Psychological safety anti-patterns
Psychological safety is one of those evergreen topics: we all know we need it, everybody wants it, but it’s hard to measure and is hard to actually produce....
Decision-making and leadership
The Blackmill book club recently finished reading Will Larson’s excellent book, The Engineering Executive’s Primer. I enjoyed it for a number of reasons and...
A cuppa with Andrea Goulet
What’s been happening? 2024 workshops are sold out! The back half of the year is booked up with so many clients for our workshops that our next available...
What stops us from making change?
When individuals who have been successful in their previous positions step into a new senior role, they are usually required to learn new skills. Whatever got them here is not going to get them further. While it is true that achieving promotions and advancements often require new abilities, the process of acquiring these skills can be challenging.
A cuppa with Allison McMillan and an easy sweet potato and miso soup
What’s been happening? Mental Health First Aid certification Earlier this month, Elle, Nicola, and Lachlan attended a Mental Health First Aid course. The...
Learning from the discomfort
Talking with Mivin Mathew recently, I realised this month is the start of my tenth year doing yoga. I haven't always been consistent. But in the whole nine...
A cuppa with Lauren Clinnick and a mashed potato and mozzarella pie
What's been happening? Empowering Individuals for Team Success workshop We just ran this workshop with collaboration with Tech Leading Ladies this week. Here...
Conflict conversations
You can feel your stress levels rising. The adrenaline is kicking in: your breathing is shallower, your heart rate elevated. You re-check your notes. Again....
A cuppa with Tracy Bongiorno
This week we talk about Sunrise in Sydney next week, a Victorian roundtable, our upcoming workshop, chatting with Tracy Bongiorno, and suggest a maqluba...
Role congruity theory of prejudice towards female leaders
How do I get a promotion? This is a topic that crops up in our coaching practice and workshops. Last month I took part in a panel on levelling up — a career...
Blackmill: not just leadership skills
You might think our mission is to teach leadership skills. Yes, we coach executives and other senior leaders. And, yes, we offer multiple different workshops...
Supporting your people leaders
High growth companies often struggle because their emerging people leaders don’t get the support they need. In reality, startups begin with very few people...
Onboarding is for promotions too
You’ve just promoted someone on your team to a leadership position. They are capable, highly performant, and with established potential to continue growing....
What's in a name?
As everyone knows, naming is hard! When we founded the company in 2017, we needed to pick a name that felt right: it had to fit what we do, and be something...
Role-modelling the behaviours you wish to see
The first time I admitted that I had fucked up, my manager at the time responded by saying “yeah, you did” and proceeded to slam his phone on the other end,...
Lack of adaptation is death
A couple of weeks ago the concept of "lack of adaptation is death" floated up in a meeting. This concept can also be described as being stuck in a rut. We do...
Risk takers
At two schools I visited in the past year the teachers encourage the children to be risk takers. I have not liked the schools' choice of phrasing. I would...
Intentional connection
Some people talk about what they get 'for free' when the team comes to the office: social interaction, deeper collaboration, team bonding, serendipitous...
Housing First
I was listening to a 99 Percent Invisible podcast titled Housing First. In the podcast, Sam Tsemberis talked about a couple of different programs to help...
How can I help you?
In 2018, NBC began airing a medical drama called “New Amsterdam”. In the show Dr. Goodwin came in as the new medical director, who set out to reduce...
Incrementally Better
G'day, As a leader, I often feel pressure or the burden of expectations to provide a truly exceptional culture and workplace. I need to have the right...
Is it people or the systems?
G'day, I came across something a while ago that stated that most organisational problems are due to poorly designed systems rather than issues with people....
Lead with authority vs influence
G'day, At RubyConf AU the other week, I caught up with a past workshop attendee, now a staff engineer. They told me their largest struggle is when to lead...
Fika Time!
I recently read a book about hygge and one of its chapters talks about the importance of fika. How both hygge and fika are about making the most of moments...
You can’t manage what’s not measured
The start of a new year is an excellent time to take stock of where you and your team are at. You can look at how your environment, systems, and processes...
Retro time!
G’day We have a team lunch every couple of weeks and the last one we had for the year included a team retrospective. We had delicious savoury mazniks and our...
Think like a scientist
In his latest book, Think Again, Adam Grant says “we think and talk with the mindsets of three different professions: preachers, prosecutors and politicians....
Purposeful drifting
G'day, This month, I hit my two year anniversary with Blackmill and I'm stoked about it! I have learnt so much in this space of time. From parenting during...
Where's the fun?
G'day With the rise of remote work due to COVID-19, organisations have been forced to figure out how to drive engagement, retain talent, and keep things...
Self confidence vs self doubt at work
G'day, Self-confidence and success can be a catch-22 problem: "I would be confident if I succeed but I need to be confident to succeed". The more confident...
Bad work culture
G'day! Company culture refers to the attitudes and behaviours of a company and its employees. It is evident in the way an organisation’s people interact with...
Values alignment
G'day! The other day I saw a tweet by Susan Bond that asked the question: "How important is it that your friends hold the same values as you? Is it very...
Embracing Failure
G’day! Our interview with Nick Spragg in last month’s newsletter hit a chord with me. Nick said, “I wish we were more accepting of failure at our leadership...
Learning vs education
G'day! We recently finished reading Make it Stick at the Blackmill book club. The book talks about the science of learning and teaches how to become better...
Four Day Work Week
G’day With school commencing last month across Australia, most of us are back at the nine till five, five days per week grind. It doesn't take long forget...
Mindfulness Matters
G’day One of many things the pandemic has taught us is that it is ok to stop, take a breath, reflect, and simply do nothing. I turned to mindfulness...
Mistakes and self-compassion
G’day I recently replied to a group email in a way that confused everyone. It wasn’t my usual work day and due to overseas time zones, I thought I would...
Learning as adults
G’day I recently took up a mini MBA in Marketing course because I wanted to be better at what I do, and stay up to date with any new developments and trends...
Head, Heart, and Hands
G’day Employee engagement is becoming the leadership challenge for the early 21st Century. In a world pressured by constant change, agility, and digital...
Pandemic Burnout
G’day With lockdowns, closed schools and daycare centres, homeschooling, full time work, and doing all this for a long period of time, people are...
What leaders can learn from parents
G’day! As a parent of two young girls, I often see the parallels between good parenting and transformational leadership, because parents are leaders, and...
What Motivates You?
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Humour works
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Choices
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Elle goes editorial
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The International Day of Women
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Robo-dog vs Robo-unicorn, who will win?!
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Hello, 2021!
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We wrote a newsletter!
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