive coaching, but we don't start with them! Leaders all shared a desire to be impactful, influence, inspire and deliver successful outcomes. Senior Leaders recognise the benefit in managing peers and up bring a more holistic focus, whereas middle level leaders tended to focus on their team’s performance. CEOs and Senior leaders were keen to delve more deeply into enhancing leadership capability and capacity and elevate a leader’s ability to step up in the organisation. Everyone took accountability for workplace culture, whether it be in their teams or across the organisation and the workplace culture landscape included strategy, change, great culture and interventions of issues. Leadership legacy, values and purpose intertwined and was the next most discussed topic after self-awareness. Values and purpose play a crucial role in helping leaders become more intentional and deliberate in their decision-making, as well as in aligning their teams and organizations .  With senior leaders and business owners this flowed on to Vision, Business Planning and Decision-Making frameworks. Business Owners were the sole individuals who delved into KPIs and end game strategy. I understand the reasoning behind this, but shouldn't we all have a plan for the next stage? They were also the only ones who prioritized Customers and Customer engagement was seldom discussed, which, in my opinion, poses a significant issue! Navigating change was the least talked about topic, yet it was the most prevalent issue across all topics. Courageous conversations, leading authentically and giving and receiving feedback stemmed off of the productivity focus, where intertwined and received a lot of attention.  It tells you what we are spending most of our time doing as leaders.     So, what’s off the table?  Coaching should never be confused with therapy in any way. Even when working with a talented therapist/coach, it is important to keep coaching separate from therapy. Coaching is oriented towards the future and helping leaders effectively address current challenges. Topics such as trauma, psychology, coping mechanisms, addiction, personality disorders, and diagnoses are not within the scope of coaching. Instead, the focus is on providing genuine care for the individual's well-being and, if necessary, referring them to a qualified therapist.   And what about a leader’s personal life and personal challenges?  We coach the whole person, leaders have the autonomy to decide when and if they bring personal challenges into coaching.  PeopleQ are experts with extensive experience in executive coaching, leadership coaching and business coaching.  Let's get you coach matched! Reach out if you’d like us to hold space for you for any of the above concerns. melina@peopleq.com.au 0498 800 008 I suria@peopleq.com.au 0407776888

If you want to level up your emotional intelligence and well-being, having a wide range of emotional words at your disposal is key, being able to identify and express subtle emotions helps you understand yourself better and connect more deeply with others. Vulnerability and transparency around emotions within a team or group setting can create alignment, empathy, and better problem-solving. Having a strong emotional vocabulary is a game-changer, especially in leadership roles. Leaders who are emotionally savvy can navigate human interactions smoothly and lead diverse teams effectively, creating a supportive work environment where everyone feels valued. Emotional literacy is linked to improved decision-making in leaders. Embracing emotional literacy lets you use your emotions as valuable clues about your needs and values. Instead of ignoring them, you can learn from your feelings to make better decisions and live a more authentic life. Mastering emotional literacy also means learning how to manage intense emotions and avoid impulsive reactions. Techniques like reflection, mindfulness, and emotional regulation can help you stay calm and think clearly, especially in high-stress situations. By challenging negative biases and seeking growth opportunities, you can expand your emotional toolkit and develop a more balanced mindset. Investing in emotional intelligence and vocabulary can boost your self-awareness, communication skills, and relationships. precision with naming emotions enables more effective communication and understanding. Overall, developing emotional fluency is a powerful way to grow personally, build resilience, and strengthen connections with others. It's a journey that not only enriches individual lives but also fosters empathy and harmony in communities and workplaces. Our tips to level up leading with emotional intelligence; Develop a robust emotional vocabulary to allow for more precise identification and expression of one's own emotions as well as those of others. This precision enables more effective communication and understanding. Check out this interactive tool at sixseconds to start your practise today! https://www.6seconds.org/2022/03/13/plutchik-wheel-emotions/ Emotional literacy is linked to improved decision-making in leadership. When you start naming to tame your emotions you are better able to navigate complex, emotionally charged scenarios more effectively. Pausing to reflect on emotions, rather than avoiding or diminishing them, is crucial. This allows you to manage the intensity of emotions to make wiser choices, rather than allowing them to bottle up. If you do bottle them up, it normally results in an explosive conversation further down the track, and no leader wants that? Vulnerability and transparency around emotions within a team or group setting can actually create alignment, and activates ours and others' empathy, and again, the outcome of this is better problem-solving. Emotional intelligence really is about using emotions as data - understanding their meaning and purpose, rather than getting caught up in or avoiding them. I always say its about being wise with our emotions by using them as data. Replaying or ruminating intense negative emotions from a heavy internal meeting actually can prolong the impact (science of emotions tells us we can regenerate the emotion after the situation has occurred). It's important to find a balance between acknowledging them and moving forward with what you want instead. By the way, this picture is us at the SA Women in Leadership Summit in August 2024. I was fortunate enough to MC the two days, it was an amazing line up of speakers. Reach out if you want to know more about how we can support your next leadership conference or programs for your leaders to muscle up on emotional intelligence. melina@peopleq.com.au I 0498 800 008 suria@peopleq.com.au I 0407 776 888

Silent Bullying is underplaying your organisation's best talent.     When the word bully enters corporate dialogue, we tend to envision the more observable forms occurring regularly and intensifying.  Unprofessional emails, outbursts, harsh delivery of messages, lack of empathy and self-management.  It’s obvious and visible and thank god we have our P&C champions to help us get on top of it quickly.     The Bullying I’ve had the privilege of witnessing is less obvious and generally out of sight and therefore out of mind.  It can be passive aggressive, micro behaviours or “silent bullying”, where bias fuelled feedback tends to focus on what's wrong lacking balance.     It's often ongoing and delivered by leaders who believe they are well equipped to form opinions about another person’s future, OR fear what might happen if someone has the opportunity to step up.  It’s subtle, slow burning, ongoing.  Similar to simmering a meal to extend its cooking time beyond what is needed to improve the taste.    It can result in playing your best people small.  And when we play our best people small, they play themselves even smaller and this is dangerous.  Dangerous to self-belief, confidence and internal dialogues that shape how that person steps into their future.  Sure, we could say it toughens people up, builds resilience and bounce back, for the most part its damaging to the human soul!   I am not suggesting it’s always intentional, leaders can get caught up in an inflated sense of self and their priorities and workloads, forgetting there's more than a head receiving the feedback.  When we speak to give feedback, we are speaking to the heart who then connects with and responds with the head.     Leaders will never step into their true potential if this pernicious cycle continues.   I’ve heard this time and time again; senior leaders express upon reflection they may have underplayed someone.  Or witness other senior leaders behave this way, and fearful of the ramifications if they speak up.  This cycle of silent bullying is not only prevalent in the workplace, perhaps even more pronounced in sports where the knock-on effect could be catastrophic, particularly in kids sports!   What I have learnt is this 👇and these are my tips; ✅Start with questioning your own opinions and biases, deeply reflecting that your intentions are wholehearted, checking that your sense of self is grounded in varying perspectives.  At an executive level particularly we rely on the viewpoints and feedback of a limited few - CEO, a peer, and if you're lucky the Head of P&C.  Three people with the same viewpoint is too narrow a perspective.  Have an expanded network of trusted advisor’s so you don't fall prey to your confidence.   ✅Balance the focus of your feedback with strengths and achievements taking a holistic approach.  Cause and effect.  What effect will adjusting blind spots have on the situation and short-long term performance ?  What effect would amplifying strengths have on the situation and short-long term performance?  What's the better path here? ✅Feedback should be helpful and constructive not destructive, before offering it check to ensure this criteria is met.   And that also involves appreciating how the person might "receive" feedback so you can adjust your style accordingly. ✅Deliver feedback that acknowledges how the heart and head might react by being emotionally intelligent when delivering feedback, aware negative emotions trigger the amygdala which narrows our focus on the "bad" (also referred to as a negativity bias) and when that happens, its the only thing we see and soon becomes ALL we see. ✅Practise both giving and receiving feedback in that same moment. I do this often.  An environment where two-way feedback is normalised enables senior leaders and executives to positively influence (and role-model) how feedback can be received and actioned for the betterment of all. ✅Check your intentions.  Do you have the person’s best interest at heart?  Is it balanced with all interests - The customer, organisation, team and yours. ✅If you witness feedback that is silent bullying and intentionally damaging, you have choices .  You could say nothing and ultimately be a part of what is systematically wrong, sitting in conflict with your own values.  Long term it’s unhealthy for your wellbeing. Or take a strategic systemic approach and agitate for cultural change.  This won't be the easy route, nor quick or comfortable one, but it will be the most fulfilling when you’ve had the opportunity to positively impact your people. At PeopleQ, we offer executive coaching given senior leaders and executives the space needed to build their trusted network. We offer coaching matching services, get in touch to find out more. Melina Lipkiewicz melina@peopleq.com.au Suria Ward suria@peopleq.com.au

I recently delivered a workshop as part of an eight month leadership program on "empowering our teams". Empowerment was a word I hadn't used for a while, but in bringing to life what was going to be important for this group of 40+ leaders to unpack, empowerment become the road to accountability because it drives ownership, and is a broad all encompassing concept that acts as a thread across all aspects of leadership. To first understand empowerment, it's important to dissect what dis-empowerment looks like, and acknowledge what's important about this to hone in on the themes that empowerment is made up of. When a team member or team feels dis-empowered, it results in self-doubt and a loss of confidence, turning a generally creative team member into a cautious, double checking overthinker. This is followed by a feeling of being stuck and a myriad of poor decision making, leading to a culture of silence and low psychological safety. It can be faintly seen in the poor results of a team or organisation and a lack of innovation, ideation or creative thinking which equals NIL in continuous improvement. There is also a sense of no support and clarity, with goal posts continuously moving meaning expectations are either unclear or simply out of the park unrealistic. With all this uncertainty and lack of results, disempowerment normally turns to micromanaging, more rework than is necessary and procrastination. There is what we call quiet quitting, and probably a lift in staff turnover as well as a generally all round unhealthy workplace culture. It means leaders are mostly likely not exercising self awareness, nor are they tapping into their emotional intelligence or strengths, or cultivating a team's psychological safety. Feedback may be a one-way street and the ability to cultivate trust, inspire others, or build resilience is met with inconsistent results. You start to appreciate why empowerment is like a thread across all aspects of leadership. And what does empowerment look like? A leader who builds other's self-belief and understands that each team member is unique and in different stages of their development, and therefore needing to be challenged and stretched differently. Trust and Psychological safety are understood and worked on by leaders and team members collectively, and there is a sense of power being shared with team members as opposed to having power-over others. This results in people feeling what they had to offer was valued, and delegation and information sharing being at an all time high. It also means leaders create space and put energy into coaching and mentoring others. And a culmination of all of this is a learning culture, robust discussion that challenges the status quo specifically for the purpose of innovating and improving equating to continuous improvement being high, individual confidence (and therefore ownership) also high, as is productivity. As well as leaders ensuring the organisation is structured to support an empowered workforce - there's clarity in roles and expectations, communication is exceptional, results, goals and customer stories are regularly shared with everyone and not limited to leadership catch-ups and workforce development was highly valued. The ripple effect of all of this is an uplift in results. Empowerment is a leadership thread, requiring leaders to acknowledge their behaviour has the power to either disempower or empower others and delegation and a coaching style has the power to unlock the potential of your workforce.