From our Desk on Fridays is a new initiative. Our Director, Jo Eady will share tools, resources, give a shout out to those doing fab things and intro a project or a new initiative that we think will have interest/value to you.

Our focus is on leadership, creating change, mentoring, facilitation and all things people development in Australian ag and rural. We hope you will join us on our social media channels on Fridays.

We have finally got Jo in front of the camera, so please join us and share with others you think will be interested.  Click Read More to view the series of videos on YouTube we will be adding more over the coming months as they are created so check back regularly.

Do you put off having difficult conversations - at work and at home?  If you do, read on as there is a lot more to mastering difficult conversations than you think.  It's not good enough to have a 'chat' and think you have dealt with 'it'. You need to get your head around what to do before, during and after the conversation.  I recently listened to Rachael Robertson as she shared some leadership tips and tools from her time managing a team to the Antarctic.  I was taken by her authentic and practical style.  But what really clinched the deal for me was how much she cared for her people, her team, her colleagues; and ultimately on a year long expedition to Antarctica, her friends.  Check her out at www.rachaelrobertson.com For now, I want to share her 10 points to having successful difficult conversations.  Give them a go and see how much of a difference it makes.....    

Our Director, Jo Eady, was recently invited to be an after dinner speaker at a number of Crop Consultant Australia (CCA) forums across Australia.  With the topic of People and Personalities - Making the Most of Your Business Relationships, a challenge was to make the session relevant, timely and practical so that those who attended could take away some here and now tips and tools to use in their business and with their clients.  In addition to the MBTI refresher workshop, Jo also facilitated a session of wisdom sharing where she asked the audience to think about something they do in their business that is key to its success.  There was no shortage of tips. And Jo shared the wisdom of the One Minute Manager. Read here about One Minute Goals, One Minute Praisings and One Minute Re-directs.           

WOW what an inspiration!  Our Director, Jo Eady attended the recent Australian Cotton Conference and came back to the office raving about the key note presentation from Rachael Robertson.  Rachael was one of the youngest people to ever lead an Antarctic expedition and one of the first women.  In this pressure cooker environment, Rachael was forced to develop strategies to deal with the isolation, scrutiny and demands of extreme leadership.  With no way in and no way out she had to make it work.  Rachael is a down to earth, authentic, resilient and innovative leader, highly regarded by those she leads.  Read on to find out the six things that she believes led her expeditioners to rank her as 'inspirational'.  And then apply these to your own situations......

Peter Birch is the co-founder of B+W Rural in Moree, new South Wales.  With over 25 years experience as owner of B+W Rural in Moree and numerous years before that as an agronomist, Peter has a broad range of knowledge and expertise.  And a well regarded network of colleagues across the Australian Cotton industry and beyond.  Peter is also known as an industry commentator and sought after for advice from emerging leaders in the region and industry.  We invited Peter to speak at a recent Australian Future Cotton Leaders Dinner in Moree.  He spoke about a wide range of topics including his Own Pathway, Staff Management, Clients, Technology, Mental Health, the Vibrancy of the Cotton Industry, Mentoring and Getting Ready for your Future.  With so much generous sharing, I think we will have to video Peter next time!