Bona Fide Consulting

09/11/2026

I just finished a DiSC debrief with a client, and it reminded me why I love this work. He came ready to reflect, and the report resonated straight away. We talked about the stressors he has overcome and the behaviours he has learned along the way.

Then we got practical. Looking at one key working relationship, he left with a clear plan:

→ Acknowledge his colleague’s expertise
→ Focus on collaboration, not competition
→ Be selective and intentional with his words
→ Give his colleague space to process
→ Set clear timeframes

“It’s opened my eyes to his perspective,” he told me. He walked away feeling much more confident in himself and how to approach things from here, with a mindset of 'controlling the controllables'. He’s also a rugby coach, so his players will benefit too.

That’s the power of DiSC. It helps you understand your own behaviour, recognise what others need from you, and adjust your approach so you get the best from yourself and the people around you.

Is there a relationship you’d like to navigate better? Call Pip for a DiSC conversation.

08/11/2026

Experienced Mechanics - is it time for a change? Apply to join the Jones Road Auto team now at https://nz.seek.com/job/95599546?ref=cm-ui

05/11/2026

Let’s be honest, we’ve all had that colleague. Maybe a few of them.

🟢 The one who’s all about results. Straight to the point, wants it done yesterday, and can come across as blunt or impatient when you just want to talk it through.

🔴 The one full of energy and ideas. Brilliant in a brainstorm and great fun at the Christmas party, but somehow the follow-through never quite happens.

🔵 The one who keeps the peace. Reliable, supportive, always says “sure, no problem”, and then quietly struggles when things change too fast.

🟡 The one who rarely offers an idea, but is quick to pick holes in everyone else’s. Asks the questions nobody else thought of, and can leave others feeling shut down.

Sound familiar? Here’s the thing: none of them are being difficult. We are all wired to see the world, make decisions and handle pressure differently. And the one you find hardest to work with? There’s a good chance they find you just as challenging.

DiSC gives you and your team a simple, practical way to:

✔️ Build self-awareness by understanding your natural style, your strengths and your blind spots
✔️ See your impact by recognising how your style lands with others, especially under pressure
✔️ Read the room by spotting other people’s styles and what they need from you
✔️ Adapt with intent using real tips and strategies to flex your approach and get better outcomes

Small shifts make a big difference. Knowing this is power. It means fewer misunderstandings, less friction, better conversations, and a team that actually works with each other rather than around each other.

🎄 Looking for something meaningful for your end-of-year team function? A DiSC team workshop is a fun, interactive way to celebrate the year and send everyone off with real insight into each other. Or, kick off 2027 the right way, with a team that understands how to get the best from one another. Contact Pip to secure your date today.

03/11/2026

The story behind the numbers 📊

A good accountant doesn’t just look at your balance sheet. A great relationship banker or broker doesn’t just run your figures through a calculator. They ask questions. They want to know where you’ve come from, what keeps you up at night, and where you’re trying to get to. Why did cash flow dip last quarter? What’s driving that spending? What’s the plan behind the goal?

Because they know the numbers only tell part of the story, and the advice that actually gets you ahead comes from understanding the rest. So, here’s the question for leaders:

Are you taking the same time to uncover the story behind your people’s “numbers”?

📉 The dip in performance
🤒 The rise in sick days
⚡ The tension between two team members that everyone’s tiptoeing around

These are data points, not the full picture. Behind them there’s usually something real: a stressful situation at home, unclear expectations, a working style clash, a team member who feels unheard, or a health and safety concern nobody has felt safe raising.

When we jump straight to the performance process or the warning letter, we risk treating the symptom and missing the cause.

Strong leaders get curious before they get corrective:
✅ Ask open questions, then really listen
✅ Look for patterns, not just incidents
✅ Consider how different working styles see the same situation
✅ Create space for honest conversations early, before small issues become formal ones

Your people are more than their KPI's.

If you’d like support having those conversations, whether it’s coaching, mediation, or navigating a tricky employment issue, let’s talk.

30/10/2026

NOW HIRING!!! Jones Road Auto are looking for an experienced mechanic to join their team, if you're interested or know someone who Would be the perfect fit, we'd love to chat!

https://nz.seek.com/job/95599546?tracking=SHR-WEB-SharedJob-anz-2

28/10/2026

The stories we tell ourselves.

Every second, your brain receives around 11 million bits of information. It can consciously process about 40. So what happens to the other 10,999,960?

Your brain filters them. It deletes what it decides doesn’t matter, distorts what doesn’t fit, and generalises from what it has seen before. Then it fills the gaps with assumptions, past experience, beliefs and mood, and hands you a neat, convincing story.

Which means none of us respond to reality. We respond to our own perception of reality. Read that again.

That colleague who didn’t reply to your email? Your brain has probably already written the story: they’re annoyed with me, they don’t respect my time, they’re avoiding the issue. And we react to that story as if it were fact.

So much workplace conflict isn’t about what happened. It’s about the meaning each person attached to what happened.

A few questions worth pausing on next time you feel that reaction rising:
🔹 What do I actually know, and what am I assuming?
🔹 What else could be true?
🔹 What story might the other person be telling themselves about me?

Try saying it out loud: “The story I’m telling myself is…” It’s one of the simplest ways to turn a reaction into a conversation.

Bold conversations. Brave leadership. Better business.

26/10/2026

Not every employment issue needs an investigation or a lawyer. When it does, I’ll tell you. But in 20 years of employment law and HR practice, I’ve seen plenty of workplace issues escalate into formal processes that didn’t need to go there.

Often what’s really needed is:

• An objective triage of what’s actually going on
• Curious questions to get to the heart of the matter
• Clear expectations, reset kindly and firmly
• Coaching or training to build capability
• A courageous conversation, well planned and well held

That’s where I come in. For business owners and leaders, I’m a sounding board behind the scenes, coaching you through the curly stuff so you can respond with clarity rather than react under pressure.

If you’re sitting with a people problem and wondering “where do I even start?”, let’s talk.

Bold conversations. Brave leadership. Better business.

22/10/2026

Want fewer grievances at work? 🤔 You could try removing a few letters instead...
Take the I, E, V and N out of grievance, and look what’s left: Grace.

Leading with Grace looks like removing -

🔹 Instant judgements
🔹 Ego
🔹 Venting
🔹 Negative stories

None of these are a big deal on their own. But left unchecked, they quietly chip away at trust, and that’s often where grievances begin.

Who could you offer a little grace to this week?

To learn about our range of Leadership Programmes and Coaching call Pip on 021 474 736 or email [email protected].

LLB. AAMINZ Mediator. HR Advisor.

Employment Relations | Recruitment | Dispute Resolution | Training & Workshops | Coaching

19/10/2026

Ever noticed how a colleague who’s late is “disorganised”, but when you’re late it’s “the traffic”? 🚗

There’s a name for that: the fundamental attribution error. It means putting other people’s behaviour down to their character, while putting our own down to our circumstances.

We see our own full picture: the sick kid, the deadline, the bad night’s sleep. With others, we only see the moment. So, our brain fills the gap with a story, and it’s rarely a generous one. At work, that story shapes how we give feedback, handle conflict, and sometimes even how we start a formal process. Getting it wrong costs trust.

Next time you catch yourself making a snap judgement, try this:
- Test the assumption. What else could explain this?
- Ask before you decide. “Is everything okay?” goes a long way.
- Offer a little grace. It’s what you’d want for yourself.

If your team could use some help having these conversations, I’d love to chat.

16/10/2026

Word of the day: Perspicacious (per-spi-KAY-shus)

We all know someone like this. The leader who reads the room before the meeting starts. The manager who knows exactly how to deliver feedback so it lands. The colleague who can calm a tense conversation in two sentences.

Here's the good news: perspicacity isn't just a gift. It's a skill, and DiSC is one of the most powerful tools I know for building it.

DiSC helps you recognise how people prefer to communicate, make decisions and handle pressure:

🟢 D: direct, results-focused, wants the bottom line
🔴 i: enthusiastic, people-oriented, thrives on energy and ideas
🔵 S: steady, supportive, values stability and trust
🟡 C: careful, analytical, wants accuracy and detail

Once you can read these styles in yourself and others, you stop guessing. Conversations get easier, conflict gets smaller, and teams start to click.

Want to be more perspicacious? Let's talk about a DiSC profile for you or your team.

📞 021 474 736