𝗜𝘁 𝗜𝘀 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀: 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗹𝗲 In strategy season, the temptation is often to look for the next tool, platform, or system that promises transformation. Yet when we look at the organizations that truly deliver results, one truth stands out: it was not more tools that made the difference - it was relationships and coaching. 🔹 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 – Trust accelerates execution. Leaders who invest in authentic connections inspire teams to carry strategy forward. 🔹 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 – Targeted guidance unlocks growth at the individual level, turning potential into measurable performance. 🔹 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁 – Success comes from adapting development to local cultural and organizational realities, not copy-pasting global templates. At 𝗭𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗮 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀, we see this every day. Our leadership development high-context culture assessment and analytics don’t add noise - they strengthen the relational and coaching foundations that allow strategy to come alive. Tools may support, but it is people who move the needle. 👉 In 2026, winning strategies will belong to organizations that invest in relationships and coaching, not just more systems. #HighContextLeadership #StrategySeason #SkillsToStrategy t #CoachingImpact #ZangaMetrics

I posted the other day about Strategy Deployment, and Gordon added that “Improvement can’t simply be an overlay onto the existing management system”... A great shout - and the same goes for the supporting Leadership Behaviours. You can't have a 'Lean' veneer or mask on top of poor behaviours or try and fudge the cultural side of an OpEx organisation. In Lean environments, leadership isn’t about charisma, control or clever strategies. It’s about creating a system and culture where people thrive. I've attempted to pull together 6 behaviours that separate great Lean Leaders from traditional management: 🎯 Purpose-Driven Alignment – Connect daily work to long-term goals. 🗣️ Humble Inquiry – Lead with curiosity, not control. 🤝 Coach, Don’t Command – Build capability, don’t give answers. ⚙️ Think in Systems – Fix the flow, not just the people. 🔍 Obsessively Learn – Reflect, experiment, improve - daily. 🧭 Model the Culture – Be the behaviour you want to see. Lean leadership isn’t a role, it’s a mindset, a skillset, and a daily habit. Which is what turns improvement into a movement. 👉 Are you building leaders who manage processes, or leaders who shape culture? What key trait or behaviour have I missed? (I know Gordon will have a gem!) #LeanLeadership #OperationalExcellence #CultureChange #ShingoPrinciples #ToyotaWay #LeadershipDevelopment #ContinuousImprovement #LeanThinking #HoshinKanri #CoachingCulture

🔷 Continuous Improvement: The Heartbeat of a Successful Organization Success in business isn’t built overnight — it’s refined daily. The most resilient organizations thrive not because they avoid mistakes, but because they learn, adapt, and evolve faster than others. Continuous improvement isn’t just a system — it’s a mindset that starts with leadership and spreads across teams. Here’s how great managers keep the momentum alive: ⚙️ Encourage Feedback: Every voice can spark innovation when truly heard. 📊 Measure Progress, Not Perfection: Celebrate small wins — they fuel big transformations. 💡 Empower Ownership: When people own their process, improvement becomes instinctive. Remember, improvement is not a project with a deadline — it’s a culture that turns challenges into opportunities. What’s one improvement habit your team practices regularly? #ContinuousImprovement #Leadership #BusinessGrowth #TeamDevelopment #ProcessExcellence #ProfessionalManagement #Kaizen

🧐 𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨?   Because the best leaders aren’t just smart; they’re self-aware, grounded and agile in the face of change. 𝙄𝙩'𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙃𝙍𝘿 𝘾𝙤𝙧𝙥 𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚! HRD Corp - Human Resource Development Corporation   In just 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝-𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙙𝙖𝙮, 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 helps you: 🔴 Make confident decisions when the stakes are high 🔵 Turn setbacks into breakthroughs with a growth mindset 🟡 Master coaching skills that spark trust and team ownership 🟢 Build future-ready habits that stick for you and your team   This isn’t a lecture. It’s a reset. A hands-on, energising space to rethink how you show up and lead with purpose.   📅 𝟳 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 | 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 🏨 𝗛𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗽𝗲𝘀 𝗞𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗮 𝗟𝘂𝗺𝗽𝘂𝗿 ⏰ 𝗢𝗻𝗲-𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝘆 | 𝟴:𝟯𝟬 𝗔𝗠 - 𝟱:𝟭𝟱 𝗣𝗠 💲 𝗥𝗠𝟭𝟳𝟱𝟬/𝗣𝗮𝘅 | 𝗛𝗥𝗗 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗽 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲   Ready to grow with your team? Let’s go. 🔗 𝟭𝟬 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁. 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘄: https://lnkd.in/g7afiHh7   #LeadershipExpress #LeadWithImpact #TeamExcellence #FutureReady #LearningDevelopment

Leaders and those in the team have very different roles in the realisation of benefits through continuous improvement. Too often, organisations misunderstand the nature those differing roles and that leads to poor results. In my upcoming talk, I’ll cover the essential differences between the leader’s role in facilitating a continuous improvement culture, and the team's role in delivering it, but let’s delve into some key elements now. This misunderstanding, between the role of the leader and that of the team in adopting a culture of continuous improvement often stems from a blurred view of leadership's role. For leaders, their most critical role is to build and protect a culture where courage, transparency, and the appetite for improvement thrive. That includes confronting hidden problems and moving away from hollow hopes toward deliberate, courageous action. Leaders shouldn’t focus on developing solutions to problems, but instead facilitate the development of solutions by the team. It is teams, then, that hold the key to improvement itself. When the distinction between these roles is confused or neglected, organisations do not experience the fullest benefits of both the improvements, and the velocity of the improvements. Put simply: - Leaders build the environment, enable capability, and protect space for improvement. - Teams own the work, apply the mindset, and generate the solutions.   There are some key principles we need to adhere to, to ensure we have the right (and complementary) distinctions between the roles. Join me for the upcoming live online workshops for one of the dates which suits you, where I’ll cover off these principles and provide you a ~200 page extract of my book: ·      Tuesday 14 October, 9am – 1pm, or ·      Wednesday 19 November, 9am – 1pm   You can register for, or ask me to get back to you about the session here: https://lnkd.in/ghKRJ3Tr This workshop is registered with the Regional Business Partner Network. To explore if your business is eligible for support, contact your local Regional Business Growth Advisor here:  https://lnkd.in/gkSkvBEx …or email me darcy@cilab.nz and I’ll put you in touch with your local Regional Business Growth Advisor. Easy. #Leadership #UnleashingPerformance #ContinuousImprovement #Lean #TeamCulture #QuickWins #ImprovementMindset

Implementing meaningful change is never straightforward! From our combined experience at ATA, we’ve seen first-hand how change brings both positives and challenges. A few lessons stand out: ✅ Strong implementation teams matter. When groups are agile, proactive, and connected, they hold the strands of work together and create momentum. ✅ Leadership visibility is critical. It’s not enough to “attend” — leaders need to show up consistently, model the behaviours they want to see, and translate commitments into real action. ✅ Culture eats strategy for breakfast. You can’t deliver technical solutions (training, IT, processes) without first working on the people side of change. Psychological safety, curiosity, accountability, and compassion are the foundations that allow practice change to land. ⚠️ Common pitfalls? Sporadic attendance, short-term decision making, and fear/blame cultures that keep people defensive instead of learning-focused. 💡 The takeaway? Sustainable change requires both sides of the coin: The technical side (training, systems, processes) The people side (leadership behaviours, culture, trust) When leaders actively engage in both, they create the conditions for genuine improvement — not just compliance. 👉 We’d love to hear from others: what lessons have you learned about leading change in your organisation? #ATAConsultancy #SafeguardingTogether #Leadership #ChangeManagement #CultureShift #OrganisationalChange

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” — Maya Angelou This powerful quote speaks volumes — even in the world of lean management. Lean is often associated with efficiency, reducing waste, and optimizing processes. But at its core, lean is about people. It's about respecting those who do the work. It's about empowering teams to solve problems. It's about leaders showing up not just with tools and metrics, but with empathy and trust. A successful lean transformation doesn't just streamline operations — it builds a culture where people feel valued, heard, and engaged. That feeling is what drives long-term change. Processes may be forgotten. Tools may be replaced. But how we treat people on the journey — that stays with them. Let’s lead lean with humanity. Because in the end, lean isn't just a system — it's a mindset. #leantolean #LeanManagement #Leadership #ContinuousImprovement #MayaAngelou #PeopleFirst #CultureOfExcellence #LeanThinking #RespectForPeople

💡 Leadership isn’t about asking the “tough” questions. When leaders use difficult questions to provoke discomfort, they assume: 1️⃣ They already understand the problem. 2️⃣ They’re best positioned to solve it. That’s not leadership—that’s control. 💯 Perspective consists of a "point" and a "view". Its strength emerges when you shift the point while keeping the view constant. This unlocks discovery and engagement, without coercion or shaming. Real progress comes from a singular view from multiple points! 👉 Keep the discussion focus constant, and on the situation or challenge. 👉 Change the point from which you view (employees, managers, outside voices, conceptual lenses). 👉 Gather information and build collective understanding-a shared mental model of the situation and its parts and context. This is called a P-Circle, and it is one of six powerful cognitive moves, based on science--they form the most effective and efficient ways to view information. The best questions don’t corner people. They open space for discovery—and that’s where real action begins. Systems Thinking Standards Institute #SystemsThinking #Leadership #ManagementMatters #BeTheDifference #WalkTheTalk

🔨 Building Leadership That Lasts If there’s one thing I’ve learned on this journey, it’s that being a learning leader isn’t about clean checklists or polished answers. It’s about rolling up our sleeves, sitting in the mess, and building anyway. Because growth? It’s not linear. It’s human. And it happens where safety, heart, and strategy come together. 🌱 Safety so people feel brave enough to take risks. ❤️ Heart so they know they’re seen and valued. 📊 Strategy so learning connects back to what truly matters in the business. The balance isn’t easy. I’ve stumbled when I leaned too hard into one and lost sight of the others. But those stumbles remind me: leadership isn’t about perfection—it’s about showing up, listening deeply, and keeping people at the center while still steering toward impact. And when change feels daunting (because let’s be honest—it usually does), our role isn’t to “have it all figured out.” It’s to create spaces where people feel safe enough to wrestle with the unknown, trust enough to share their voice, and clear enough to keep moving forward. That’s why I’m excited to dive into Jess Almlie “L&D Order Taker No More!”—because shifting from request-filler to true partner is how we move from managing today to shaping tomorrow. 💬 I’d love to hear your perspective: How do you build safety, heart, and strategy into your leadership? What helps you rally others when change feels heavy? Let’s keep building—not perfectly, but together. #LearningAndDevelopment #LeadershipDevelopment #PsychologicalSafety #EmotionalIntelligence #BusinessAcumen #ChangeLeadership #TalentDevelopment #LDOrderTakerNoMore #TheBuildersVoice #GrowthMindset

Clarity often solves what complexity creates. In many organizations, delays or miscommunication don’t come from lack of effort — they come from unclear ownership. Teams work hard, but without well-defined roles or timelines, efficiency quietly erodes. One of the most effective fixes seen in high-performing operations teams is the use of short, clear Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). A simple one-page structure that defines who owns what and how long each step should take can reduce confusion, lower stress, and improve overall response time. It’s a reminder that effective leadership isn’t always about introducing new tools or systems — sometimes, it’s about simplifying what already works. What are the key takeaways? ✅ Clarity creates accountability. ✅ Simplicity builds confidence. ✅ Consistency sustains performance. #OperationalExcellence #Leadership #TeamEfficiency #ProcessImprovement #StrategicPlanning #ContinuousImprovement