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ProteuslifeEdition 3 2023 The official magazine of proteus enterprises p/lJohn C. Maxwell Remember: Sometimes we win and sometimes we learn. 2 proteuslife Every minute we spend complaining about what's happening is a minute we take away from making things better. Des Penny H i everyone, welcome to the latest edition of the Proteuslife magazine. We have so much to celebrate in this edition and so many pictures to show you highlighting what the team has been up to recently. On April 9th, 2023, Proteus Leadership turned 30 and it wasn’t until August that we were able to bring the team together in Melbourne for celebrations. As usual, we had a great time with lots of laughs and lots of great memories (pages 14 & 15). One of the other announcements we are celebrating is Richard Dore’s appointment to sole CEO of Proteus Leadership. Richard has been with the company for over 24 years and has played a major role in its success. So, congratulations to Richard as he leads it into its next stage of life. I would also like to give a special shout out to the wonderful Beerenberg company who have provided us with some delicious recipes from their Weekend Cookbook, which you can purchase online (page 36). I am also thrilled to advise you that my ‘Let’s GO Let’s GROW’ Podcast is being listened to by people right across the globe and the number of listeners is growing every edition. If you haven’t signed up yet check it out on page 31. As usual there are also loads of great leadership articles and pieces of information to help you on your leadership journey. So, enjoy this edition and remember, great people make great leaders, so let’s spend a little more time working on ourselves. Des Penny - Editor EDITORIAL Proteus life The official magazine of proteus enterprises p/l The Proteuslife Team Editor: Des Penny Production: Leanne Keillor Advertising: Joe Stuart Design: Javier Marmol For all enquiries: 1300 219 903 ABN: 30 092 276 358 proteusleadership.com An Important Message SUBSCRIBE Proteuslife welcomes editorial submissions from a diverse range of people and industries. The information printed is intended to inform and illustrate and should not be taken as professional advice without first checking with appropriate legal or industrial experts. We do not necessarily endorse the views, statements, claims, strategies or ideas put forward by contributors of the magazine. Proteuslife is merely relaying experiences and information. Proteuslife is not liable for any personal or professional loss you may have incurred as a result of reading this magazine. No material may be reproduced in part or whole without written consent from the editor. Advertisements in Proteuslife will be accepted only if they meet all relevant laws and will not give rise to any legal claims or liability and they reflect the culture and purpose of the magazine. 3 proteuslife proteusleadership.com/linkedin/des proteusleadership.com/des-penny-blog Connect with Des! Subscribe to Proteuslife MagazineTABLE OF CONTENTS 06 / CEO Appointment By Des Penny 03 / Editorial 08 / What’s With The Attitude? By Richard Dore 16 / What Our Clients Are Saying 18 / Professional Development Schedule 14 / Proteus 30 Anniversary 17 / 3 Keys For Managing People In A Hybrid Workplace By Dr Dominic McLoughlin 12 / Why Your People Can’t Just ‘Get On With It’ When Dealing With Change By Leah Mether 4 proteuslife34 / 8 Quotes That Will Change Your Thinking 44 / Richard Dore Book Review 46 / I The Beauty Of Life By Des Penny 42 / Funny Signs 20 / How To Make Your Communication Come Alive by Dr. Alan Zimmerman 24 / Why You Need To Stop Being The Bottleneck To Business Growth By Chris Green 22 / The Complete Leader 26 / Proteus Events 36 / Food - Beerenberg 40 / 5 Productivity Tips To Get The Most Out Of Your Week By Andrew May 32 / What The Future Of Flexible Work Looks Like By Nina Mapson Bone 31 / Let's Go - Let's Grow Podcast With Des Penny 30 / How Leaders Can Stay Grounded When The Ground Is Shaking By Ella Zhang 29 / How Changing Your Mindset Helps Get Rid Of Imposter Syndrome by Darren Fleming 28 / Why Rethinking Down Time Is Key To Successfully Leading Teams By Donna McGeorge 5 proteuslifeRichard Dore CEO Richard Dore appointed CEO of Proteus Leadership 6 proteuslifeO n 1st July 2023 Richard Dore became sole CEO of Proteus Leadership with Des Penny deciding to take a small step back and focus on the Marketing and Strategic direction of Proteus. Richard joined Proteus Leadership in 1999 and up until his appointment as Co-CEO in March 2019, Richard was the Managing Director and a Lead Educator at Proteus Leadership. He is recognised as one of the most effective Business and People Management Educators in Australia. Richard’s career spans more than 30 years in Leadership Development, Education and HR across a range of industries. He has several qualifications, including a Bachelor of Education and Training from the University of Melbourne, a Diploma of Business and a Diploma of Business (Human Resources) and has completed 50% of his Master of Business (E-Business and Communication) at Swinburne University of Technology. Richard has had a significant impact on the growth and culture of the organisations he has worked with. His facilitation style is engaging, fun, irreverent and driven by great stories. He is also passionate about partnering with organisations to bring about change and to demonstrate how complex issues can truly be transformed by applying practical solutions. Richard’s passion for bringing about positive change has continued to inspire the growth and ongoing development of Proteus Leadership. We decided to ask him some questions about his role at Proteus Leadership and his thoughts on leadership. What do you value the most about the culture and vision of Proteus Leadership? Proteus’ culture is transparent. We have robust and honest conversations, we are action orientated, solution- focused, no one whinges, and we are appropriately irreverent. We also laugh – lots! I still love our Proteus vision of ‘Creating Great Leaders’. What are some of the biggest challenges facing leaders today? I see two major challenges: • Staying Relevant – as a leader, as a business and all products and services. • People – attracting, coaching, engaging, giving feedback and having tough love conversations, while establishing great teams that deliver on time. What would you most like to achieve as CEO moving forward? To see our people, transform and reach their full potential, while they deliver life changing programs for our clients and partners across Australia and beyond. What is the best piece of advice you have received? When I was 23 years old a mentor said, “Stop being a scrooge when it comes to spending money on developing yourself.” Plus, back yourself with action, even if it fails, do it anyway, then grow and learn from it. What qualities make a standout leader? That’s a big question, but integrity is right up there. Can I also add more qualities like, humility, bravery, being resilient, honesty, forward-looking of course, transparency and vulnerability! Richard is a professional with a heart for people and personal development and will lead Proteus into a new era of ‘Creating Great Leaders’. Congratulations Richard! Des Penny Founder - Director Of Marketing Proteus Leadership "Proteus’ culture is transparent. We have robust and honest conversations, we are action orientated, solution-focused, no one whinges, and we are appropriately irreverent." 7 proteuslifeW orking on one’s attitude appears to be an ‘old school’ concept. I’m of the vintage where my parents would say things like "Watch Your Attitude", whenever I was misbehaving or being a smart alec! When they were really cross at me or any of my eight siblings, you would be sent to your room. Your punishment was solitude. You could only return and reunite with the family when you Changed Your Attitude! Wouldn’t you love to do that with certain people at your workplace? “You are banished until you return with a great attitude!” Here’s a Thought Experiment… Do some people in your life wish that upon you? Where they are desperately hoping that you would go away, work on your attitude and return with a renewed positive optimistic outlook on life. My belief is that we all should regularly stop and recalibrate our attitudes. Not only to stay relevant but to proactively work on our self-talk and the stories that we tell ourselves. I describe this as becoming a Pragmatic Optimist. 8 proteuslifeLearned Optimism Martin Seligman, renowned psychologist and one of the founding figures of the positive psychology movement, discovered that optimism can be learned and indeed cultivated, just like any other skill. When we focus on fostering our strengths and flourishing attitudes, this has a profound positive impact on our well-being and resilience. Interestingly, Seligman has acknowledged that his own natural disposition was more pessimistic. He openly shared his personal journey in shifting from a pessimistic mindset, to a more optimistic one. If Martin Seligman can do it, then so can we! Attitudes are not inherited. They are learnt and therefore can be changed. But only if we are prepared to do the work, proactively and mindfully. We are not talking about ‘delusional optimism’ or superficial ‘toxic positivity’ here. We are talking about the power of consciously working on positive thinking and enjoying the benefits of adopting what Seligman calls, an Optimistic Explanatory Style. Here’s how Seligman explains the power of selecting your Explanatory Style which are the narratives that we construct to explain and make sense of life's challenging events. •Optimistic Explanatory Style When you work on having an optimistic explanatory style, challenging events appear to be Temporary, Specific and caused by External Factors. This is associated with maintaining a great attitude. •Pessimistic Explanatory Style Conversely, defaulting to a pessimistic explanatory style, leads us to view challenging events as Permanent, Pervasive and Personal, often resulting in catastrophising the situation and displaying a negative attitude. Choosing to adopt a positive attitude by consciously working on our explanatory style can be a true game-changer. Let's examine a challenging workplace scenario, showcasing two very different outcomes based on the stories that we tell ourselves. Workplace Scenario Your boss is highly upset with you about your poor progress on a critical project for which you are responsible. Although she is usually positive and supportive, her disappointment is justified in this situation. However, her abruptness was excessive, rude and out of character. Same Scenario - Two Different Stories Optimistic Explanatory Style says: • "Projects are my strength, and I usually achieve great results. I need to turn this setback around and get my project back on track. Besides, I know my boss is under a lot of pressure right now." Pessimistic Explanatory Style says: • “This feedback has completely ruined the whole project, I just can’t do anything right in this place, this always happens to me!” In the optimistic version, there is a 9 proteuslifeNext >