Teams on Purpose

25/08/2026

There are many risks facing organisations today, AI, competition or market conditions.

But effective leadership is one of the biggest.

Organisations rely on a small number of experienced leaders while at the same time trying to train and develop the next generation of emerging leaders. The challenge is developing them before you desperately need them, ensuring there is a clear succession plan.

We love working with organisations to build practical leadership capability that improves culture, performance and long-term organisational success.

Leadership development isn't a cost.

It's an investment in operational performance.

21/08/2026

Are you the bottleneck in your own team?

At first it starts off as you being helpful, your team comes to you because you're experienced, you know the business and you can solve problems. It feels good to be needed and useful.

Then you realise you're approving, deciding and carrying everything leading to slower decisions, frustrated teams and exhausted leaders.

The goal of leadership isn't to be needed for everything. It's to build a team that can succeed with you leading through others.

17/08/2026

𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽.

While the numbers in this graphic may vary depending on the study, the message remains the same:

The quality of leadership has a direct impact on whether people stay, engage and perform.

Gallup's states that 42% of employee turnover is preventable, highlighting the significant influence managers have on the employee experience.

Yet many organisations continue to promote technically capable people into leadership roles without giving them the skills to lead others.

Leadership isn't simply about managing tasks.

It's about:
✔ Having meaningful conversations
✔ Providing clarity and direction
✔ Giving feedback and recognition
✔ Building trust
✔ Creating an environment where people can do their best work

When leaders develop these capabilities, teams are more engaged, performance improves and retention often follows.

The question isn't whether leadership development costs money.

The real question is:

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀?

13/08/2026

Does it feel like ground hog day? The same issue keeps resurfacing?

Is everyone assuming someone else owns it or do they even know it is their responsibility?

One of the hidden costs of unclear ownership is that problems hang around longer than they should. Delays, rework, escalations and frustration aren't usually caused by capability issues, they're caused by a lack of clarity.

A simple question can prevent a lot of wasted effort:

'Who owns this?'

If the answer isn't immediately clear, there's probably work to do.

Ownership thrives when expectations, decision rights and accountability are clearly defined.

What have you found helps create greater ownership in your team?

11/08/2026

Most people come to work with good intent. They don't intentionally think 'How am I going to avoid taking ownership on this today."

Yet lack of accountability is one of the biggest frustrations leaders talk about.

People rarely avoid accountability because they don't care. More often, they're unclear about what success looks like, what decisions they can make or they're worried about taking a risk and not getting it right.

It's hard to take ownership when you're uncertain.

Leaders - do not accept or foster a culture of blame. Instead, create a culture of clarity, trust and ownership.

🔹Make expectations clear.
🔹Give people the autonomy to make decisions.
🔹Create an environment where people can speak up, learn and adjust without fear.

Before trying to 'hold people to account', hold the mirror up on your own leadership and ask yourself whether you have provided enough clarity on the above.

When people know what's expected, feel trusted and understand why their work matters, accountability becomes much easier.

Where does your team need more clarity right now?

🔹We had a bit of fun with this picture, doesn't look natural at all 😅

05/08/2026

Do your people need to toughen up?

Some of the strongest teams in the world are built on trust, vulnerability and genuine connection.

Firefighters. Emergency services. Military units. Elite sporting teams.

They don't perform because people hide how they're feeling. They perform because trust allows people to speak up, support one another and make better decisions under pressure.

Perhaps it's time we stopped seeing emotional awareness as being soft.

And started seeing it as a performance capability.

This is an emotions wheel that we use with clients - here participants are standing on the part of the wheel that best reflects their current state.

31/07/2026

We spent the day in Wallaroo yesterday with the Copper Coast Council All of staff training day.

The theme was One Council, One Community - Christmas in July edition!

A day of getting to know each other, understanding each others roles, unpacking misconceptions about different departments and spreading the Chrismas cheer and festivities.

The group participated in a mock scenario to "Save Christmas on the Copper Coast" after a meteorite hit, designed to encourage collaboration and get everyone working together across departments.

Well done Duncan, Clinton, Wendy and the leadership collective for your hard work and putting together such a fantastic day.

Thanks also to Dylan Strong and Roslyn Talbot for providing us with an insight into the people behind the roles.

Thanks for your continued service to the community and making the Copper Coast a great place to live, work and holiday!

Brett A-Z Anita Schneyder

29/07/2026

Our Teams on Purpose crew have been on the move this month!

From Murray Bridge, to Malaysia, to Vietnam, back to Adelaide, across to Sydney, up to the Hunter Valley, back to Sydney, home again, a couple of trips to Strathalbyn… and now we’re somewhere new to round the month off.

All up, we’ve travelled almost 20,000 km in the past month, working with clients, facilitating leadership programs helping teams thrive and having a well deserved holiday while we are at it.

Today’s video is from one of the incredible Viterra grain silo light projections. These spectacular installations have become iconic stops on road trips across the Yorke and Eyre Peninsulas.

So… where are we today? Drop your guess in the comments! 👇

Anita Schneyder Brett A-Z

21/07/2026

08/07/2026

Some leaders fear that if they start talking about emotions, things could get messy and they won't know what to do or say. They don't want to make things worse.

Big feelings can feel uncomfortable but avoiding emotions in the workplace doesn't make them disappear. It simply pushes them down where they show up anyway as:

• Disengagement
• Conflict
• Burnout
• Turnover
• Decreased performance

Creating an emotional culture isn't about turning meetings into therapy sessions. It's about creating safe, structured ways for people to discuss what matters, raise concerns and build understanding.

Strong leadership isn't about shutting emotion down. It's about giving it a productive place to go.