Grow Your Influence (2025)

30/01/2025

In this fourth interview in our Summer Series, Juliet is talking with Ed Ross, one of the Founders of TradeMutt and This Is A Conversation Starter - TIACS

In case you haven’t heard of them, Trade Mutt designs outlandish work shirts and other useful and colourful things for tradies and people on the land. Their products are designed to get people talking about mental health and to normalise these conversations. A proportion of every sale goes to funding psychologists at TIACS who are available to talk when these people are struggling.

The Trade Mutt business has gone from strength to strength and not long after our interview they signed off on a deal with Bunnings, which will raise their profile further.

In this interview Ed talks about the origins of the business and how it has evolved as demand for TIACS has grown. In building two very different enterprises alongside one another they struggled with a range of issues and Ed is very open in talking about how they have tackled these and grown both teams.

You can listen to the interview here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0X4GAWZIQIZ5a8eMNvPjBh

We would love to hear from you about how you have tackled rapid business growth and if you have a favourite Trade Mutt shirt or story. Comment below or get in contact with us via our websites.

Juliet Robinson: https://biggoals.com.au/
Kristy-Lee Billet: https://www.peoplepoweredbusiness.com.au/

27/01/2025

Natalie MacDonald led the Victorian Country Fire Authority (CFA) through a period of dramatic change between 2021 and 2024 and in the third of our Summer Series interviews Juliet talked with Natalie prior to her retirement about some of these challenges and the opportunities they present for the CFA.

At the CFA Natalie led a make-dominated workforce that is spread across Victoria and is largely composed of local volunteers whose first loyalty is to their local crew, rather than a distant head office. In this conversation Natalie talks about her focus on supporting local crews, building the CFA culture and embedding genuine, sustainable diversity within the workforce at CFA, which has enabled the organisation to come through a difficult time in good shape.

Listen to the interview here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1shswdy3v6jqywTlr92ol1

How do you tackle building the culture of your business and motivating your people? Comment below or get in touch with us.

Juliet Robinson: https://biggoals.com.au/
Kristy-Lee Billet: https://www.peoplepoweredbusiness.com.au/

19/12/2024

Today in the second of our Summer Series interviews, Kristy-Lee is talking with Mel Rosenthal of 52Conversations.com on having the important conversations that matter.

Mel is a Professional Certified Coach, accredited by the International Coaching Federation and an Australian Institute of Company Directors graduate (GAICD). She holds a Bachelor of Commerce (First Class Honours) from the University of Western Australia and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Mel works with Founders and Leaders to drive growth for companies and the people in them.

She has been trusted by the leadership of companies including Who Gives A Crap, Minor Figures, Keep Cup, StartUp Victoria, QBE, Tyro, Champion Life, Thoughtworks, The Australian Centre for Social Innovation, Inventium, Advisian, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Swinburne University, Alinta Energy, ME Bank, Visy and Medtronic.

Mel is also the creator of 52 conversations – a card game to create conversations that matter – and that’s what our conversation focused on today. Mel shares some stunning statistics that reflect the real costs and risks of not having important conversations with our teams, and shares her insights into how leaders can have more effective and impactful conversations.

To leave more about the 52 Conversations Card Game, simply head to:
https://www.52conversations.com/

To learn more about Mel, the work she does and how you can connect with her, head to:
https://melissajrosenthal.com/

Or you can connect on LinkedIn here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosenthalmelissa/

You can tune in to the episode on any of your favourite podcast apps!

05/12/2024

Today in the first of our Summer Series interviews, Juliet is talking with Di Geddes, the Founder and Managing Director of Exceptional care for you.

In 2021 Di created a business where she was determined that her values would shine through in everything she and her team do. Explosive growth over the past few years has been driven solely by word of mouth as she and her team put these values into action to demonstrate compassion and joy.

As a Registered Nurse with nearly 40 years of nursing experience in acute, community, corporate and aged care, Di was ideally placed to establish a business as a disability community care provider. She is working to change the way disability care is delivered by creating an incredibly supportive workplace for carers, and ensuring clients are at the centre of everything she and her team do.

In this interview Juliet and Di talk about the value of values (see what we did there) and how the way our staff be have to demonstrate those values naturally flows through to the care they provide to clients. Di is passionate about demonstrating that it’s never too late to achieve your dreams and live and work to your values.

As we talk more about the importance of values in defining how we stand out in a crowded marketplace, Di is a great example of how this can work in practice.

We would love to hear from you about whether your values play an important role in how your team delivers.

And if you would like to connect with us, including accessing free resources on this and other leadership challenges, you can do this at:

Kristy-Lee Billet: https://www.peoplepoweredbusiness.com.au/
Juliet Robinson: https://biggoals.com.au/
Di Geddes: https://www.exceptionalcareforyou.com/

21/11/2024

Today on the just-released episode on the Grow Your Influence Podcast, we are discussing the importance of effective induction and onboarding programs.

So often when we have a new team member joining us, we do the bare minimum. Point them to their desk and set them to work. Or worse, as we share, we’ve both seen examples where desks and computers were not even set up for new starters and they had to do it themselves!

The truth is, an effective onboarding program is a key retention strategy, it’s one of the most effective things we can do to get our new team member settled in, across their role, and contributing to the team.

In this episode we discuss some of the key strategies and practical elements to effective and high quality induction and onboarding programs.

You can listen to this episode here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7r0EabTpPa8BCVG9pUCADO

We would love to hear from you and learn about how you induct and onboard staff in your business.

07/11/2024

Do you remember when you secured your first ‘real’ job? You may have completed your studies, sat through interviews and assessments, and finally received an offer for your dream job. Or maybe you weren’t sure where your career was headed, but got a job offer and decided to take the plunge and say yes.

How did you feel? Nervous? Excited? Uncertain? Probably a mix of all the emotions.

Your first job is a big deal, even more so if it’s something you’ve been searching and studying for.

Problem is, it’s been a while since most of us leaders have been in this position, and we may have forgotten just how nerve wracking it can be. We may have also forgotten that as a young person we didn’t know what to do, what to wear, where to go and what to expect when we started.

In this episode, we discuss some practical steps any leader can take to help set their new, young employee up for success with the business.

From having a great pre commencement communication strategy, to engaging them in how to prepare and what to expect, there is so much we can do to support young people joining our teams.

We would love to hear from you and learn about how you help new people who are starting with you in their first job.

25/10/2024

Today on the Grow Your Influence Podcast we are picking up on a theme Juliet and Kristy-Lee have been coming across recently– that is the feeling of uncertainty that so many leaders are currently feeling.

It can be difficult to know how to lead effectively when we don’t have clarity about the future, and it feels as though things could change on any given day.

In this episode we discuss the reasons behind some of these feelings of uncertainty, and what you can do when it comes to leading effectively and looking forward despite uncertain times.

We would love to hear from you and learn about how you deal with uncertainty with your team. You can share your experiences and ask questions in the comments.

And if you would like to connect with us, including accessing free resources on this and other leadership challenges, you can do this at:

Kristy-Lee Billet - People Powered Business: https://www.peoplepoweredbusiness.com.au/

Juliet Robinson - Big Goals: https://biggoals.com.au/

11/10/2024

Just released on the Grow Your Influence Podcast today, we are getting super practical and talking about one of the most important leadership responsibilities – conducting Performance Reviews with our teams.

Let’s face it – we’ve all participated in reviews in one way or another that have not been particularly effective. Historically they have been long, drawn out, anxiety inducing discussions for all involved.

The good news is there are better ways to do reviews, and there are strategies you can implement to ensure your reviews are incredibly insightful and beneficial for the individual employees and the business.

In today’s episode, we discuss review models, review cadence and some of our key recommendations to ensure your reviews are valuable discussions. You can listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or anywhere else you like to listen to podcasts!

We would love to hear from you and learn about how you conduct effective performance reviews in your business. Let us know in the comments, or connect with us on the links below.

Kristy-Lee Billet: https://www.peoplepoweredbusiness.com.au/
Juliet Robinson: https://biggoals.com.au/

02/10/2024

We’ve all met them at some stage in our lives. Those people whose responses seem a little odd and whose behaviour can be completely ‘off’ sometimes. Those people who can look you in the eye and lie, who manipulate situations to suit themselves. The classic definition is ‘psychopath, but, as David Gillespie tells us, Hollywood has pretty much hijacked that term so we often call them sociopaths or narcissists and there are overlaps with these.

If you missed them, Juliet talked with Davie Gillespie about Toxic People in episodes 62 and 63 (part of our Summer Series) where he discussed what’s missing for these people and how to identify and manage them.

In this episode, Juliet and Kristy-Lee recap David’s findings and talk about how to ensure we don’t bring these people into our teams, where they can do immeasurable damage, and how to manage them if they are already there. We would love to hear from you if you have had or still have a psychopath in your team and how you have managed their impact on you and the team.

If you would like to connect with us, including accessing free resources on this topic and other leadership challenges, you can do this at:

Kristy-Lee Billet: https://www.peoplepoweredbusiness.com.au/
Juliet Robinson: https://biggoals.com.au/

13/09/2024

Ugh, conflict at work! It makes everything more difficult and can see you and your team walking on eggshells, spending time and energy worrying about the situation. What we know is that your team will be watching you to see how you handle it so just ignoring it and hoping the issue will resolve itself and people will sort themselves out is not a solution.

In this episode, Juliet and Kristy-Lee discuss how to deal with conflict between team members and how to deal with it when you are involved. None of this is easy but, as leaders, we need to deal with it and there are definitely approaches that can make this easier and more successful. We would love to hear from you about how you deal with conflict with in your team and how you bring yourself to the table when you are part of the conflict.

You can share your experiences and ask questions in the comments below, or connect with us at:
Kristy-Lee Billet: https://www.peoplepoweredbusiness.com.au/
Juliet Robinson: https://www.biggoals.com.au/

29/08/2024

The last 2 years have seen the most significant changes in Industrial Relations legislation in Australia in more than 10 years. For employers, business owners, managers and leaders, this can easily become overwhelming to manage.

In this episode, Juliet and Kristy-Lee discuss how to manage the overwhelm that can come with keeping up with your organisation’s compliance requirements.

We would love to hear from you about how you deal with this with your team, how do you ensure you’re across your compliance requirements, without spiralling into overwhelm? You can share your experiences and ask questions below in the comments, or reach out to us directly.

Kristy-Lee Billet: https://www.peoplepoweredbusiness.com.au/

Juliet Robinson: https://www.biggoals.com.au/

16/08/2024

Remuneration packages often include non-cash benefits and, increasingly, we are hearing that these aren’t hitting the mark with teams. So often these are included in packages because the person including the benefits is interested in them. And we can be a bit scared of checking in with the team about what would be motivating for them in case they ask for more money or we create expectations we can’t meet.

There are plenty of ways we can package up the salaries of our team members but, unless we understand what is important for them, we may find they don’t serve the purpose we intend. In today’s episode Juliet and Kristy-Lee explore how we tap into what our team wants and how important it is to make this a regular and open conversation.

We would love to hear from you about how you deal with this with your team, the sorts of non-money motivators that work for them and how you have these conversations.

You can share your experiences and ask questions by commenting below, or contacting us:
Kristy-Lee Billet: https://www.peoplepoweredbusiness.com.au/
Juliet Robinson: https://www.biggoals.com.au/

02/08/2024

This time of the year can often herald performance reviews and expectations of pay rises, which may not be possible in the current climate. As leaders, we need to explain the context and manage expectations around what is a very personal and often difficult topic for our staff.

There are plenty of non-monetary motivators we can offer our team when extra cash isn’t possible, and in today’s episode Juliet and Kristy-Lee explore how we use these.

You can listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or anywhere else you like to listen to your podcasts.

We would love to hear from you about how you deal with this with your team, the sorts of non-money motivators that work for them and how you have these converations. You can share your experiences and ask questions below. Or get in contact with us!

Kristy-Lee Billet: https://www.peoplepoweredbusiness.com.au/
Juliet Robinson: https://www.biggoals.com.au/

23/07/2024

We are hearing A LOT about how tough things are getting and for our teams, the concerns about job security are real. When work is quiet, people can lose motivation as they focus on the cost of living pressures and inward on self-preservation.

There are clear steps leaders can take to bring their teams through a downturn and in this week's episode Juliet and Kristy-Lee discuss how to deal with the anxiety a downturn in business can produce for our staff.

We would love to hear from you about how you are dealing with this with your team. You can share your experiences and ask questions below, or get in contact with us!

Kristy-Lee Billet: https://www.peoplepoweredbusiness.com.au/
Juliet Robinson: https://www.biggoals.com.au/

08/07/2024

With the run-up to the end of the financial year for many in Australia, and the recent intense cold that tells us winter is really here, you may be finding that both you and your team are running low on motivation.

This isn’t uncommon but this year the layering of the global economic and political situations and the fact that fewer of us seem to be taking holidays and travelling to sunnier climes has certainly created a dip in motivation for a number of our clients.

In this episode Juliet and Kristy-Lee discuss how to lead both yourself and your team out of this slump and how the power of language and the words we use can make a difference.

You can listen to this episode wherever you like to listen to your podcasts.

We would love to hear from you about how you approach this time of the year with your team, whether motivation seems low and, if so, how you deal with it as a leader. You can comment below or get in touch with us at:

Kristy-Lee Billet - https://www.peoplepoweredbusiness.com.au/
Juliet Robinson - https://www.biggoals.com.au/

06/06/2024

In today’s just-released episode of Grow Your Influence, Kristy-Lee and Juliet are talking about something that they truly believe every leader needs to hear about – the promises we make to our people.

In this episode, Juliet and Kristy-Lee discuss the impact it has on our teams when we don’t follow through on the promises we make, and how this has a damaging effect on morale and our people’s commitment to us as leaders, their role and the organisation as a whole.

We also discuss the consequences of the very small promises that we make but fail to keep with our people because so often it is about the things that aren’t said but are understood – the psychological commitments that are made when we lead people.

How do you ensure you keep the promises and commitments you make to your people? You can listen to the podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/show/1FehrRp5FuVRG81pk0w96v

We would love to hear from you. You can share your thoughts and ask questions by commenting below.

And if you would like to connect with us you can do this at:
Kristy-Lee: https://www.peoplepoweredbusiness.com.au/
Juliet: https://www.biggoals.com.au/

03/06/2024

In this episode of the podcast Juliet and Kristy-Lee are tackling the tricky situation we may find ourselves in at some stage in our leadership journey, and that is when we are being undermined by our 2IC, the leader below us who also has influence over our people and is a leader within the organisation.

In our discussion, we talk about the signs that you might see that help you identify that your 2IC might be undermining you. We also unpack some of the reasons you may be experiencing this, and share the experiences we have working with teams where this has happened.

And finally, we look at what you can do as a leader if you find yourself in a situation where you are being undermined by your 2IC.

Is this something you have ever experienced? We would love to hear from you. You can share your thoughts and ask questions in the comments below!

And if you would like to connect with us you can do this at:
Kristy-Lee: https://peoplepoweredbusiness.com.au/
Juliet: https://www.biggoals.com.au/

21/05/2024

It is not uncommon to find ‘teams’ that are actually more of a group of individuals working together but focusing on their own silos. In today’s episode Juliet and Kristy-Lee are discussing the difference between the two and how we can build a team if we realise we don’t actually have one.

When you have a group of high-performing individuals who are used to working autonomously, you are not getting any of the benefits of a team. You are probably seeing them focusing on their own goals and ‘running their own race’ and, as a leader, this can be both challenging and disheartening.

One of the keys to a team is trust and when this is missing it’s inevitable that people will work in their silos. The good news is that it takes focus in just a few areas to build trust and create a team. In this episode, we discuss the three things you need to focus on to build your team and create benefits for all your team members that go far beyond productivity.

Have you taken on a team that wasn’t really a team?

What actions and strategies did you take to create your team? We would love to hear from you!

Grow Your Influence