International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day is a wonderful reminder that leadership takes many forms. With this year’s theme being “Balance the Scales”, I was delighted to lead a panel of women who had chosen to start their own businesses and their stories were inspiring. Kay Howitt and business partner, Lynne Tramonte of Monte & Lou  have gone from designers and producers of a thoughtful swimwear brand in David Jones to selling in Bloomingdales, New York. Ange and Micky Hampton run their award-winning digital marketing business, WiredCo, with global clients providing a safe space for their team by following their values and instincts. Each story reflected the quiet determination to balance the scales by creating opportunity and leading in their own way.  I loved their courage, and the perspective they bring to leadership, strategy and building teams.

Days like IWD reinforce the value of connection and inclusivity. When leaders gather to listen, share and support one another, we strengthen our ability to lead well in our organisations and communities.

The CEO Bottleneck

A leadership theme that continues to surface across many organisations is the CEO bottleneck. I recently spoke about this at a For-Purpose Alliance (FPA) event in Brisbane, and it sparked strong recognition in the room. I constantly develop new content and tools to help leaders shift this pattern — strengthen decision flow, build confidence across teams and ensure leadership capacity grows.

As businesses grow, it is common for decisions, accountability and momentum to unintentionally concentrate at the top. When this happens, capable teams can slow while leaders carry more than they should. I asked the group to consider what decisions they made that week which could have been made by someone in their team.

Strong leaders are often trusted because they are capable, responsive and willing to step in. Yet those same strengths can sometimes create reliance rather than capability in others.

“Where might my strength be unintentionally creating dependency?”

As you lead your team this week, take a moment to consider: Where might my expertise, speed or willingness to help be creating a dependency on me rather than providing space to build confidence my leaders?

Leadership growth often begins with this small shift in awareness.