January is the time to think BIG. If you ever want to plan your own mini revolution for your professional life the time is now.

Avoid looking at where you are now and adding a few bells and whistles.

Planning the odd adjustment is not enough at the start of a calendar year.

The Christmas break is often reached at the point of exhaustion. When that initial period fades opportunities will arise for your very best thinking.

How to find your best thoughts over the break?

It’s the Wizard of Oz moment. Is that all there is to it?

Writing reports can take MANY HOURS of a senior leader’s time.

This blog focuses on those which go to trustees, boards of directors and other forms of governance, often on a quarterly basis.

This blog covers five key points about how you can make the most of all your work in report writing.

When you cannot see the wood for the trees it can be very difficult to know what you need to improve as a senior leader.

With that in mind I put something together - a five minute assessment tool.

Before their promotion they were happily running their own show. Their own team, own area, own budget, own set of activities. Separate from the rest, happily existing in its own ecosystem.

Occasionally they might have walked past a senior team meeting. There they are, coffee in hand, biscuits within reach having a chat. About something. How hard can it be?

Accountability is an inevitable part of the job. The more senior you go the more stakeholders get involved in this process, including those who you may only see rarely.

Each meeting of this type, and report to go with it, is wasted if only used once. It can be used in multiple ways with multiple audiences, including for ways which make your life as a senior leader easier.

Some public sector senior leader job descriptions are INSANE.

The perpetual time crunch is a very common issue.

Three key challenges are described here.

‘Gen Z solutions for leaders and organisations no.3. Regular and precise feedback. Recruitment, retention, motivation, engagement, training.’

Gen Z solutions for leaders and organisations no.2. Authenticity is key. If you want to recruit, retain and motivate the most able you must be who you say you are.

I enjoyed talking to Lucas Kemper from Haringey Education Partnership on the HEP Talks podcast.

Gen Z solutions for leaders and organisations no.1. If you want to recruit, retain and motivate the most able you need to be ultra-clear.

The final blog on Generation Z characteristics. For employers who are able to show what the future will look like for their employees there is much to build upon.

A key reason why diversity matters a great deal to Generation Z is because they are more diverse as a group. No.6 in a series of Gen Z key characteristics - diverse

Mental health is an issue which comes up over and over again with the leaders I work with, it is at the heart of the snowflake trope. It is an absolute red line for every Gen Zer I have spoken to. Not taking it seriously will only lead to keeping the revolving door moving. Key characteristic 5 - apprehensive