The Unified Team Rob McPhillips

Life exists in tension.
Everything we do, is done along a spectrum of tension.
Conflicting goals create tension. Leadership is about managing those tensions.

Managers want to create a psychologically safe environment.

Yet, there is a natural tension with the fear of failure and not performing. When you give a speech, prepare a bid or create something it could fail. That fear is at the root of what drives us to perform.

Some of the greatest sportsmen have spoken about the fears that drive them to success.

Managers don't create this fear, but they have to manage the tension. At the end of the day we go to work to perform. And if we don't perform jobs are lost and companies fail.

So Leaders can't remove the fear completely or they lose the tension to perform.

You create the safest environment you can. You give people the confidence, competence and connection to take risks. But you cannot protect them from the reality of results.

In the end, we have to perform and that determines our results and career success.

And that is scary for all of us. But that's life. From the Savannah to the boardroom.

Today's podcast episode talks about managing this tension to get your team to perform with...

Clark Ray
Thomas Courts
Tony Walmsley - Performance Specialist

Before teams can perform people have to be capable of performing.
Burning out staff through stress or overload of work means the team will crash. Each individual is also facing personal challenges. Now they might not be strictly work related, they impact their ability to focus and contribute.

I gathered an expert on mindfulness and neuroscience, another on health and fitness and someone who'd burned out and recovered from addiction.
We talked about the challenges team leaders face and how they can navigate through them.

Leave your emotions at the door!
Your personal life is your problem. Be Professional. Just get on with it.

Theses are statements that we've probably all heard

In the old factories they made sense. We could press buttons as we stifled sobs and anxieties. Today though, they don't work.

When we separate who we are from what we do, we have a soulless, passionless job.

In today's Unified Team Podcast episode I was talking to Signe Korjus

Signe helps leaders lead in the way they dreamed of. By connecting them to their own source of wisdom and power. So they have the confidence to grow.

Imagine your job rested on how your team performed in the next 45 minutes...
how would you get your message across in 5 minutes?
As we come to the end of the football season and games that decide who wins titles and promotions. And who loses and gets relegated. This is the situation football managers are facing.
The very same lessons apply in every business across the globe.
In every situation we are dealing with people. Their varying styles. And the dynamics of the group.

A statistic tells us that Managers spend 50% of their time in meetings.

Yet 65% of employees feel meetings reduce their productivity.

Effective meetings are key to bonding a team and making them work effectively. How we approach 1-1 and group meetings is key to creating the climate and culture that defines the group.

In this episode we discussed meeting dynamics. Individual responses and how to accommodate differing styles. How to ensure your message gets through and is heard in the way you want.

Some great insights and tips from:

Clark Ray
Thomas Courts
Tony Walmsley

Is AI to be our Saviour or Enslaver?
Every great story is a battle of good vs evil. The question of what role AI plays out in our future is yet to be answered. What is critical is who gets to teach AI.
Will it exaggerate the flaws within our own systems or will it bring more humanity?
I gathered together a group of people brighter than me to think this through.

Giannis Chatzidis Chief Data Scientist and AI Coach
Muhammad Mehmood - Ex CEO of Tech company
Neil Harrison - Adaptologist and Change Professional
Paula Anastasiade - Change Management Consultant

Listen in to see the potential pitfalls and benefits AI could bring.

Bartholomew Sharpe stole something that made him a fortune.
In 1680, he and his men sailed out to central America where they stole a Spanish ship. They discovered an atlas of Spanish sailing charts. They used it to find and raid Spanish ships.

On his return to England he was arrested for piracy and brought before the King.

The Spanish Ambassador insisted he be hung for his crimes. However, Sharpe had something of great value to the King... the atlas. His gift kept him alive and free.

Today's episode of the Unified Team Podcast is about mentoring.

A Mentor is someone who has a map of where you want to go. They can warn you of landmines. And show you where treasure can be found.

I was joined by three people who have deep and rich maps of experience.

Matthew Ward started out on his own in business at 23 and grew a 72 strong chain of multi-national Hair Salons before selling up and retiring.

Waldemar Zimmer went from the shop floor to becoming CEO of a Multinational company by the age of 30.

Akanksha Adivarekar found herself in a new country, unable to practice her profession of Dentistry. She started from the ground up and built a second successful career in the HR field.