Modern HR Magazine Issue Three

How To Help Your

Team Manage Stress

Meet

Kim McCosker From 4 Ingredients

Serena Williams:

Leading Her Way To The Top

JOANNE PAUL TELLS US ABOUT STRENGTH BASED PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

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SERENA WILLIAMS: LEADING HER WAY TO THE TOP

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KIM MCCOSKER 4 INGREDIENTS: LUNCH RECIPES FOR THE BUSY PROFESSIONAL

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WHY EMPLOYEES DON’T ALWAYS MAKE THE BEST LEADERS

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JANE SHAND: WHAT DO HR MANAGERS HAVE IN COMMON WITH ELITE SPORTS?

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MICHELLE LOCH: CONVERSATIONS OF SUBSTANCE

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JOANNE PAUL: STRENGTH BASED PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

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HOW TO HELP YOUR TEAM MANAGE STRESS

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AMNA KARRA-HASSAN: EMPOWERING WOMEN THROUGH SPORT

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TEAM TRUST: DEVELOPING TRUST WITHIN YOUR WORKPLACE

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HELPING TO BUILD THE PERFECT TEAM

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4 Ingredients author and entrepreneur Kim McCosker brings her amazing story to life, to inspire audiences and amaze them with her simple, hard working and determined recipe for success. Kim’s light hearted and warm approach and her natural ease with people make her a favourite with audiences of all sizes and from all walks of life.

Her enthusiasm and energy for sharing her passions in life and food is infectious.

Kim McCosker

Joanne Paul counts herself among a growing number of HR rebels, on a mission to turn conventional understanding of HR on it’s head, challenging traditional views on what good management looks like by taking concepts from dangerous ideas to real impact and building human-centric organisations. She is a podcast and politics junkie and her 2019 fuzzy beacon is “people whisperer”.

Joanne Paul

Amna Karra-Hassan founded the first ever AFL Women’s team in Western Sydneyand is widely recognised for the diversity she brought to the game and for taking thecode to Western Sydney. The Club played a critical role in establishing the game in the region, both for women and for its engagement with diverse communities,contributing to the recent inauguration of the GWS Giants in the AFLW.

Amna K-Hassan

Jane Shand

Jane Shand has worked across small, medium and large organisations in a range of industries including Sport, Tourism, Education, Publishing, Consulting. Telecommunications and Community Services. Her current role as Chief Human Resources Manager involves creating the people, performance and culture function at Queensland Rugby League as the organisation undergoes a transformational change program to build leadership & excellence on and off the field. Jane holds a Master of Management and in 2017 she was awarded the prestigious ‘Australian HR Manager of the Year’ award in Sydney.

Michelle Loch is a renowned Thought Leader, Speaker, Author and Mentor who is passionate about Leadership and Conversational Mastery. As an experienced coach and trainer of brain-based coaching and conversation skills AND a Professional Certified Coach with the International Coach Federation, Michelle is wellplaced to educate and motivate an audience to connect with the power of a powerful conversation. Of course, this skill is an invaluable tool for the art of speaking and facilitating audiences ofany size. Michelle melds her expertise in the neuroscience of human motivation, self-leadership and powerful conversation to support her clients to create leaders who have more leadership.

Michelle Loch

EDITOR IN CHIEF Natalie Martin

We take a closer look at the attributes that have made her so successful and how you can implement them in your own business. It’s well worth a read!

Welcome to Modern HR magazine! We are excited to share our third issue with you.

Our philosophy at Modern HR is to support you in your work life; to be a helping hand, a guiding light and sometimes the nudge along that you might need to live your best life!

The editorial team and I will strive to deliver you the right mix of information, and guidance. Think of us as the best friend who always has your back, but gives you a light ‘kick in the pants’ when you need it. So when you pick up our magazine, you’ll know we genuinely care about your journey.

We are thrilled to have powerhouse Serena Willams in this edition; her journey to the top of the ladder is nothing short of inspirational. Her wellrounded approach to success is proof that strong leadership is always a work in progress and is just as much about our mindset as our performance.

Eating healthy with a busy lifestyle can be challenging. Meet 4 Ingredients author and entrepreneur Kim McCosker and find out about her top 4 tips for eating healthy. She also shares some mouth-watering recipes you can make ahead of time on those busy weeks.

Also, meet Amna Karra-Hussan, the lady who founded the first ever AFL Women’s team in Western Sydney, and paved the way for athletes at all levels to create their own success. Her story is truly inspiring.

Find out ‘Why Employees Don’t Always Make The Best Leaders’ and ‘How To Build The Perfect Team,’ ‘How To Protect Your Staff From Stress’ and so much more...

We hope you love reading this third issue as much as we have loved putting it together for you!

Thanks for taking the time to read it!

Natalie

SERENA WILLIAMS: LEADING HER WAY TO THE TOP

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orld-renowned tennis player Serena Williams has climbed to the top ranks of her sport, but has also taught thousands of people that a strong serve of discipline, perseverance and positive mindset can help you achieve anything.

Serena has become an inspirational and influential global leader, both on and off the court. Let’s take a closer look at the attributes which have made her such a success and how we can implement them in our own business.

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Discipline

Competitive & Focused

It’s no secret that Serena doesn’t enjoy working out. However, she knows the importance of maintaining a disciplined routine and focuses on the bigger picture. Constantly pushing through her mental barriers has enabled her to become a powerhouse of muscle.

Creating a disciplined routine can help us to smash out those less favorable tasks, which are so important to reaching success.

Serena is highly competitive. She considers all of her opponents as rivals once they are on the court – even if they are friends off court! She puts up not only a physical battle between herself and her opponent, but also a mental and emotional battle within herself.

Serena focuses on herself and her own mentality throughout her games. This mindset is vital for maintaining focus on the win. While we don’t need to step on others to get there, focusing solely on what we want to achieve will see us reaching our goals. A healthy and goodnatured sense of competition is what inspires and encourages us to be better at what we do.

Self Analytical Serena continuously works on improving her game. She practices repeating the same shot over and over again to make sure she is fully engaging her body every single time.

Taking the time to closely examine the way we do our job and always looking for ways to improve our performance, is the key to success.

Confidence Serena says she never walks into a game thinking she would lose. She believes in the power or positive thinking and self-belief. Walking onto the court knowing she’s a winner and feeling confident in herself keeps her at the top of her game. A great leader doesn’t rise up by telling themself ‘I probably won’t be any good’ or ‘I can’t do this.’ Take a leaf out of Serena’s book and tell yourself ‘I’ve got this’, ‘I’m a winner’, and ‘I’m the best!’ Develop the mindset of a champion.

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Perseverance Serena has suffered many injuries and physical setbacks throughout her twenty-year career as a professional tennis player. No matter what she was up against, she pushed through her pain on court and maintained physical therapy off the court to get her back to where she needed to be. When things get tough, perseverance is crucial to maintaining our position. It’s easy to take a blow and let it affect what you are trying to achieve. Working through an issue, no matter how unpleasant, and keeping that focus on your goal, no matter how far away it seems at times, it another key component to success.

Serena says her strong sense of selfmotivation has been grown through her losses. Every time she loses a match, it fuels her to work harder and improve her game. Serena has said that sometimes her losses do effect her mentally, but she always reminds herself that even though she has come this far in her sporting career, she cant always win, and she cant always have it her way.

It’s about how you get back up again.

When we work hard towards something we desperately want and come away empty handed, many of us feel deflated and want to give up. Using that defeat to motivate us to find out what went wrong and improve our strategy or our performance is a driving force to come back even stronger next time.

Sets the trends Serena’s bold and confident sense of style sets her apart from the other tennis players. She embraces her striking looks and style, which has become a beacon for her success as a brand. Harshly criticized in the past for her fashion sense, Serena has never let it deter her from making a strong impression. Branding and influence is an important component to any player’s career for securing sponsorships, which supports the demands of remaining competitive. Standing out from the crowd and being a leader means setting trends. Whatever your business, don’t be afraid to be disruptive, lead the way and embrace your own unique style.

Serena has fought hard for her place in the world of sports. She has never relied on her talent alone and has worked on her mindset, overcoming barriers and reaching her audience through her inspirational attitude. Her well-rounded approach to success is proof that strong leadership is always a work in progress and is just as much about our mindset as our performance.

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Self-Motivation

STRONG LEADERSHIP IS ALWAYS A WORK IN PROGRESS.

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4 INGREDIENTS: LUNCH RECIPES FOR THE BUSY PROFESSIONAL

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ating healthy with a busy lifestyle can be challenging. Whether in an office, working from home, or bustling back and forth between meetings, many of us can find ourselves struggling to consistently eat healthy during the work day. We get it—it can oftentimes be difficult to find healthy lunch options in the cafeteria at work. You don’t have time to meal prep complicated meals at home, let alone spend money on random ingredients you’ll never use again. And let’s be honest, sometimes the fast food place across the street just seems more appealing than the salad you brought.

Sound like you? You aren’t alone. There are tons of people who struggle to keep the balance between their busy lives and healthy eating. Kim McCosker, from 4 Ingredients, felt the same way when she created the 4 Ingredients brand.

She was a busy mum who found many recipes to be complicated, contain ingredients not readily available, and simply take too much time to prepare and knew there was a way to save time and money. The goal of 4 Ingredients is to simplify cooking by creating quick, easy, and delicious recipes that are:

Eating healthy at work isn’t impossible. In fact, it’s not even hard to do. It just takes a little preparation, planning, and determination. But we know it isn’t that easy, so Kim has come up with four tips and four recipes for you.

4 Tips For Eating Healthy Plan Your Meals Buying your lunch on the fly daily has two consequences: a limited selection of filling, tasty, and nutritious foods and an empty wallet. This is why meal-planning and meal prepping is a good idea for busy professionals. It sounds daunting, but it doesn’t have to be.

Making double the amount of dinner so you can have some left over for packed lunches and preparing simple meals ahead of time are two easy ways to ensure you’re continuing to eat healthy at work.

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Stock Up On Snacks Most of us snack during the day, and it’s totally fine. However, if you’re trying to stay healthy at work, the last thing you want to do is snack on all of the sweet treats in the break room. Instead, bring your own healthy alternative to have healthy snacks at work. Stock up on some rice cakes, fruit, hummus and veggies, nuts—whatever works for you.

Keep them at your desk so they’re at an easy reach.

Say No To Peer Pressure We’ve all accepted the donut or homemade baked good from a colleague because we didn’t want to offend them or be the odd one out. Peer pressure didn’t stay in high school, and it can be difficult to stay healthy at work when you’re surrounded by people who don’t share the same mindset, It’s ok to graciously refuse the dessert. And if you’d like, try bringing in some of your healthy alternatives to share with your colleagues.

Everything In Moderation And if you really want the donut, eat the donut. Healthy eating isn’t a diet. Depriving yourself of meals and treats can create a really unhealthy psychological effect on you. You can still eat healthy without restricting yourself every moment of the day.

Forget your salad and get some French fries if you want. Just don’t do that every day of the week!

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4 Ingredients Approved Health Meals To Make Ahead Of Time According to Kim, the main reason we tend to eat unhealthy foods at work comes down to a real lack of time. “It’s much easier to go and buy something, order takeout, or skip meals all together!

But with just 4 ingredients, simple methods, utensils and appliances you probably already have, you will be AMAZED what you can make at home (and work) so easily,” she explained, “and we all know the healthiest restaurant in the world is our very own kitchen.”

Check out a few of Kim’s favorite 4 Ingredient recipes that are perfect for weekly meal prepping and even sweet snacking!

Apple Pie & Chia Pudding Yields 1 Serving Ingredients • ½ cup (125g) natural Greek yoghurt • 1 tablespoon (15g) chia seeds • 1 medium apple (150g), diced • ¼ teaspoon (2g) ground cinnamon Instructions 1. Combine the yoghurt, seeds, and a cinnamon along with 1/3 cup (80ml) water.

2. Cover and place in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight.

3. When ready to serve, microwave the diced apple with cinnamon for 2-3 minutes until soft.

4. Add to the chia seed pudding, mix, and enjoy!

Chicken Salad Yields 4 Servings

Ingredients • 500g cooked chicken breast, shredded • 1 large apple (235g), julienned • 2 celery stalks (60g), chopped • ½ cup (125ml) sour cream Instructions 1. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and season with herbal vegetable salt.

2. Mix well. Chill before serving.

Optional Notes: It’s interesting to note that by substituting ½ cup full-fat sour cream (30% fat)w for ½ cup light sour cream (18% fat) per serve, calories and total fat fall to 304.5 and 11.4 respectively, while sodium rises to 124.3mg, as does carbs 7.4g and sugars 7.3g.

Roast Pumpkin & Pesto Frittata Yields 2 Servings

Ingredients • 200g butternut pumpkin, peeled and diced into 1cm cubes • ½ cup (60g) red capsicum deseeded and diced • 2 tablespoons (40g) basil pesto • 4 eggs, lightly beaten Instructions 1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Spread the pumpkin and capsicum evenly over the tray.

2. Roast the vegetables for 20 minutes or until golden brown and tender. Transfer to a non-stick, 20cm ovenproof frying pan.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the pesto and eggs, then pour over the roasted vegetables.

4. Return to the oven for 15 to 20 minutes until golden and set.

Using oven mitts, carefully remove to a serving plate.

4. Zucchini Linguine Yields 4 Servings Ingredients • 4 medium zucchini (250g each) • 100g pancetta, chopped • 1 cup (100g) grated Pecorino cheese • 2 tablespoons (40ml) extra virgin olive oil Instructions 1. Using a vegetable peeler or spiralizer, peel a pile of ribbons from the zucchinis.

2. In a non-stick pan over medium high heat, add ½ tablespoon of oil and sauté the ribbons for 20 seconds on each side. Add the pancetta, half the cheese, and remaining oil and toss together.

3. Divide between 4 bowls. Sprinkle with remaining Pecorino and season with cracked pepper to serve.

Head over to the 4 Ingredients website at www.4ingredients.com.au and subscribe to their weekly newsletter for great giveaways, competitions, the week’s MOST POPULAR recipe, HUGE SALES & MORE! Be on the lookout for the new 4 Ingredients Keto cookbook coming out 01 July - it’s going to be fantastic!

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WHY EMPLOYEES DON’T ALWAYS MAKE THE BEST LEADERS

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n the sporting arena, many star players end up becoming coaches at some point, but this doesn’t guarantee they’ll be effective in the role. Just because someone can play a sport wonderfully, isn’t to say they can also coach and lead a team to victory.

While it’s logical, on the surface, to imagine that athletes who played at the highest levels would naturally make excellent coaches because they know the ins and outs of a game, it turns out this is not a guarantee. Those who do, can’t necessarily teach.

Being a coach is, after all, about

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leadership. Coaches need to have not only a good understanding of a sport, but also the ability to lead teams to work together, act as a counsellor in many cases, communicate expectations and plays, and handle the often king-size egos professional athletes possess.

There is also the business, financial, and legal sides of being a coach to contend with.

As an example of coaches who were first sports stars, take a look at Earvin “Magic” Johnson, one of the great basketballers of all time; “The Great One”, legendary hockey player Wayne Gretzky; and revered NFL Green Bay

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SUCCESSFUL LEADERS ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY FAILINGS WITHIN THEIR TEAM, DEMONSTRATE RESILIENCE, AND ARE EMOTIONALLY STABLE.

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quarterback Bart Starr. While all three athletes were at the top of their games when playing, this success didn’t translate to their coaching careers.

None of them achieved impressive results upon moving to the sidelines to coach.

Business owners and managers often make similar mistakes. They promote their star employees to leadership positions because they think these people will be able to teach other workers their winning ways. This can be a recipe for disaster, however. Not only can you end up with a team in disarray through lack of leadership, but you might end up losing your top employee, because their lack of management ability makes them decide to quit.

If you need to choose a manager, department head, or another team leader for your organisation, stop and think seriously about your choices.

Don’t opt for promoting a successful worker without first analysing whether they will have the leadership chops required to be excellent at their new role.

Remember: what made them your top performer as an individual employee is not what will make them a successful leader. This is particularly the case if they’ve spent years hearing how wonderful they are at their current job and haven’t had to learn to take on negative feedback or try new ways of doing things.

In business, people who excel in management positions listen effectively, show empathy, and are open to learning new things and seeing other points of

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view. They are problem solvers who know how to get their needs and wants across clearly, and how to get along well with people of all backgrounds.

Successful leaders accept responsibility for any failings within their team, demonstrate resilience, and are emotionally stable. They don’t let their ego get the best of them in challenging circumstances, and are keen to help lift others up. Of course, leaders also require business smarts in a variety of areas, if they’re to get the results expected of them.

While you can teach people some of the above skills, many of the personal traits are either there or not. Plus, if you need a manager to hit the ground running, you won’t have time to wait for a former employee to learn what they must for a leadership role.

With a manager’s ability to lead one of the key factors in a team’s engagement levels, you must choose a strong leader who will not let employees check out. If you don’t have any, or enough, experience in recruiting talent, consider outsourcing your HR needs to a specialist.

Enable a recruitment agency or experienced human resources executive to suggest the best person for a role, based on a list of requirements you provide them with in advance. Using an external recruiter will not only make it more likely that you end up with an excellent leader, but it will also save you time and money over the long term. It’s much cheaper, after all, to hire the right manager the first time around.

JANE SHAND: WHAT DO HR MANAGERS HAVE IN COMMON WITH ELITE SPORTS?

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he way a sports team operates in order to bring the best out of each player and reach a premiership is not unlike the values and practices underpinning a thriving business. In every team, on the field, or in the boardroom, success comes with cohesion, great communication and the right supports.

Jane Shand is the Chief Human Resources Manager at Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and strongly believes there is much HR can learn from sports teams. Modern HR Magazine spoke to Jane about these similarities and how key practices employed in high performing sports teams translates to the role of HR in business.

“There are three factors that successful sports teams clearly value – people, performance and culture. It’s no surprise that these are exactly the same elements that create great business outcomes and are the hallmark of a quality HR function,” Jane said.

Clear objectives We already know that a successful business has clear objectives, set key performance indicators and a business plan for the future, but sports takes this game plan to the next level. They know what it means to win and they celebrate when the hard work pays off.

There is a scorecard for each meet, everyone knows the rules and those rules are upheld by the referees. On the field, success is black and white, but what does ‘winning’ look like for a business? This definition is harder to frame, but just as important.

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“Sport is really clear about what success looks like – generally you’re considered successful if you win. But what is ‘winning’ when you’re part of an organisation? Is it signing a new partner? Selling more than last year?

An innovative design? A great recruit? It can be any number of things,” Jane said.

“Sports teams are also good at celebrating success – they have a team photo, hold the trophy aloft and sing their team song. How do organisational teams know whether they’ve been successful or not? It can be difficult to judge,” she said.

Recruitment Sourcing the best talent is paramount to positive outcomes in both sport and business. While a reasonable level of skill and experience is expected, a recruit can be trained on specifics of the job – but you need the right qualities to start with. This is one of the major challenges of recruiting talent and where many staff-related issues begin.

“HR have known for a long time that in many roles we need to recruit for ‘character’ and then provide training to close an identified skill gap. It’s easier to train someone to be a good operator than a good person,” Jane said.

Performance Management On-field, it’s clear if a player isn’t performing, and it can be just as clear at work. However, there are some differences in how this is handled, but ultimately comes down to communication and coaching.

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“In sport, performance feedback is immediate. If a player drops a ball or misses a tackle the crowd signals their disapproval at that exact moment. If a player does it again, they might get sent to the bench,” Jane explained.

“However, you can’t just sub someone out of an employment relationship.

They can’t be dropped from the team or put on the bench - business has a legal obligation to support and work with people to help them improve when they’re not performing.”

A great sports coach will work with a player to overcome weaknesses, reach their peak potential and learn to work within the team; this applies to the corporate world as well. Managing performance then becomes not about reprimand, but growth. Business coaching is gaining popularity for this reason and is something Jane recommends HR managers embrace.

“Coaches understand the motivation of ‘mateship’. Maybe you don’t think you can go on but you don’t want to let your mates down, so you run a little faster and push a little harder. This translates very well to business. Great HR teams know how to tap into the mortar that binds a team together – to make people feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves.”

Leadership Great leaders motivate, encourage and inspire – no matter the industry they operate in.

“We see coaches and captains giving their teams inspirational talks at halftime and imploring them to dig deep.

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The best business leaders do this too.

Leadership is easy when things are going well but true leadership become evident when the chips are down,” Jane said.

HR managers have the opportunity to work closely with leaders at all levels of an organisation to build skills and support the team through any adversity. The term ‘leadership’ doesn’t have to refer simply to the head of the team; any business benefits greatly from all players doing their part lift each other up, to support others ideas and learn from those around them.

Career Development A player’s time in elite sports is often short-lived, so transition to a career post-sport is highly important for the long-term health and wellbeing of the player. In business, often an employee can and will stay long-term, however, no-one benefits if they become stagnant.

“People sometimes just ‘end up’ in jobs.

They find a comfortable spot that’s not too challenging and, although they’re not learning anything and they’re not really happy in their work, eventually they can’t imagine doing anything else and they become stuck.”

“HR needs to work closely with leaders to assist employees with supports such as career transition services and clear pathways to new roles to ensure people have choices and they don’t ‘calcify’ in jobs. Some sports do the career transition piece brilliantly and rugby league places a real emphasis on ensuring players have a career they can transition to once they retire as a player,” said Jane.

MICHELLE LOCH:

CONVERSATIONS OF SUBSTANCE

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n the ever-growing field of leadership and performance management strategies, the fundamental truth often forgotten is that leaders lead humans. Not just team members, not just co-workers, but people with complex brains that are, essentially, not equipped to function in this fast-paced world of hyperconnectivity and immense pressure for productivity.

Michelle Loch, CEO and Founder of Leading Humans, is turning leadership coaching and mentoring on its head, so to speak. Michelle’s focus is on using neuroscience to help leaders better understand what it means to be ‘human’ and shift their mindset to grow thriving, productive and effective teams an emerging field known as neuroleadership. From a basic understanding of the complexities of the human brain, it is possible to learn how to ‘rewire’ thinking to change the culture of leadership and what it means to be a highperforming team.

“We are learning that some of the leadership practices we have experienced and rolemodelled in the past, are sound, but many are not. This is nobody’s fault, but when we stop to take stock of the effectiveness of our leadership practices and behaviours, we often find that a leader’s IMPACT does not match their INTENTION,” she said.

“As a high performance leadership specialist, I’m less interested in the intention…I’m interested in how leadership behaviour actually impacts on how people in the team feel, how they respond, and the level of ownership, productivity, appropriate risk-taking and quality thinking. It’s the impact that matters and leaders need to understand that.”

The core of Michelle’s strategies for creating more effective leaders is masterful

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communication and teaching leaders how the brain works, how they can identify and diagnose human behaviour, and then how they can implement effective strategies for improving workplace performance. This relies on the leader becoming better at asking questions, better at truly listening to the answers and being curious, rather than judgemental.

“At Leading Humans, our methodology is what we call ‘Substance Leadership’. It’s an evidence-based approach to human-centred leadership. We create Leaders of Substance, who lead Teams of Substance, who engage in Conversations of Substance - leading to Cultures of Substance - and conversations are the sweet spot,” Michelle explained.

“When we give leaders the KNOWLEDGE of how humans are really wired and motivated, the SELF-LEADERSHIP to role model useful human behaviour, and teach them the SKILL of powerful, coaching-style conversation so they and their teams thrive.”

Years ago, neuroscience operated under the belief that the human brain, once it reached maturity, was wired the way it would stay – that is now known to be false. Excitingly, the human brain has what is called ‘neuroplasticity’, meaning we all have the ability to change the way we react, how we behave and how we perform in our day-to-day lives.

In the field of leadership, the notion of neuroplasticity has incredible potential for positive change and is one of the key ideas driving Michelle’s work.

“Neuroplasticity is one of the greatest neuroscientific discoveries of our time. It refers to the brains ‘plastic’ ability to adapt or ‘rewire’ in response to changes in our moderhrmagazine.com

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thinking, behaviour, environment and bodily injury. It’s a term that has been popularised in many disciplines, but I don’t think most people truly understand the significance of its discovery,” she said.

“Leaders can use the power of neuroplasticity to influence thinking and behavioural patterns in their teams and organisations…We have the ability to literally change how our own brains are wired.”

Using the principles of neuroscience, Michelle recommends leaders focus on three things to drive high-performance teams towards greater productivity and effectiveness.

1. Coaching and conversation skill development; a team of high performing individuals does not make a high performing team, what matters more is how that team interacts, communicates and collaborates.

2. Removing friction; the leader must have the ability to identify and remove the little things that niggle in the team environment but aren’t usually thought of as important enough to address (but have underlying, significant impact in the long-term) 3. Support team members to solve their own problems, rather than piling more and more challenging situations onto the leader. A leader does not have to know everything and solve

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all problems – a great leader will foster ‘Conversations of Substance’ that supports team members in quality thinking to solve the problems as they arise themselves. This encourages ownership and accountability.

Michelle’s work has far-reaching implications, as she notes that the importance of understanding and effectively rewiring our brains not only improves our working lives, but our personal lives as well.

“The beauty of this work is that the skills and mindset you learn improves not only your leadership, but how you show up at home and in your personal life, and how you engage with your family and friends.”

“My passion is to help people get better at being this thing called a ‘human’….not just to ‘be better humans’… I do that by teaching people the neuroscience of human motivation, self-leadership and powerful communication. And I do that so that they can be better leaders, better parents, better friends and lead better lives.”

To learn more about Michelle’s work, visit https://leadinghumans.com.au/ Michelle’s book ‘52 Weeks of Awesome Leadership’ is also available on her website and offers short, practical methods for leaders and their teams to understand and experiment with neuroleadership practices.

JOANNE PAUL:

STRENGTH BASED PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

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R professionals and people leaders are well-versed in traditional performance management tools and processes, but many will admit that the accepted ways of managing people are often unsuccessful. Standardised processes that were designed to streamline performance management, and allow fair and objective comparison, fail to allow for individual difference. It’s a philosophical debate that has caught the attention of experienced HR professional Joanne Paul.

“Our systems are built around employees conforming to a list of criteria. But we are missing the qualities that an individual may bring, that makes them more than just a cog in the wheel, or a pair of hands” Joanne

explains. The default position is that if every box can’t be ticked, the person is the problem.

“Traditional performance management systems tend to look for deficits,” says Joanne. “For areas where employees are not strong so that we can tell them what they need to improve to continue in the role.” This approach is rarely successful for an employee as it breaks down morale over time.

Every performance conversation is tainted with pointing out faults rather than identifying and leveraging the employee’s strengths.

Joanne acknowledges that some level of standardisation is necessary in identifying skills, knowledge and behaviours that are critical to a role, and to support a fair remuneration moderhrmagazine.com

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WITH ENGAGEMENT AND OPEN CONVERSATIONS, WE CAN IDENTIFY WHAT GIVES A PERSON ENERGY.

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process. “There will always be a level of expectation of the skills required to be effective in a role. But there also needs to be a wider process that looks at the individual and the team.

A conversation with each individual should take place to identify strengths as well as types of work they enjoy, and aim to leverage these talents. If there are tasks that are not being done well, what is the best approach? Are these skills crucial to the role? Would another team member be better placed to take them on? Can training and mentoring help?”

When one team member is struggling in a particular area it can harm the reputation of both the individual and the team throughout the organisation.

Having people work in areas of strength and enjoyment increases productivity and allows a team to work more cohesively. If this is approached with honesty and transparency, employees will feel valued and rewarded for their strengths rather than being criticised for their ‘flaws’.

There are many examples of individuals not reaching their full potential because their role is not playing to their strengths. This can arise from the scope of the role changing over time, adding in additional skill requirements.

For example, an individual originally tasked with client engagement and solution design may be reassigned to project manage implementation.

Looking at the team overall (and encouraging individuals to know their own strengths) would give an opportunity for another individual with project management skills to step up and deliver the project while

developing new skills (e.g product knowledge), with ongoing consultation with the creative team member, who can be free to initiate new projects.

“It’s time to recognise that standardisation within organisations continues despite, rather than because of, human difference,” Joanne explains.

“People who could bring great value are being shoe-horned into structures that just don’t work for them, and don’t make the most of their strengths.

Direct managers need to recognise the environment and the individual to bring out the strengths rather than deficits in the team.”

“Our role in HR should be to help people do well,” Joanne continues.

“With engagement and open conversations we can identify what gives a person energy rather than depleting it, and what skills are essential to the role. Do they need to be an expert in some tasks, or can they just be good enough?”

If you’re interested in discussing strengths-based performance management or other disruptive HR concepts with Joanne, you can connect with her on Linkedin. www.linkedin.com moderhrmagazine.com

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HOW TO HELP YOUR TEAM MANAGE STRESS

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n-the-job stress causes many issues in the workplace each year.

Apart from the apparent adverse effects stress has on staff members, workplace stress also causes problems for businesses.

In most cases, affected employees have to take some time off work, which costs companies significantly. In fact, according to information in a Safe Work Australia report about work-related mental stress claims, absenteeism costs the country more than 90 million working days annually.

Furthermore, the direct cost to employers is said to be around $10 billion per year; a figure that doesn’t even include the costs of retraining or re-staffing due to higher worker turnover. Safe Work Australia also notes that approximately 92 per cent of work-related severe mental-health condition claims are attributed to mental stress. Additional costs to businesses result from workplace stress, too. For example, employees suffering from stress become much less productive, and team morale suffers, also.

People often shrug off these signs because they think they’re stemming from something else. However, by discussing the possible symptoms with your team, they should be better able to understand what their body tells them.

As you can tell, it’s vital for company owners and managers to find ways to reduce the likelihood that employees will suffer from stress. It’s also necessary to support affected workers at times when stress does hit them. There are numerous steps you can take to assist your team today and into the future.

Provide a safe working environment

Understand the warning signs First up, learn about the warning signs of stress and train your employees about them, so they know what to be on the lookout for in themselves and others. The sooner someone notices signs and symptoms, the earlier action can be taken to alleviate problems and hopefully avoid downward spirals.

Symptoms of stress fall into two categories: physical, and non-physical.

Physical complaints can include things like fatigue, sleep disturbances, headaches, nausea, chest pain, diarrhea, cold-like symptoms, muscle tension, excessive sweating, constipation, changes to appetite and weight, and fast or shallow breathing.

Non-physical signs of stress include feelings of anger, guilt, anxiety, irritability, overwhelm, worry, or sadness, plus generally feeling unhappy, being indecisive, losing confidence, having many negative or racing thoughts, and memory issues.

As a leader, it’s up to you to provide a safe working environment for your employees. This means more than just guarding their physical safety. Think about ways you can communicate openly and honestly with your team, and encourage them to be open and honest in return. Workers need to feel comfortable to talk about any problems they’re having and alert you to times when they’re feeling overwhelmed with their workload or another workplace issue.

Create a safe space and practise demonstrating active listening, empathy, and other leadership tools to show your team you care about their wellbeing. Be open to accepting criticism if it comes up, too, and actively step in and handle conflict resolution if a staff member’s stress is stemming from confrontations with a colleague.

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Be flexible When employees are suffering from stress, they need more flexibility. Allow them to change their working hours and/or location for a period while they get their stress levels under control.

They might find they can be more productive working from home, where other stressors don’t trigger them, or that they are effective in the mornings and evenings but need a rest in the middle of the day to rejuvenate.

If someone’s stress levels have reached such a high point that they’re at breaking point, make them take a proper break. They should have a holiday for a few weeks and use the time to focus on calming their body and mind through zero work but plenty of exercise, sleep, healthy food, deep breathing, meditation and time with loved ones.

Reassure employees that the business will cope while they have their break, so they don’t feel guilty about the time off.

Rearrange things in the Office Often, employees get stressed because they have too much on their plate in the first place.

If workers tell you this is the case for them, delegate tasks to other team members in future and/or hire additional employees as needed.

Sometimes workers find, too, that they’ve lost all joy in their job and want to do something else. As such, see if you can move stressed employees to a different part of the office or have them move into a different job type. This should hopefully help them get reinvigorated and find meaning and enjoyment in their work again. After all, a shakeup can do wonders for the body and soul.

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ABSENTEEISM COSTS THE COUNTRY MORE THAN 90 MILLION WORKING DAYS ANNUALLY.

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AMNA KARRA-HASSAN:

EMPOWERING WOMEN THROUGH SPORT

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e are used to stories of sporting greats, of incredible athletes who have risen above their fears and doubts and reached the pinnacle of their career through dedication, hard work and solid support. However, woven around these sporting success stories are those such as Amna KarraHassan, the lady who founded the first ever AFL Women’s team in Western Sydney and paved the way for athletes at all levels to create their own success, find their own identities and redefine common stereotypes.

Amna is an Australian Muslim woman from Sydney, who quickly recognised the unhealthy gender stereotypes and class issues prevalent around her, coupled with the post 9/11 propaganda that created fear of anyone with Muslim heritage. As a young woman, this world seemed fraught with difficulties and she struggled to understand where and how she fit.

She began noticing the lack of young women playing sport at her local parks and realised women were largely excluded from these shared spaces.

When it came to sport, women were

fans and spectators, but not athletes.

Amna believed it wasn’t due to a lack of interest, but opportunity, so she rallied the local girls and set up the first women’s Aussie Rulesteam in Western Sydney in 2011.

“I understood one thing about Australia, we love and celebrate sport. We love sporting moments, sporting legends and find it easier to converse with others when sharing a love of a code,” she said.

“We started a women’s team compelled by the social issues. It was not a love of the game, expertise or qualifications.

It was because I believed it was for me to take back my power and reclaim spaces that we’d been shut out of.”

Amna became fiercely determined to make a difference not just to her own life, but those of the many women around her.

“I wanted to own my identities and flip the conversation on its head.

When people think of an Australian, a Muslim woman wearing hijab must be part of what we see. Not only did I

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want us visible and representing the intersection of culture, faith and gender, I also wanted our girls to excel, to lead, and to live their best lives.”

Her team grew from strength to strength. Although they had limited early success on the scoreboard, other wins were very apparent. Players who had never thought they could be part of such a club were gaining newfound confidence and building their own identity every time they stepped onto the field.

“The team is a safe space for them to navigate the pressures they deal with, for some it’s their intersectionality, for others it’s social pressure and family expectations, and for most it’s more personal, it’s figuring out who they are and who they want to be,” Amna said.

In 2016, five years after the first Auburn Giants team was established, they joined forces with rival PenrithRamettes.

Old conflicts were resolved as the two teams had to learn to work together, further cementing Amna’s push to foster inclusiveness, respect and resilience.

This alliance also had an important positive impact for those showing true talent and determination in the sport – it paved the way for Western Sydney players to make it to the national league with the GWS Giants. Just a year later, former Auburn player HaneenZreika was signed to GWS Giants as a rookie then joined the squad in 2018.

Unfortunately, after eight yearsthe Auburn Giants were forced to withdraw from the AFL Sydney Competition due to changes in regulations. However, Amna and her team are determined to rebuild and once again rise above the politics and continue their inspiring journey upwards.

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Outside of football, Amna has immersed herself in advocacy work across varied sectors. She has worked for the Australian Federal Police in Community Engagement and Workforce Engagement roles and now works as the Organisational Development Coordinator for the Lebanese Muslim Association. In addition, Amna is the Special Counsel for Community Engagement for the Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue. She is a wellsought after public speaker on all matters of gender, inclusion, diversity and leadership.

Amna fills her days supporting others and campaigning for a better world, but, like, all of us, she has her moments of self-doubt. To get her through, she casts her mind to others who have trodden a similar path and the inspirational successes they have achieved, as well as those ahead of her that will benefit from her work.

“When I’m in doubt about my advocacy, I reflect on the leaders who disrupted the status quo and went down in history. I remind myself it was never easy, and usually it was against great odds that they were able to forge a path for generations to come. It is not for my success; it is for the future of what society and communities look like and motivated by the aspiration to make the world a better place for us all,” she said.

“It’s aligned to my purpose, values and mission, to change our condition; to operate with sincerity, wisdom, integrity, excellence and serve others; and to change the world one person at a time, starting with me and working outwards.”

Just like the football team rallies around each other, having the right support close by has been essential to Amna’s success. This is her key advice for anyone similarly striving to create positive change, as a good support network is there encourageyou when things get tough, to lift you up when you hit a wall and listen to all of the ideas racing through your head as you sift out the next great plan.

“It’s important that we have a support network that help us ask ourselves the right questions, people who disrupt the idea that something is wrong with the way we are because we are different and instead embrace us with unconditional regard and love,” she said.

“Identify mentors to soundboard with, people who act as a guide because they possess qualities or expertise that you’d like to improve in yourself.”

For Amna, these people included Jeanette Boland (former colleague at the AFP), Sahar Dandan, (her current boss, chemical engineer and mum of four) and Harvey Norman CEO Katie Page who showed Amna strength in leadership – to name just a few.

“I’m incredibly thankful for the men and

women who go unrecognised, who lend me their ears and hearts. It’s made a world of difference,” she said.

“I’ve been driven by my passion and purpose. I share my struggles and aspirations with others and enlist likeminded people to make a meaningful and positive impact.”

Amna’s final word of advice to women out in the community who have the passion, drive and influence to make their own positive impact is to remember self-care. Fighting for a cause in any capacity can be exhausting and overwhelming – know this and recognise your limits.

“Self-preservation is key to a healthy life. Learning when to step back and take care of yourself is essential. We cannot contribute or lead change if we are burnt out and traumatised from putting ourselves in the firing line repeatedly. Protect your mind, heart and soul. Disengage from selfsacrificing behavior and choices that destroy you for the sake of a cause or the work. It’s not worth it.”

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TEAM TRUST: DEVELOPING TRUST WITHIN YOUR WORKPLACE

T

he most successful sporting teams and individual performances come from an environment of trust.

The building of trust between team members, athletes and their coaches, support staff and fans is a crucial component to success in the sporting arena. You will never see an NBA win or Formula 1 victory where team trust does not play a pivotal role in the success.

The same rules apply to the corporate world; building trust within the team leads to success..

Regardless of how talented or capable each individual is, if a team does not work alongside each other in an environment of trust then they will never fulfil their full potential.

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Trust is not something that happens overnight, but rather something that is developed over time. It is important to work hard every step of the way to establish small amounts of trust within your team, until you have established a work environment built on a solid foundation of complete trust.

Here are 8 crucial things that you can do to help build trust within your team:

Lead by example Like everything in life, the best way that you can lead is by the example that you set. Your actions should set the benchmark of high standards and expectations. Show your team, colleagues, or employees that you TRUST them. Give them the opportunity to see what trust feels like and remember that your fellow team members will always be watching and observing and taking their cues from you.

Be an open communicator To have trust, it means to be able to freely and openly communicate without fear of embarrassment or retribution. It is important to cultivate an environment within your team where everyone feels confident to communicate in an honest and uninhibited way. Having regular team catch-ups and meetings will help to encourage this.

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Don’t play the blame game Team players don’t point the finger and give people a hard time for making a mistake. In any workplace people make mistakes - it is part of being human. Dwelling on those mistakes can be toxic for a workplace environment and can cause low morale and an unpleasant atmosphere. When mistakes and failures happen use them as a learning curve and an opportunity to grow in a constructive and positive way. Discuss with your team where you all went wrong, how things can be fixed and look at how things could be done differently next time. Mistakes are fine as long as you learn something from them!

Get to know each other To work effectively together and to build a relationship of trust you need to become familiar with your colleagues and get to know what makes them tick. Take some time to socialise with your workmates out of office hours or participate in some team building workshops. Looking at your workmates as ‘real people’ will help you to relate to them better on both a personal and professional level.

Discuss problems as they arise

Shine the spotlight on your team’s success

Don’t let difficult issues linger because if you do they will fester and grow bigger and bigger – better to nip any issues in the bud before they grow.

Don’t be afraid to discuss problems as they arise as this is a much more productive long-term approach than sweeping them under the carpet and hoping that they disappear!

No one trusts someone who tries to bask in all the glory, so take a step back and let your team enjoy their success and the attention, rewards and accolades that comes with it.

When people are recognised and appreciated for their achievements, it gives them a sense of not only personal and professional worth, but also a sense of belonging.

Discourage cliques One of the most dangerous things to disrupt the equilibrium and trust within a team is the splintering off of people and the development of ‘cliques’. It is very common for some team members who share common interests, beliefs or ideas to gravitate towards each other but this breaking off into ‘groups’ or ‘cliques’ can often inadvertently lead others within the team to feel insecure, vulnerable and isolated. If this occurs, then it’s essential to have open and frank conversations about the issue and address it immediately, before team trust is broken and any long-term damage is done.

Be honest and transparent with your workmates Always operate from a clear, visible set of values. Make sure that you let your team know what you expect of them and what they can expect from you.

DON’T move the goalposts. Develop a definite set of values and code of conduct for your team and be clear that this is the level of behaviour and performance that you expect.

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HOW TO BUILD THE

PERFECT TEAM

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he most important thing to remember when looking to build the perfect work team is that you are not looking for the perfect individual person but rather you are looking for the perfect GROUP of people.

Each individual has a range of different skill sets and the key to forming the perfect team is coordinating the best mix of those skill sets and knowing how to match them together so that they work harmoniously. Sometimes, this may mean not hiring someone who is perfectly qualified simply because this person may only excel when working on their own, but to consider the team as a whole.

Look for people who are not concerned about making themselves look good, but rather, focused on the collective group and the overall achievements and successes of the team.

If you truly want to build the strongest team that you can, then you will want to consider the following things: Focus on roles When selecting your team, it is essential to take your time and focus on handpicking the right team members for each individual role. Hiring someone for the sake of simply filling a position is counter productive and companies that do this end up with a revolving door of employees, which ends up costing time, money and creating a poor company culture. It’s better to invest your time and money in people who are truly specialised in the areas that your business needs; getting the right person for the job will pay off big dividends in the end.

Value each member of the team

Communicate One of the most important things in building up team comradery is open, honest, transparent and respectful communication. Orchestrating regular team meetings, catch ups and bonding experiences will help to keep the lines of communication open. It is essential that all team members are given a voice and that feedback is given in a respectful and constructive manner. Allowing the whole team to communicate their opinions and engage in discussions allows critical thinking to occur and allows people a feeling of ownership over their work and accountability for their contribution and performance.

Avoid conflict When formulating your team and working out the perfect combination of personality types, it’s essential to look for individuals with a positive attitude and mindset. Don’t let negativity infiltrate your team as it can lead to a toxic workplace environment.

Each member of your team is there for a specific reason, so ensure that you make every team member feel valued and special. When people feel that their role is respected and appreciated, it motivates them to continue to perform at their best.

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Set Goals

Get to know each other

Setting both short-term and long-term goals should become a routine part of your teams interaction and motivation.

Ensure that the goals being set are realistic, achievable and that the appropriate time line is set. Creating milestones and deadlines is a key component to motivating your team and will help them to drive forward and kick goals. Being enthusiastic and encouraging short-term goals will set the foundation for long-term success.

To work harmoniously within a team environment it is important that you have a good sense of whom your fellow team members are and what makes them tick. You do not have to become best buddies with them, but it will help your working relationship if you know a bit about them, how they think and how they behave and react in different situations. Investing in a monthly offsite social interaction will help you get to know your team better and will help you to appreciate each other outside of the workplace environment.

Celebrate both failures as well as success In business, just as in life, you win some and you lose some. What’s important is that you not only celebrate success, but that you also acknowledge and learn from your failures. If someone does a great job or you reach a milestone, make sure that the success is appropriately acknowledged and celebrated. If your team fails at something, use it as an opportunity to come together, re group and learn.

Don’t play the blame game or point the finger, rather use it as an opportunity for team growth and development.

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The performance of a team is dependent on its team members. The members must be carefully handpicked to ensure that everyone is able to collaborate cohesively and effectively to ensure that the result is high performance productivity.

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