Leadership in Australian agriculture is built on trust. Every decision you make as a leader affects others. Responding to competing interests is when ethical leadership is required the most. It all starts when you know or are privy to something you know is not OK. It’s when your stomach churns and you say that’s not right or you actually feel unwell. It’s incumbent on you and all of us to stand up, speak out and NOT to stay quiet. Change only happens when leaders have the courage to do hard things and not walk past things they know to not be OK.

But there’s a way to do this. You can’t go at it alone. You need to be working in really solid and trusted relationships to raise your dilemma and you need to be vulnerable enough to share your concerns and make suggestions for better ways of working through high stakes issues. Where you do this needs to offer you psychological safety and sadly across Agriculture and other industries this is not always in reach.

“Leadership isn’t just about what you achieve — it’s about how you achieve it.  Ethics are a really big part of this. And at times it can turn you inside out.  I encourage you to push forward anyway.”- Jo Eady

I have had people say to me they wish they could give feedback (they’re talking about challenging feedback) the way I do. If you care for others, care for the issue or opportunity at hand and or care about the impact, then you will always find a way to offer up and share your thoughts. It reminds me of this transformational quote from Brene Brown.

“Clear is kind.  Unclear is unkind.” – Brene Brown

Here are 5 ways you should consider when you face your very next ethical dilemma.

1. Remain in tact – reduce your anxiety – Anxiety can create a sense of urgency, making you feel like you need to fix or solve everything immediately. Unless there is an immediate risk to someone’s safety or wellbeing, give yourself permission to pause. Take a breath, create some space and avoid making significant decisions when emotions are running high and your stomach is yelling “no this isn’t ok.”  Let things settle.

2. Separate the facts from your feelings – Get clear about what you’re feeling and how hyped and charged up you are. Write down what emotions you’re feeling and why. Create distance from these feelings and look at the facts at hand. Acknowledge your emotions without allowing them to become the only driver of your decision. Ask yourself: What has actually happened? What am I responsible for? What can I do to support myself and others?

3. Know and understand your obligations – Consider the professional code of conduct, organisational policies, contractual responsibilities and any legal obligations that apply. Ask yourself what’s really at stake. These might include honesty, fairness, confidentiality, accountability or respect. Where obligations conflict, seek some advice and support. This isn’t the time to rely on your personal judgement alone.

4. Seek a trusted, independent perspective – Ethical dilemmas can feel isolating, particularly when relationships, reputation or financial interests are involved. Speak with an appropriately qualified and independent adviser, mentor, supervisor or professional association. Be mindful of confidentiality and conflicts of interest when choosing who to consult. Alot of our executive coaching clients reach out to us for exactly this reason.

5. Make a considered decision and document it – Once you have gathered the relevant information, decide on the best course of action. Record the facts, write them down – include advice received, options considered and reasons for your decision. If the matter involves serious misconduct, safety risks or potential legal breaches, use appropriate reporting or escalate it to the people / places that hold responsibility for this.

A final thought

Finding yourself in the middle of an ethical dilemma can be a really difficult spot to be. You can’t always control the circumstances you find yourself in, but you can control how thoughtfully you respond. And if a situation is causing significant anxiety, remember that protecting your own wellbeing is part of making a sustainable and ethical decision.

Over to You

Have you ever found yourself in an ethical dilemma? Did you speak up? Did you stay quiet? Have you got the knowledge and skills to work through the dilemma? Are any of these questions hard to answer for you? If so, likely now is a good time to give them a go. This will be very helpful to support your leadership as well as those you lead.

The post Speak Out or Stay Quiet – The Ethical Dilemma appeared first on Ruralscope.

A week later as I reflect on the topics, activities, participation and feedback from the day, I felt compelled to share with you. My key reason is to motivate and inspire you to consider a team day at least annually. A day where you can come together offsite, without phones, with a well planned agenda of activities to really support, nurture and grow your team.

Some questions to ask yourself right now….

1. When was the last time we came together to work on ourselves and our team?
2. Do you have a team workplan that guides energy, effort and activity?
3. Could your team benefit from learning about the predictable stages of group development?
4. Are you willing to create a safe place for your team to engage, support and challenge each other?

Soooo, are you feeling inspired / motivated to facilitate a team session / day / retreat? 

If so, here are the top 5 things I suggest are ‘must haves’ for a successful time for you and your team.

1. Environment Matters. Choose a spot at the beach or in the mountains where you can experience that ‘away from it all’ type feeling. That place where you see people exhale when they open the door at the venue for the first time.

2. Activate Early.  Share what you are doing and why way in advance.  Ask the team to prepare so they know the expectations and are ready to go with pre/ during and post event activities.

3. Quality Food. Plan this well. Healthy all the way. A cook your own meal is a great way to go – from a BBQ to a roast – everyone can help out and the conversations when preparing food can be relaxing allowing for some great personal and professional sharings.

4. Plan, Plan, Plan. Ensure everything you plan relates easily to your team members and their work. Select activities, speakers and experiences that are going to add value by building confidence, knowledge and commitment.

5. Try Out. Develop some new working together better team ideas that you can then take back and put in place as the year progresses. Eg a Team Charter

Over to You

Take some time to reflect on these. Are any helpful to you right now? Do you feel inspired to get your team together soon?

The post Is Your Team Ready for the Year Ahead? appeared first on Ruralscope.

2 Questions

As the New Year rolls around, take a few minutes to disrupt the flow and reset ready for your best year yet. Ask yourself the following questions.

Question 1

What worked well last year and what am I really proud of?

Question 2

What are the 2 key things I’m going to “do” and who am I going to “be” in this New Year?

There’s no hard and fast process here. You can read the questions and go through the answers in your head. You can take a note book (paper or electronic) and jot down the questions and answers and then turn them into a plan. You can then refer to them during the year and see how things are going. Or you can sit on the verandah and chat with someone you choose and see what comes up for both of you. You can then see what to take forward for you and as a shared intention. Lots of people tell us they have found the verandah option a game changer.

12 Questions

If you’re looking for more of a deep dive to disrupt and reset ready for your New Year, then these 12 questions are a must. I don’t recommend you go through these questions in your head. I think it best that you grab a note book (paper or electronic) and jot down the answers and then turn them into a plan. And I strongly encourage you to share and talk about these with others. This way you can also support and hold each other accountable too. 

Question 1

What are my achievements from last year?

Question 2

What set backs did I overcome to achieve these?

Question 3

What did I produce last year?

Question 4

How did I positively impact others – in my family, my team, my workplace, my community or my industry?

Question 5

What new knowledge and skills did I gain?

Question 6

What could I have done differently across the year?

Question 7

What do I need to “let be” or “let go of” and not take into the New Year?

Question 8

What do I want / need to focus on in the New Year?

Question 9

Who do I want to “be” in the New Year?

Question 10

What are my key goals for the New Year and how will I know when I achieve them?

Question 11

How will you monitor the year ahead and take time out to recalibrate and celebrate your achievements on the go?

Question 12

What will the year ahead look like and how will you feel at the end of the year?

Over to You

Do you think the 2 or 12 questions suit you best? Will you think about the questions in your head? Jot them down – paper or electronically or take some time out with someone else and chat them through and create individual as well as shared intentions? Whichever you choose, remember it’s up to you to develop and implement a plan for your New Year. Many people tell us that even a small amount of thinking and planning creates clarity and confidence for their New Year. I want the same for you. Good luck. And please feel free to reach out to me here if you think I can help in any way.

Until next time!

The post Kick Off Your New Year With These 2 or 12 Questions appeared first on Ruralscope.

Skill 1 – Coaching

Leaders must be guides and supporters. It’s no longer about being directive, it’s about empowering others to be the best they can be. A key function of the future leader’s role will be to empower and develop the skills of their team via coaching.

Skill 2 – Adaptability

Having the ability to be adaptive creates an edge for leaders to manage change and adversity. Individuals, teams and organisations see opportunities and growth when they are adaptive. Investing in leadership and training yourself and others to be adaptable will be a great investment.

Skill 3 – Tech and More Tech

Being fluent in digital literacy is going to be a must in both life and work. You don’t need to be an expert, but you do need to know enough to have conversations and make decisions about technology use as an individual, for your team and or your business.

Skill 4 – Human Centred or Non Technical Skills

We believe non – technical skills is a better term for human or people skills. These skills are like glue. They are the skills everyone needs outside of their technical knowledge and technical skills. Think emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills etc. I’ve seen some research that’s saying non – technical skills will outweigh technical skills by double. And I often say that there will be no room by the end of this decade for leaders that are technically proficient only. In fact, the future belongs to leaders who can lead the expertise in their teams without having to possess the technical skills themselves.

Skill 5 – Agility

Training and retraining will be required to keep pace with societal changes. Having an agile mindset is much more important than a set and forget type mindset. It must be open and curious at all times. You can become a better leader by being agile and embracing new and changing skill sets depending on the job or project you’re working on.

Over to You

So how do you stack up? Jot down the 5 skills above and give yourself a rating of your current competence out of 5 (Where 5 is the highest). See which skills you could develop and get about it. It doesn’t mean you need to find a training program (this is often what people think they need to do). Do some reading about the skill, share with colleagues the skills you want to develop and ask them to think of you for future projects, google the topic and see what you find, write up an action list and finally keep an eye open for any training that will support you.

Good luck. And please feel free to reach out to me here if you think I can help in any way.

Until next time!

The post 5 New Skills Required to Lead in 2030 and Beyond appeared first on Ruralscope.

We have a free downloadable Values resource here for you. It will take you through a supportive process to uncover your values and your top two values that drive your decisions or behaviours. If you haven’t done values work before, I really encourage you to download this resource and give it a go. Please reach out and make contact here if you have any questions at all.

I hope to hear from you soon.

The post 6 Ways for Leaders to Set Boundaries and Stick to Them appeared first on Ruralscope.

While working with a group of leaders in agriculture last week we spoke about the importance of self reflection. It was a newish idea for many and for others it isn’t something they have consciously practised or built as a leadership habit. Great leaders reflect on their behaviours, conversations and achievements each and every day. Give it a go. 

“Leaders who don’t take time to reflect regularly on themselves and where they’re headed risk bumping into (avoidable) failure time and time again. Self-reflection is a humbling, yet powerful technique that helps leaders (and anyone else) to improve their performance.” Unknown

• Great leaders reflect on their behaviours.
• Great leaders reflect on their conversations.
• Great leaders reflect on their achievements and outcomes.
• Great leaders take time each and every day to reflect on themselves and put in place a couple of things to do differently next time.

Through our chats we came to an equation.

Reflection = Awareness which Results in Change. 

Without reflection, nothing changes.

Taking 5 minutes each day to reflect on a meeting, a conversation, presentation or relationship etc and making a mental note of a couple of things to do differently next time is all it takes.

Reflecting each day will not only serve you better as a leader, but it will be better for your team, your business as well as your industry.

Here are some questions you can use;

(think about a meeting, a conversation, presentation or relationship etc)   

Question 1 – What was your role? 

Question 2 – What are three things that worked well?   

Question 3 – How did people respond?

Question 4 – What are two things you will do differently next time?  

And if you are into psychology then it wont be any surprise to you that self reflection helps with self regulation.

Would you like to set up your own leadership reflection practices to fast track your development and confidence?

I’d be happy to help, please reach out via our leadership laser hour one on one program.

Click here for more information

I hope to see you soon.

The post Great Leaders Self Reflect appeared first on Ruralscope.

I have done my fair share of professional development. I went to University straight from school and studied education and then onto psychology and counselling. I became a Senior Consultant for TAFE Queensland and spent the best part of 3 years travelling to TAFE Institutes across the state facilitating training and development programs for TAFE teachers and trainers. And I loved every minute of it. And I’m a geek when it comes to my own learning.

After starting RuralScope, I participated in training programs for myself. I chose my experiences carefully and always enjoyed the day and took away a long action list. I always loved meeting the facilitator / guest speaker / trainer and was the sucker who always bought their book if they had one there for sale. Slowly I developed my very own list of leadership heroes. I think everyone should create their own list!

It’s what I did next that I know made all the difference to my continued development. I would write them a note / email and let them know how valuable meeting them had been and would ask them to suggest any other training, reading or insights that they’d be willing to share. For many it was a quick email back, for others it was an invite for a phone call or even a meal next time we were in the same city. So what started as a group / standard training experience sometimes progressed on to a one on one meet up. 

I also checked out their public profiles and started to friend or follow them there so that I could gain even more of their wisdom. The main ones being Facebook, Instagram and Linked in.

And by doing this my interactions with them increased, my learnings grew and I found that I had created my own learning program by taking the time to connect in this way. All for no cost and a little time. Years ago the first person I did this with was Robin Sharma. He’s the author of The Monk who Sold his Ferrari and then Life Lessons from the Monk who sold his Ferrari. He’s as relevant today as he was then and I do find myself re-reading his books and I’m still a member of his 5am club! But for me it’s 6 am!!

Key Learnings

“Professional development is more valuable than the price you pay for it.”   

“Develop your own list of leadership heroes.”
“Take time to mix in online networks where your heroes hang out – this means it doesn’t matter where they live you can still connect .”

I’d love to hear if this idea resonates for you and if so who your heroes are or could be right now. Please reach out if you’d like to share them here.

I hope to hear form you soon.

The post Create Your Own Leadership Heroes List appeared first on Ruralscope.