Fit For the Future

In the war for talent, money is important, but not enough. If you're serious about attracting and keeping top talent, look at other drivers - including flexible work. In Iceland, 90% of employees now enjoy a four-day workweek, working fewer hours with no pay cut and no loss of productivity. In fact, productivity went up, well-being improved, and workplaces became more equitable.https://swiy.co/go-be-like-icelandI’m speaking soon at the AHRI (Australian Human Resources Institute) conference in Perth, talking about the future of work. One of the four key elements of the future of work is attracting the best people, and one of your most important levers in that area is offering more flexible work options.During the pandemic, flexible work meant mostly working from home. And that (often in the form of hybrid work – some days in the office, some from home) is still one kind of flexible work. But it’s not the only form of flexibility.For example, in Iceland, about 90% of workers who enjoy a four-day work week. They work four days a week rather than five, and still get paid 100% of their wages or salary. In return, they are expected to deliver 100% of their productivity.This started with a small pilot project in 2015, which worked so well they extended and expanded it in 2019. And now, it’s spread to the whole country. This is not mandated by law, but rather encouraged through workplace agreements. And now it’s part of their workplace culture.Strictly speaking, they don’t get a full day off each week. Their 40-hour week is now 36 hours, so they work four 9-hour days rather than five 8-hour days. So each day is a bit longer, but they still work fewer hours, for the same money and the same productivity.In fact, the research shows productivity has either stayed steady or, in some cases, even improved. In addition, this arrangement has dramatically improved mental health and well-being, work-life balance, and gender equality.This has been a huge success for Iceland, and is just one of the many models for flexible work.Could you do the same?Iceland is a small country, with only about half a million people, so we can’t necessarily extrapolate it to larger nations.But that’s not my point.We don’t have to do it as a country.YOU could do it for your organisation.Or maybe even just for your team.In the war for talent, money is not the only driver. Flexible work is one of the most in-demand requirements for employees.Esepcially for Generation Z, who will be 30% of the workforce by 2030.Some managers and leaders will push back and say Gen Z are entitled, privileged, unrealistic, and need to pay their dues before they can start demanding these "perks".In return, many Gen Z’s are saying, "We don’t care! If you don’t provide that, we’ll find somebody else who does". And they will.Just because others in your industry aren’t doing it, that’s no reason for you not to do it. In fact, that’s exactly why you SHOULD be doing it, as a competitive advantage for attracting the best people.Why not be a pilot project for your industry?Just an idea. Have a go. Be the Iceland for your industry, and it will put you ahead of the game in the future of work.Register for the virtual masterclass:https://swiy.co/go-be-like-iceland

Do you have a workfluencer in your team? And if you don't, maybe you should! If you have a culture you’re proud of, workfluencers are powerful brand voices for you - helping attract the right sort of talent, long before an interview. It’s time to support, nurture, and trust the people already championing your workplace.https://swiy.co/go-workfluencersIn a nutshell, a workfluencer is an employee who talks about their work in online communities.Of course, we’ve been doing this for a long time even before the online world – with friends and family at parties, with other parents at your children’s school events, in your local community or church community.A workfluencer is the 2025 version of that, and it expands and amplifies the concept because of the power and reach of online networks. Typically, it’s a younger person – a Gen Z or maybe a younger Gen Y (Millennial). They work in your team, and are also active on social media and other online networks, sharing the good, the bad, and even the ugly about work. Exactly as you do when talking to friends at a barbie, but on a much larger scale.If you don’t have workfluencers in your team, maybe you should. Not by forcing it, but by creating a culture people feel proud to boast about.If you like the people in your team, you want them to talk to their friends and community, because you want to attract more people like them. And you want those people to know about you before they join – not through the traditional hierarchical interview and recruitment process, but by knowing somebody "on the inside". Those people will be a good fit for your team, because they already know your values.This is an important element of the future of work.Generation Z (roughly in their mid-twenties now) will be a significant part of our future. By 2030, they will be 30% of our population. That means30% of your customers,30% of your community,and 30% of your employees.Of course, it will vary across industries and sectors, but broadly one in three employees will be Gen Z. That means they will also be your future leaders.So you want the best of them, and you want to leverage all their skills and talents – including their ability to influence others online.Now, some people will push back, saying it’s too much of a risk to let employees talk publicly about you.It could damage your reputation.Breach confidentiality.Create security issues.And so on. And on. And on.And you know what? You’re right ... to some extent.But that shouldn’t stop you. Yes, you need some coaching, mentoring, and guardails in place. Do it reponsibly, but do it!You might also NOT be proud of your work culture. In that case, this advice is not for you (I might have some other advice for you, but that’s a different topic!).But if you have the sort of workplace culture and team you’re proud of, you have nothing to be afraid of. Encourage and nurture workfluencers to share their experiences online, far and wide.This becomes part of your employee value proposition (EVP), which is a key element of the future of work.I’m running an online presentation soon about the future of work, and this is one of the four key elements for all leaders to understand. It’s free, public, and open to all. So please register, and invite others in your team and organisation as well.Register for the virtual masterclass:https://swiy.co/go-workfluencers

As a leader, you need to be regularly scanning the horizon and planning for the future. But if your people aren’t inspired to bring that plan to life, it won’t go anywhere. Strategy without execution is like a car without fuel. For real progress, you need to engage your team and connect your plan to meaningful work.https://swiy.co/go-from-planning-to-progressYou might have big ideas and a clear strategy (good!), but what are you doing to engage your people to execute and implement that strategy?I work with a lot of leaders – especially senior leaders – who want me to help them understand the future. They can then feed that into their strategic planning. That’s good, because it gives them more confidence and clarity about their plan and decision making.For example, here are three leadership teams I’m helping now:A high school that’s looking at extending what they do by teaching students about skills beyond the curriculum – that is, the broad skills that will help them to be more future-ready.A local council that wants to make sure they are planning for changes in their city and and for their residents.A financial services organisation that’s facing a lot of disruption from technology, and want to first leverage the technology themselves and also be disrupters themselves.With all three leadership teams, I’m helping them understand what’s coming up in the future, so it can feed into their strategic planning.But there’s a third crucial element to a successful strategy: engaging, inspiring, and motivating your people to implement and execute that strategy. Even with the best strategy in the world, if your people aren’t on board to implement it, it will fail.Many leaders are good at the first two elements, but not as good on the third. Or, even worse, they forget about the third.It’s like trying to drive a car where you have control of the steering wheel, and maybe even the accelerator, but there’s no petrol in the tank!One of my speaker colleagues, Stef du Plessis, an international leadership expert based in South Africa, puts it well. He says your people aren’t there to execute your strategy. You might think they are – after all, you’re paying them – but that doesn’t engage, motivate, or excite them.So what DO they want?They want meaningful work.They want to feel fulfilled at work.They want to know they are making a difference.Yes, of course, they want the money as well. But more than ever, your people want their work to be about more than money.So, if you want them to engage with your strategy, make it meaningful – to THEM, not to you! Align it with what people care about. Find the pieces that will motivate people, and prioritise those pieces. Then find the people who want to make that happen.Whenever leaders ask me about the future of work, I talk about four key elements. And only one of them is about the work itself – what needs to be done. The other three are about the people doing the work.If you can’t get your people on board, your strategy will fail.I’m running a free, public online presentation soon about the future of work – and especially what you can do to engage your people at work. Please register here, and invite others in your team and network as well.I’ll see you in the future.Register for the virtual masterclass:https://swiy.co/go-from-planning-to-progress

Strategic change often stalls after the initial excitement fades, especially when the change involves future scenarios that might be uncertain, unknown, or challenging. Instead of letting all that strategic thinking go to waste, focus on small, immediate actions that fit into existing workflows rather than creating extra work. Don't just inspire people in the moment; start building a culture where you support, empower, and encourage them to welcome and embrace change.https://swiy.co/go-strategy-to-actionHow do you turn strategy into action?Next month, I’m running a workshop at a strategic leadership forum for an organisation in Melbourne. They bring together their top 100 leaders every six months to work on the big issues facing their organisation. The CEO told me everybody loves those sessions, and they walk out energised and motivated.But ... Very little changes in practice. The leaders walk out with the best of intentions, ready to roll up their sleeves and put the big ideas into practice. But then life gets in the way. They get caught up in the everyday operational work, so those big ideas get forgotten.And it’s not surprising. Because those big ideas are new.And challenging.And ... well, big!So it’s easy to put them off until things get quieter, or easier, or less chaotic.Of course, that never happens!So how do you turn strategy into action? How do you stop all that great thinking go to waste?The big mistake leaders make is they try to do too much at once.They might be excited by the idea. And why not? After all, it was probably their idea! And they can’t see why everybody else is not as excited.And that’s the problem. For others in their teams - and often even for the leaders themselves - implementing big ideas takes time.And effort.And courage.And a willingness to be uncomfortable.So it’s not surprising they don’t jump at the chance!If you don’t have a culture of change agents - where your people are open, willing, or even excited about change - you’ll be fighting an uphill battle.So what can you do?First, don’t give up on that big idea! It might be crucial part of your strategy.But also work on building your culture of change. And that happens one step at a time.So give them the big picture, but also give them things they can put into action - right now. And ideally, those small actions don’t add to their workload, but slip in as part of their work.Your goal is not to get other people to do the work for you, but to build a culture where people are open to change.And there are some really specific things you can do as a leader to start building that culture.I won’t go into the details here, but I want you to start thinking that way. If your people are slow to change, think first that it might be YOUR fault. Which means you can fix it. You can’t force people to change, but you can create an environment that supports and even rewards them for having that change mindset.I’m running an online presentation soon. We’ll look at the future of work in four specific areas. And in each, I will give you a practical action you can use to build that culture of change. And of course, in the spirit of this topic, they are things YOU can do easily as well!It’s free, public, and open to all. So please join us, and invite others in your team and network as well.https://swiy.co/go-strategy-to-action

Do you have a bad attitude at work?Specifically, do you have a bad attitude about AI at work?If you’re a leader or a manager, having a bad attitude about AI is not just bad for yourself – it’s bad for your team as well. Those bad attitudes are contagious.We should be excited and curious about AI.We should be appropriately cautious about using AI.And we should be unsure about AI because we don’t know what it will look like in the next five years (let alone two years).If anybody tells you they know exactly where AI is headed, they’re either lying or deluded.So, if you say, “I’m excited about AI, I’m cautious about AI, and I’m unsure about AI”, that’s a really good start.But be careful!One thing I’ve noticed is that some people who admit to being unsure about AI turn that uncertainty into a roadblock. They say, “I don’t know enough about AI, so let’s wait until we get it exactly right before we do anything”.And then … nothing happens!Not only do YOU do nothing, but more importantly, you stop your team – or even your entire organisation – from doing anything.That’s the bad attitude I meant.Be unsure about AI (that’s health), but channel that uncertainty into education, practice, and professional development. That way, you can understand the risks, challenges, and opportunities – so you and your team can make informed decisions.The real danger is when leaders take a passive stance: “We don’t know enough, so let’s just wait”. That attitude spreads, and suddenly, an entire team holds back, even when some are eager to explore AI.A recent global survey by Slack revealed some interesting insights about AI in the workplace. In Australia, the results were largely positive: three-quarters of knowledge workers are using AI at work.BUT ... Almost half (42%) of those who use AI at work feel uncomfortable telling their manager about it!Why?When asked, employees gave three main reasons:1. Their boss might think they are less competent because they relied on AI.2. Their boss might think they are lazy for using AI instead of doing the work themselves.3. Their boss might see AI as cheating.This is an outdated mindset.Imagine if someone said, “Instead of spending 10 minutes with Google, I spent 10 hours in the library”.That might have been reasonable 25 years ago, when search engines were new. But it would be bizarre now.AI is heading in the same direction. In some organisations, it’s already as natural as using Google. In the next year or so, that will be the norm, not the exception.As a leader, your attitude matters!If you haven’t started integrating AI into your team, now is the time.And the first step is simply to talk about it.Ask your team how they feel about AI.Are they excited? Cautious? Unsure?How do they think AI could help their work?What concerns do they have?What opportunities do they see?By starting the conversation, you set the tone.And if you already have people in your team who are keen to use AI, identify them, support them, and let them be your AI champions.AI isn’t just on the way – it’s already here. The real question is: Are you embracing it, or are you holding your team back?Download my worksheet here to help craft some initial conversations about AI with your team.Download the worksheet:https://swiy.co/go-ai-attitudes

Adopting AI successfully isn’t about the technology – it’s about your culture. As a leader, your role is not to dictate AI use, but to create an environment where people feel empowered to explore, leverage, and share AI-driven innovations with everybody else.https://swiy.co/go-ai-in-your-teamDo you have hidden AI talent in your teams?In the last week, I had two very interesting conversations with senior leadership teams from two very different organisations in completely different sectors. Despite their differences, they had one key thing in common: they were both thinking about how to integrate AI into their organisations.What struck me was I had almost identical conversations with both teams.At first, they were talking about what they needed to do was understand AI, craft an organisation-wide AI policy, create strict rules about using AI, engaging IT in creating a safe environment, and so on.And then came the turning point.In the middle of this discussion, one person - let’s call her Mikaela - spoke up. In both cases, “Mikaela” wasn’t the Chief Technology Officer, The Chief Information Officer, the Head of IT, or anyone formally responsible for AI. She was a senior leader, but in a non-technical role.She shared that she had uses AI regularly in her day-to-day work: Experimenting with ChatGPT to draft emails, analyse spreadsheets, conduct competitor analysis, and explore how her team could use AI in their roles. She had even paid for her own subscription to access advanced features and had taken the time to dig deep into the technology.So when these leadership teams asked me how they should approach AI adoption, my response was clear:Find and support AI champions in your organisation.For those senior leadership teams, “Mikaela” is their AI champion! She isn’t formally responsible for AI strategy, but she is curious, proactive, and already using AI to solve real problems. And every organisation has people like her.The role of senior leadership is not to dictate how AI should be used from the top down. Instead, it’s about helping leaders and managers throughout the organisation to find, facilitate, and support their own AI champions.This is where many organisations go wrong. The traditional approach is to impose new initiatives from the top down. But that usually takes a long, long time. And with AI, which is moving so fast, it’s difficult to get it right.A faster, more effective approach is to focus on culture, and start using AI everywhere. Adopting AI is not about the technology. Well it IS, but it’s really about people and technology working together.And that starts with your people.For more, join my online presentation about people-powered AI. It’s free, public, and open to everybody. And feel free to invite others in your team and network as well.Register for the virtual masterclass:https://swiy.co/go-ai-in-your-team

When giving your team access to AI, don't wait until you have finalised every policy and governance detail. Like learning to drive, adopting AI works best when people get hands-on experience early. Bring your people along on the AI journey now, to ensure they build the skills, comfort, and understanding needed to integrate AI effectively into their work. Don't wait for the perfect moment - start now.https://swiy.co/go-driving-aiAre you taking too long to get your people started on the AI journey?My niece Abbey just turned 20 last week. I remember four years ago, when she was sixteen, I taught her how to drive. I didn’t do all the lessons, but I took her through the first ten or twelve hours of driving, and helped her become a competent driver.The process of getting a licence now is rigorous, structured, and time-consuming. And it should be, because we’re letting teenagers operate heavy machinery in public for the first time! By the time Abbey had done her 50 hours of supervised driving, she was more than ready to take her test - which she passed first time - and then drive independently. When she then bought her first car, she was more than capable behind the wheel.But imagine another scenario: if her parents had made her wait until she bought her first car before she could start driving lessons. Of course, that would be bizarre! And yet, I reckon that’s how many leaders use AI with their teams.Almost every week, I get enquiries from leaders and teams asking me to come in and teach them about AI: what it means for them, their organisations, and their leadership.But one mistake I see many leaders making is wanting to get everything right from a management, governance, and policy perspective before they let their people start using AI.I think that’s a mistake - for two reasons.First, like it or not, your people are already using AI! Some use it at home for personal tasks.If they are not allowed to use it at work, some are still using it to solve work problems, but without telling you! And of course, that creates risks.Second, if you go back to the driving analogy, you don’t want to wait until you buy someone a car before they learn how to drive. You want them to learn first so that when they finally get behind the wheel, they are already a competent driver.It’s the same with AI. You must bring your people along on the AI journey - even while you’re working on policy, investing in technology, and building your AI strategy. Don’t wait until this is perfect (whatever that means anyway!). Give them the confidence to use AI, feel comfortable using AI, and secure in knowing AI won’t replace them.If you want to explore this further, I’m running an online presentation soon called People-Powered AI, where we will talk about bringing people along on this journey. The session is free, public, and open to everybody. I’ll see you there!Register for the virtual masterclass:https://swiy.co/go-driving-ai

Your organisation can use AI in two key ways - but it might be using only one. The first is embedding AI into core operations, where it works behind the scenes to streamline processes like loan approvals, insurance claims, and medical diagnoses. The second, and often overlooked, is giving people direct access to AI-powered tools like ChatGPT, AI agents, and deep research assistants. If you’re serious about being an AI-driven organisation, make sure you’re using AI in both ways.https://swiy.co/go-the-two-sides-of-aiIs your organisation an AI-driven organisation? And what does that even mean?About a year ago, Amazon in Australia surveyed CEOs and other leaders across different industries and sectors, asking about AI’s impact. One key question was whether they expected their organisation to be AI-driven by 2028. The result was 90% of leaders said yes!That’s only three years from now. But what does it really mean to be AI-driven?You organisation can use AI in two key ways - but it might be using only one.First, AI might be built into your core processes - for example:* Banks use AI to assess loan applications.* Insurance companies use AI to determine premiums and process claims.* Healthcare providers use AI to analyse scans and diagnose diseases.* HR teams use AI to screen job applications.In these cases, AI works in the background, supporting decision-making or automating processes that would otherwise be too complex or time-consuming for humans. Your people might not even be aware they’re using AI, because it’s just part of how things work.This is a valuable use of AI, but it’s only half the picture.The second side of AI is what we’ve seen explode in the last few years: generative AI, like ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot. Instead of AI running in the background, people use it directly to enhance their work. This is extremely powerful for boosting productivity, enhancing your customer experience, and improving decision making.But many organisations are still hesitant to embrace this use of AI. Some organisations still ban tools like ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot, despite their value. And AI capabilities are evolving fast - with agents and deep research tools that can automate, summarise, and proactively deliver insights.For example, OpenAI recently launched its Deep Research tool, allowing users to conduct detailed investigations with AI. Right now, it’s only available to premium ChatGPT users for about $300 per month. But Perplexity, a ChatGPT rival, introduced a similar feature - available free!This shift from passive AI (behind the scenes) to active AI is where AI and people are really working together. But many organisations are missing this opportunity.And that’s a mistake.If you’re only using AI in your core operations but not equipping your people with AI-powered tools, you’re not fully AI-driven. You’re missing out on a huge opportunity for productivity, innovation, and competitive advantage.The longer you wait, the further behind you’ll fall. But it’s never too late to start.I’m running a free, public online presentation soon about people-powered AI. Register now, and learn how to bring your people on the AI journey.Register for the virtual masterclass:https://swiy.co/go-the-two-sides-of-ai