Some birds I met last week!

Nature has a lot to teach us about leadership, teamwork, and life in general. While travelling around the South Island of New Zealand last week, I encountered many incredible birds (see pic). But the most impressive by far were the Royal Albatross - I couldn’t help but notice they’ve got the leadership attributes of presence, poise, and partnership down pat!

A few leadership lessons from Royal Albatross

🪽 Don’t flap your wings - Albatross glide gracefully, conserving energy

🪽 Read the wind - Albatross adapt to conditions and use changes in currents for lift

🪽 Zoom in and out - Albatross see the big picture from high above, and see small details when they matter

🪽 Share the load - like albatross pairs, strong teams swap duties and support each other

🪽 Respect your roots - Albatross return to the same nesting ground after being at sea for years at a time

🪽 Don’t rush growth or launch ill-prepared - Albatross chicks stay in their nests until they’re fully grown and well resourced

If you'd like to get your leadership style to down to a fine feathered art, please get in touch. And, I highly recommend visiting the Otago Albatross colony!

“These are a few of my favourite things…”

Mountains, snow, glaciers, ice, and salmon (not pictured) are definitely my favourite things and I’ve been indulging in them big-time the last few days. 

I’m making the most of the region after spending the weekend at a wellbeing retreat in Tekapo. 

One area heavily emphasised over the weekend was nature – the awe, freshness, shape, smell, sound and even light of it. And I'm in the right place to indulge. This part of the country is a stark contrast to my everyday life mid-city - man-made objects, hard edged shapes, bright lights and sound pollution. 

Back in the city I'm very conscious of the environment and often work with clients outside (circumstance permitting). It opens up the senses and triggers different neural connections. 

If you’d like to find ways to build connection with nature into you, or your team’s, everyday routine, get in touch. Give it a try!

Snapshot of 10 coaching superpowers for leading teams

Hi, we’re Helen Zink and Dr. Dr Cathryn Lloyd. We partner closely with leaders and teams, and we understand the array of challenges leaders face. Over the past few weeks, we've shared 10 (plus a bonus 11th) coaching superpowers for leaders to experiment with. We’ve highlighted why these superpowers are essential in today’s complex and unpredictable world and provided actionable insights to help you apply them, whether for yourself or with your team.

The attached infographic summarises all superpowers - we hope you find it useful. Feel free to download it and use it as a visual reminder.

 Here’s a snapshot of all 11:

⭐ Superpower 1: self-awareness

The foundation that powers all other superpowers - understanding who you are, what drives you, and recognising your triggers. 

⭐ Superpower 2: curiosity

Stimulates growth, innovation, exploration, learning, and collaborative problem-solving.

⭐ Superpower 3: character

Trust, integrity, and consistency. Leaders with strong character create a culture of psychological safety, and positive impact.

⭐ Superpower 4: flexibility

To stay effective and resilient in a rapidly changing and unpredictable environment and thinking “what is possible”.

⭐ Superpower 5: candour

Authentic and vulnerable leadership is essential for establishing trust, accountability, and a culture of learning within teams.

⭐ Superpower 6: sensing

Actively picking up on signals, patterns, and dynamics in the environment, anticipate change, and enable proactive rather than reactive decision-making.

⭐ Superpower 7: learning

Encouraging reflection, feedback loops, knowledge sharing, and normalising failure.

⭐ Superpower 8: linking

Noticing and linking dots, understanding context and systems, embracing diverse perspectives, and encouraging innovation. 

⭐ Superpower 9: resourcing

Recognising potential, advocating, clearing obstacles, and tapping into networks to create opportunities.

⭐ Superpower 10: resiliency 

Bouncing back from setbacks, adapting to new challenges, and maintaining focus in changing environments.

⭐ Bonus superpower 11:  investing

Developing superpowers requires sustained investment of time and energy.  Allocating some current resource to enable maximisation of future resources. 

If you would like to know more, we’ve created a superpower guide with extended content. For your complimentary copy, please email Cathryn (cathryn@maverickminds.com.au) or Helen (helen@growtobe.co.nz).  It’s free to “good homes”. 

Superpowers infographic.pdf

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