What We Think

In part 1 of our ‘Shaping our future post COVID-19’ livestream, we challenged leaders to create the future instead of predicting it. Part 2, ‘Bridging the Divide and Injecting Energy’, sees us repositioning the leader’s mindset to identify the opportunities COVID-19 presents and examine major organisational and leadership themes we see playing out, and how to translate these into ‘re-imagining’ opportunities for your organisation during re-entry. Our session will also acknowledge the challenge and provide strategies to revive a fatigued workforce through the lens of ‘The 3rd Quarter Phenomenon’. We present the questions every organisation should ask themselves to maintain attention and purposeful action within their workforce.

Concluding part 3 of our ‘Shaping our future post COVID-19’ series, we review the three leadership approaches that are currently playing out in market; protecting, progressing, or stuck in the in-between. Acknowledging the scale of disruption to strategic plans and horizons, Maximus Directors are joined by Founder and former Director of Flight Centre’s UK operation Mandy Johnson, and now author of two acclaimed books, Winning the War for Talent and Family Village Tribe – The Evolution of Flight Centre where they talk to the potency of developing and exercising foresight in the coming periods, and the criticality of a strong North Star to navigate.

Two leaders give their perspectives on how seeing your people and your opportunities clearly, will enable success during tumultuous times.

Maximus • 5 minutes Reading Time

A common reason for M&A (mergers and acquisitions) failure is downplaying the people element. During due diligence, planning focuses on how to realise strategic and financial benefits such as access to new markets, distribution synergies and economies of scale. It’s often assumed the human side will take care of itself once the integrated entity is operational. Yet 3 out of 10 mergers fail for cultural reasons.

Maximus • 3 minutes Reading Time

Being a great consultant means creating meaningful relationships that last. Strong network ties and client engagement creates clients for life that not only create more opportunities for billable work, but also opens doors for exciting consulting opportunities.

Maximus • 5 minutes Reading Time

The past few years have seen the rise of social movements, with their pace, traction and impact indicating that traditional constructs of power, leadership and authority are no longer durable and that as a concept, they have been decoupled. In our latest white paper, Maximus propose the requirement for organisations to distribute accountability, unlock emotional commitment and ignite activism within the collective if they are to thrive in the new world.

Maximus • 3 minutes for introduction article; 20 minutes for Whitepaper (linked) Reading Time

Reaching strategic goals isn’t negotiable. It’s the reason for stakeholders and executives’ very being. It’s what business is all about. Yet according a recent study, just 53 percent of executives characterise their companies’ strategies as emphasising the creation of relative advantage over competitors; the rest say their strategies are better described as matching industry best practices and delivering operational imperatives1. In other words, just playing along.    

Maximus • 2 minutes Reading Time

A successful leader brings clarity and focus to complex topics; makes sure the right systems, strategies and people are in place; and positions their business to seize new opportunities. The relatively new discipline of human capital analytics supports these goals by distilling critical workforce insights, yet most of Australia’s CEOs are ignoring it.

Maximus • 2 minutes Reading Time

As humans, we lack the capacity and have a poor track record of predicting and modelling the future. To be truly future focused, we must stop looking in the rear-view mirror and depending on historical data to make future focused decisions: leaders must cease predicting the future, and instead, start creating it. Maximus Directors talk to building resilience and flexibility into the business planning process and how to successfully bring it to life it across your organisation, transferring ownership and accountability to your people.

The past few years have seen the rise of social movements, with their pace, traction and impact indicating that traditional constructs of power, leadership and authority are no longer durable: leadership and authority as a concept have been decoupled. For many organisations this shift in power dynamics has led to a conundrum, and as we move into the new normal with new opportunities and new operating models, democratised leadership will be critical to thrive in this new world. Maximus Directors Brent Duffy and Mark Sowden talk to the criticality of democratised leadership to survive in the new world, the systems which enable it, and how to set these up within your organisation.

Following on from ‘Democratising Leadership: Creating the Conditions and the Systems for Distributed Impact’, we move to explore the mindset required by individuals in your organisation to capitalise on the benefits of a system of democratised leadership.

The Coronavirus pandemic is the black swan event of our times. In his book, Antifragile, Nassim Nicholas Taleb sets the scene for understanding that the subsequent turmoil of black swan events is caused by fragility; and cultivating antifragility is the antidote.  

Maximus • 3 minutes Reading Time

During tough times, effective leaders make a quick and essential transition from crisis response to a positive reimagination of the organisation.

Maximus • 5 minutes Reading Time

Whether you’re transforming your capabilities or facing up to the fact that you are better off honing your skills in other directions, it’s all part of the journey. In this article, Vanessa Gavan discusses the three vital shifts for any leader intent on advancing to the C-Suite.

Maximus • 5 minutes Reading Time

As you get to the top layers of an organisation, you need to be much less boundary driven and more open, but few leaders have been trained for that transition. This thought piece discusses how leaders can look outside their organisations for growth opportunities through partnering and collaboration.

Maximus • 6 minutes Reading Time

As black-swan events go, COVID-19 is a pterodactyl – a mega event that threatens to blow up global economic drivers, known production paradigms, trade agreements, market values, our concept of critical industries and much more.

Maximus • 4 minutes Reading Time

In the emerging field of post-pandemic leadership, Maximus has identified three expected corporate phases of operation we can expect to see in the coming days, weeks, if not months… For the record, the first is over.

Maximus • 3 minutes Reading Time

Customers are your primary stakeholders. You need to understand how to live in their world in order to offer solutions that meet their needs. If you are not creating the biggest impact for your customers, then you are limiting yourself and your company’s potential. In order to develop your employees’ understanding of customer centricity, customer-centred coaching is necessary.

Maximus • 3 minutes Reading Time

The impact of COVID-19 is ostensible for organisations and leaders alike, and we know that the leadership community is being inundated with calls for help and time in areas well beyond their experience. In this livestream, Maximus Joint Managing Directors Vanessa Gavan and Brent Duffy discuss the criticality for leaders to gain control over, and get comfortable with the situation to lead from a place of confidence.

We know that leaders are currently experiencing highs and lows and that it is imperative to tune into your own emotions and those of your team to manage energy effectively. In this livestream, dual Olympian (and Maximus Principal Consultant), James Chapman, provides his unique perspective on building and effectively maintaining resilience, grit and mental toughness as gained during his career as an elite athlete.

As we transfer to a new normal, asynchronous cadence, authentic connection and the emotional commitment of your people will become essential for organisations to survive and thrive. Maximus’ Joint Managing Directors Vanessa Gavan and Brent Duffy discuss the mindset required to tap into ongoing productivity and the emotional health of the business to enable impactful performance in a different operating environment.