Crystallize Consulting

18/07/2024

Hey all, we’ve never really had a big focus on social media however now with the new website we’re getting lots of visits to our page which we are loving to see! Would be amazing if we could hear from you. We’d love to have a chat so please reach out! Cheers!

30/06/2024

The third episode of The Leadership Crossroads with Tim Hicks is launched! Dr Travis Kemp is a true thought leader in the he fields of executive coaching, strategic leadership, peak performance, and organisational psychology. In this podcast episode hear Dr Kemp share his inspiring life journey how his first job was an entrée into engaging with people and understanding how to work with people or not, to being a physical education teacher, a personal trainer, a psychologist, an adjunct professor, entrepreneur, and company director. You’ll hear how following his nose and his heart has informed career choices at crossroad moments, the meaning, and benefits of adventure for leadership, what it is to take the middle road to making decisions, the essence of leadership, perspectives on psychology and coaching psychology, and sound advice on the five core considerations in engaging a coach. Please enjoy this engaging conversation that will inform and hopefully inspire you.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5WTIiHZtH9BnNleypmS2yg?si=3Fa2iumkQOaBc6brWROBpg

Listen to this episode from The Leadership Crossroads with Tim Hicks on Spotify. Dr Travis Kemp is a true thought leader in the he fields of executive coaching, strategic leadership, peak performance, and organisational psychology. In this podcast episode hear Dr Kemp share his inspiring life journe...

09/04/2024

I'm excited to share Leadership Crossroads.

Every leader's career is defined by the moments where they stood at a crossroads with a critical decision to make.

With the pressure and power for these decisions to make or break, we are now rewinding the clock and unpacking those moments.

In episode one, I sit down with Dan Rosen, President, Australasia at Warner Music Group who shares a pivotal career decision to prioritise family over a new job opportunity.

Listen here:

Every leader's career is defined by the moments where they stood at a crossroads with a critical decision to make. With the pressure and power for these decisions to make or break, we are now rewinding the clock and unpacking those moments.

13/02/2023

I'm proud to say that I have recently renewed my membership of the International Coach Federation (ICF) and as a Master of Coaching Psychology (Sydney Uni) and a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the ICF I have not only met stringent education and experience requirements, but have demonstrated a thorough understanding of the coaching competencies that set the standard in the profession.

Click on the link below or cut and paste into your browser to view a short video and discover how to know if a coach is qualified and the process of searching for an ICF Credentialed Coach.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Xt92ndYEE8&t=3sProfe

01/02/2023

Adaptive leadership is the practice of mobilising members of a team to adapt, learn and grow into the change required to attain the high performance necessary for success.

Here's six tips for team leaders to consider in transforming the team to higher performance.

Get up on the balcony. A phrase you would have most likely heard of before. The concept of 'Get On The Balcony' refers to idea of gaining a larger perspective in the midst of action. Heifetz and Linsky describe as follows 'the skill getting off the dance floor and going to the balcony- an image that captures the mental activity of stepping back in the midst of action and asking – What’s really going on here? ' ' Effective leaders resist the tendency to be swept up in the action and are able to move back and forth from an active and reflective position. Looking at the problem from the balcony allows leaders to better observe patterns and identify the best move forward.

Identify the Adaptive Challenge. There’s a big difference between a technical challenge and an adaptive challenge! It is critical for leaders to be able to discern the differences. A technical challenge is defined as those that can be solved by with the existing knowledge, whereas adaptive challenges require new learning. When the problem definition is clear, a technical solution is possible. Otherwise leaders need to learn a new way to creating solutions.

Regulate Distress. As the leader be mindful of not overwhelming but providing enough tension to maintain urgency. Not enough tension leads to boredom and complacency, too much leads to unproductive tension and stress. Challenge the unproductive norms you are noticing and ask questions to raise tension to an appropriate level rather than give answers.

Maintain disciplined attention. People tend to slide back into old behavior patterns and unwitting leaders must be able to avoid the tendency to restore equilibrium. Identify distractions, refocus attention on tough issues and reframe issues to get at the heart of what matters to get progress.

Give work back to people. All too often, in hierarchical settings, people tend to look up the chain of command, expecting senior management to meet challenges for which they're responsible. Letting people take the initiative in defining and solving problems means that leaders need to learn to support rather than control. Instil confidence in others through encouragement and support.

Protect voices of leadership from below. Leaders must rely on others within the team to raise questions that may indicate an impending adaptive challenge. They have to provide cover to people who point to the internal contradictions of the enterprise. Those individuals often have the perspective to provoke rethinking that leaders may not.

Adapted from: The Work of Leadership by Ronald A. Heifetz and Donald L. Laurie

01/02/2023

A simple application of the hospital ER triage system:

As leaders, our minds are sometimes full of competing priorities and interests. To reduce cognitive load and cultivate improved attention consider triaging like an emergency room doctor. Prioritise your workload according to the urgency of the task. Emergency specialists use a colour coding system that I have adapted for you:

Red = immediate and critical activities. These are top priorities that'll give you the best ROI from your time.

Orange = emerging issues which could turn into a crisis.

Yellow = urgent but non critical activities with deadlines ≥ 48 hours.

Green = semi-urgent and non critical, important but they can wait.

Blue = non-urgent activities can be actioned when time permits.

Each morning, scan your WIP list and flag all your actions.

Hot tip! Remember for this to work effectively, be a disciplined leader in your assessment of what code you give to your actions. This will avoid incorrectly prioritising just the actions you like or love instead of the should's or must dos that are most likely more important to addressing your strategic goals!

Also, by using this triage system effectively, you will also soon re-train and change your brain to stop reacting as though everything on your to-do list is red.