A Little More Brave

The Power of Playfulness
Simple Things Shared with Glad Hearts
The joy of sharing
Every Club Counts
Yesterday, while co-facilitating a Lead the Way session at Aviva in Perth, we were exploring leadership styles.
Towards the end of the session, I thought it was time to bring a little unexpected fun into the room. Earlier that morning, in my preparations for the session, I’d had a silly idea…
So… out came the golf clubs. ⛳
A driver, 3 wood, 4 iron, pitching wedge, sand wedge and of course… my putter.
A few slightly puzzled faces looked back at me!
I asked if there were any golfers in the room and one participant bravely volunteered to come forward.
What followed was part leadership lesson, part comedy golf challenge.
We talked about how no golfer would ever play an entire round with just one club.
The driver might help you launch down the fairway, but it’s hopeless in a bunker.
And a putter is perfect on the green, but not much use off the tee.
The wedge helps with delicate recovery shots.
Each club has a purpose for a specific situation and good golfers learn to read the course ahead of them.
In a sense Leadership styles are very similar.
Great leaders don’t rely on one dominant style for every circumstance.
Sometimes a team needs a visionary leader who paints a compelling picture of the future.
At other times they need coaching and encouragement.
Or they may need clarity, pace, collaboration, challenge, reassurance or direction.
The real skill is sensing what the situation requires… and then reaching for the right “club.”
Of course, no leadership activity involving golf clubs would be complete without a little chaos.
So naturally, we finished by attempting to putt golf balls into a mug from across the room using different clubs.
Let’s just say the success rate varied considerably depending on the club selected!
There was plenty laughter, a little competitiveness, and more than a few surprisingly passionate putting techniques on display.
But beneath the fun sat a simple reminder:
Leadership flexibility matters and there is always a choice, but as we watched John we all realised how he slowed down and really concentred too.
The key message landed – the best leaders are not those who master only one style.
They are the ones who develop the awareness, confidence and adaptability to use the right style at the right moment for the people in front of them.
Or, to put it another way…
Sometimes leadership requires a driver, and sometimes it simply requires a very careful putt into a pink mug!
As leaders, are we carrying a full bag of clubs… or just swinging the same one over and over again?
Fleeting Days, Eternal Bonds
Memories
The Gentle Rewind
My day always begins early.
This morning, as I sat to write in my journal, I tried something a little different.
So, I sat quietly… and replayed yesterday in my mind’s eye.
I slowed down, even more unhurried, with no sense of rush. And as I did, it felt like watching an old video on rewind. Scene by scene in full colour.
I watched myself.
Where I was.
Who I was with.
What I said.
And how I showed up in each moment.
And something interesting happened.
I began to notice not just what I did… but how I was.
Was I present… or just physically there?
Was I listening… or waiting for my turn to speak?
Was I calm… or quietly hurrying the moment along?
There were moments I liked. Times when I was fully there, engaged, listening, unhurried.
And there were others…
Moments where I could see the subtle rush.
A hint of impatience.
Divided attention.
Tiredness creeping in.
Nothing dramatic.
Just small, human moments.
But really seeing them and properly noticing them, somehow felt different.
There was no harsh judgement.
Just a gentle awareness.
“Did you notice that moment?”
“That’s where you were trying.”
“That’s where you could slow down.”
Those quiet observations changed everything.
Questions…
I found myself asking a simple question as I watched it back:
How did I really show up yesterday?
I realised how rarely I give myself the space to truly see my day.
Not just skim it… but revisit it, unhurried.
Because the truth is, most of leadership – and most of life – isn’t made up of big moments.
It’s made up of small ones, including conversations, glances, pauses, interruptions, fatigue, kindness.
And somewhere in the middle of all that… is who we are becoming.
Slowing down long enough to notice it might be one of the most important leadership practices we develop.
Why not give it a go?
If you were to quietly rewind your day, what might you see that you didn’t notice the first time?
To the Rescue

Sunday morning thought
The Thinking Face
The other day, I was co-facilitating a virtual learning session on coaching for Aviva, on their new flagship leadership programme, Lead the Way.
After an initial exploration of the topic and some key areas to focus on, we sent the participants off into breakout rooms in trios and pairs for a little practice.
Armed with good intentions, a handful of questions, some listening skills and a new coaching model, they had just enough structure to get going.
And off they went.
As I dropped in and out of the rooms, something caught my attention.
Not the questions, the coaching model or even their listening skills.
Rather, it was their 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬.
Many had a very familiar look that said something like, “I’m concentrating very hard on getting this right….” 
You know that sort of look that was slightly tense, yet focused, and thinking more about the process, than the person.
There was a kind of intensity about them.
It was coaching… but it didn’t quite feel like connection.
Connection Coaching
I smiled, because (although it’s been a while) I’ve been there too.
In coaching, we can get so wrapped up in doing it right that we forget something simple: Your face is always speaking and more importantly, it is a very powerful tool in the coaching world.
Prior to sending them off into the breakout rooms, we’d spent a while considering questions, those of the verbal variety.
Experience has taught me that you can ask many questions in non-verbal ways through facial expressions, eye contact, a raised eyebrow, a puzzled look, tilting your head to the side, tugging your ear, placing your hand on your cheek, stroking your chin, using hand gestures to help or a combination of them all.
Self-awareness is paramount.
So, I left them with one thought towards the end of the session: “Have a think about what your face was saying.”
It may not something we often think about too often, but it might be one of the simplest ways to become a better coach.
Because great coaching isn’t just in the words we use… it’s frequently in the signals we send.
👉 What is your face saying?
