Soft Skills
The Power of Collective Intelligence “My biggest learning was to stop solving everyone’s problems… and instead give them the toolbox to solve them themselves.“ There comes a point in almost every leader’s journey where helping people can quietly become a habit. Someone walks into your office with a problem. You already know the answer – so you solve…
“I could see the next stage coming… and I knew I didn’t yet have the leadership capability to get there.“ There are moments in almost every leader’s career where they realise something important. Not that they’re failing. Not that they’re incapable. But that the next version of their business is going to require the next version of themselves. That was exactly…
There’s a conversation I’ve been having more and more lately with leaders across professional services, financial services, and accounting firms. And recently, I had the opportunity to unpack it further on the Accounting Industry Insights Podcast with Mark Holton. You can listen to the full episode via Mark’s page here. The topic? The growing leadership capability gap that many firms are quietly battling right…
There’s something powerful about stepping outside your everyday environment and experiencing life alongside other people. Not just working together. Not just collaborating on deadlines or projects. But genuinely sharing moments. Over the last few years, Gallup’s research has consistently reinforced something many leaders already feel intuitively: connection matters more than ever. In fact, Gallup’s 2026 State of the Global…
We just returned from Vietnam where I had the privilege of keynoting at the Lifespan Annual Conference, catching up with my team for some team building, and enjoying a family holiday with my girls. One evening I faced a moment that perfectly captured the rhythm of life and leadership there. I found myself in the middle of a crazy…
It is early February, and for many teams, this is the real start of the year. The inbox is filling. Calendars are back-to-back. And leaders are already reaching out with the same concern: “This is the year we need to lift our culture.” What they’re often really talking about is behaviour. Tone in conversations that feels sharp or dismissive. Side…
January has a particular kind of quiet. The emails slow down. Calendars are lighter. There is space to breathe again before the year properly asks things of us. And yet, this is often the moment we rush past. We set goals. Lock in plans. Fill diaries. Promise ourselves this will be the year we finally…
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from working with leaders across various industries, it’s this: High performance is often mistaken for endurance. We glorify the grind. The long hours. The constant availability. We wear “busy” as a badge of honour. But here’s the truth – sustainable leadership isn’t about how much time you give. It’s about how…
Lately, I’ve noticed a theme that keeps surfacing in coaching sessions, workshops, and conversations with leaders across industries – values. Not in a lofty, abstract sense. But in a real, practical, human way. Leaders are asking questions like: “Why do I feel off balance?” “Why do I find it hard to make decisions lately?” “Why do I sometimes…
As we head toward the end of the year, many leaders are looking to finish strong – but the best leaders are also looking ahead. This is the perfect time to step back, reflect, and reset direction before the year ends. At Performance Advisory Group, we’ve already locked in two of our own strategy days…
