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Blue Mercury - Leadership

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Blue Mercury - Leadership

Connect with Blue Mercury Leadership. We are building a social movement to inspire awesome people!

We focus all decisions around our clients, and what is right for them –
concentrating on our three core values -
individual growth, team cohesiveness and organisational prosperity

26/02/2026

Said yes to my first podcast.

Bright lights, microphones, and a green screen chatting about customer experience.

Not my usual setting, but a good reminder that CX isn’t about scripts or systems. It’s about people, emotions, and the moments that actually stick.

I loved the space to talk about customer experience in a practical, human way.

The stuff that really shapes trust, loyalty, and how organisations show up for the people they serve.

A good stretch, a good conversation, and a nice reminder to keep saying yes to new rooms!!!

Thanks UBT for giving me the opportunity to get outside of my comfort zone!

24/02/2026

Rolling out CliftonStrengths or the Emotional Culture Deck isn’t the hard part.

Getting it to stick is.

I’ve seen brilliant tools fall flat, not because the session wasn’t good, but because the communication around it was unclear, inconsistent, or stopped the moment the workshop ended.

This week I wrote a blog that doubles as a practical to-do list for leaders, HR teams, and managers who are responsible for the rollout.
Not from a facilitator lens.
From an organisational one.

It breaks down what to think about before anything is announced, what to communicate during rollout, and what actually needs to happen after if you want this work to become part of how people lead and work together.

If you’re introducing CliftonStrengths, the Emotional Culture Deck, or any people framework this year, this is the part that makes the difference.

Take a look here if you are keen for a bit of a cheatsheet:
https://www.bluemercury.co.nz/post/rolling-out-cliftonstrengths-or-the-emotional-culture-deck-in-organisations

Curious which phase organisations most often skip?

22/02/2026

This is Julie.
Shes the president of the Queenstown Golf Club.

At the Southern Swing Tournament a couple of weeks ago, Julie won the Longest Drive competition.

Was it the longest hit of the day? No.
Was it the only one that stayed on the fairway? Yes.

The other three of us hit it further… I missed the fairway by about an inch. Which, as it turns out, still counts as a miss.

It was a great reminder that success isn’t about how hard you swing.
It’s about where the ball actually lands.

If we think about this in leadership or a work setting - effort without accuracy doesn’t get you the result.
Direction, intention, and staying in bounds sometimes matters more than going all out.

Sometimes the win goes to the person who keeps it simple and keeps it in play.

Lesson learnt.

(Note - she is a wonderful human, and gave us all a sleeve of balls to share the spoils of her glorious win).

19/02/2026

Back in January, we wrapped up the 100th UBT Leadership Fundamentals course.

Three months.
An all-women cohort.
Leaders from across New Zealand and Australia. We had some wonderful real conversations, and a lot of honest reflection along the way.

What stood out to me wasn’t just the capability these awesome humans built, but the confidence. The way participants began to trust their judgement more, communicate more clearly, and lead with greater intent.

You could see the shift.
Less reacting. More intention.
Better conversations they were having with their teams.

Being asked to host the 100th course milestone felt pretty special. Not because of the number, but because of what happens when women are given time, space, and support to work on how they lead.

Quietly proud of this one.

17/02/2026

I don’t often share feedback like this, but after wrapping up a leadership programme in Sydney, I was handed these notes from participants.

What struck me wasn’t the compliments.
It was the care behind them.

The way people described feeling safer to speak up, more confident in themselves, and more willing to step outside their comfort zones.

This is why I love this work.

Leadership programmes aren’t about slides or frameworks.
They’re about creating the conditions for people to think differently, feel supported, and try new ways of showing up.

Grateful for the trust, the honesty, and the generosity of this group.

These are the moments that remind me why this work matters.

15/02/2026

Every coach needs a coach.

And just as importantly, we all need spaces for support, connection, and honest conversation with people who truly get the work.

I’m really grateful to host the Advice Collective for the Strengths Network. It’s a genuinely joyful space. A room full of curious, generous coaches sharing ideas, laughing, thinking deeply, and reminding each other why we do this work in the first place.

We come together to reflect, sense-check, learn from one another, and be supported in the tricky bits, not to perform, but to be real.

If you’re part of the Strengths Network and haven’t joined us yet, you’d be very welcome. We run four sessions each year.

Reach out and I’ll send you the details for the next Advice Collective!!

12/02/2026

A couple of weeks ago at the Southern Swing Tournament at Invercargill Golf Club, this beautiful bunch of humans took to the fairways in support of the Cancer Society.

Blue Mercury was proud to sponsor (what turned out to be) the only women’s team in the field. A small but meaningful way to support a charity that touches so many lives.

We played with my late mum in mind, (with our bright yellow socks, bringing her sunshine), but also for everyone currently facing cancer, living with it, or supporting someone they love.

Grateful for friendship, generosity, laughter, and causes that really matter.💛

10/02/2026

CliftonStrengths Deep Dive: Responsibility

People with Responsibility don’t need reminding to follow through.
They already carry the weight of the promise.

If they say they’ll do it, they mean it. Even if it costs them time, energy, or sleep. Especially then.

What I notice most when working with Responsibility is how quietly dependable they are. No fanfare. No fuss. Just a deep internal line that says, “I said I would.”

The risk, of course, is overload. They’ll pick things up that were never theirs to carry. They’ll say yes when they should pause. And they’ll feel it personally when things wobble.

The shift happens when we help them choose their commitments, not add to them. Clear priorities. Explicit handovers. Permission to renegotiate without guilt.

Responsibility thrives when integrity is honoured and boundaries are respected.

If you lead someone with this strength, how are you protecting their follow-through, not just relying on it?

08/02/2026

10,038 words.

A small milestone, in the journey but one that matters.

This book hasn’t been written in big, uninterrupted chunks of time. It’s been written in between work, life, travel, and the usual “I’ll do it later” moments. I'm normally a first thing in the day writer - but life sometimes gets in the way.

What struck me is how familiar this feels from leadership and change work.

Progress rarely comes from motivation.
It comes from showing up consistently, even when it feels a bit messy and unfinished.

I've realised that one paragraph at a time adds up faster than you think.
Today is a quiet nod to momentum.

05/02/2026

You are human.
Humans need breaks.

Log off.
Life is short.

27/01/2026

CliftonStrengths Deep Dive: Activator

Working with an Activator is like being gently shoved off the starting blocks.

While others are still thinking it through, they are already asking, “So… when are we starting?”

This week reminded me how powerful that energy is in a team.
Activators don’t wait for perfect conditions.
They create momentum by moving. And often, that movement is exactly what the rest of us need to get unstuck.

The shift happens when we stop trying to slow them down and instead build around them.
Clear guardrails.
Fast feedback.
Permission to test, not prove.

When Activators feel trusted, they turn ideas into action. When they don’t, frustration builds quickly on all sides.

Leadership isn’t about everyone moving at the same pace. It’s about letting different strengths do what they do best, in service of the goal.

If you’ve got an Activator in your world, how are you helping their energy work for the team, not against it?

25/01/2026

Stupid Challenge of 2026?
Write the damn book.

Not a polished leadership manifesto.
Not a how-to guide with neat frameworks.

A book about the last ten years of what I lovingly call my “stupid challenges”.

Running every day for a year.
No chocolate.
Yoga every day.
A book a week.
No new clothes.
5am starts.
Golf every day.
Meditation every day.
Te Reo Māori and dance, every day.

Each one started as a slightly impulsive idea.
Each one taught me far more than I expected.
And none of them were actually about discipline in the way people assume.

They taught me about identity, not just habits.
About motivation versus meaning.
About what happens when you remove choice and replace it with commitment.
And about how small daily actions quietly change who you become.

So in 2026, I’m pulling it all together.
The messy bits.
The unexpected lessons.
The moments I wanted to quit.
And the insights that didn’t show up in the year I was doing them, but years later, in rooms with teams, boards, and leaders navigating their own version of discomfort and growth.

This isn’t a book about optimisation.
It’s a book about experimentation.
About choosing to be a beginner.
And about what happens when you stick with something long enough for it to change you.

If you’ve ever wondered what a year-long challenge really gives you, beyond a good story at dinner parties, this one’s for you.

I promise to keep you updated on the progress!!!

Address

Queenstown
9300

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Website

http://www.bluemercury.co.nz/

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