Ever wondered how to really tap into the magic of a diverse team here in NZ? It's about building a place where everyone feels they belong, where ideas bounce and creativity sparks. We get it, though – leading that kind of team takes some know-how. We're talking about getting real with your own biases, learning to see things from different angles, and creating a space where people feel safe to be themselves.

Many organisations invest heavily in strategy, but overlook the most critical enabler of delivery: people. In this article, we explore why human capability and experience should be considered from the outset – not as an afterthought – and how mapping these needs early can drive better decisions around investment, structure, systems and workforce planning. Learn how capability-led design can turn strategic ambition into practical, people-powered execution.

Why wait to the point that you need to lay people off to determine their offboarding experience? How might we intentionally design the offboarding experience for people in a range of scenarios BEFORE we get to this point? We know with the peak-end rule, people remember an experience based of the peak of it and the end of it, so how might we consciously design the last memory they will have of your organisation so that it benefits your leaving employee and your organisation.

Now is the perfect time to be planning ahead for things you want to achieve for the year ahead, and crucially working out how you’ll work to achieve them. The easiest and best time to dedicate to thinking about your career, your business goals, your personal aspirations (and even your home renovation plans) is when you are still relaxed from a break, the inbox is pretty quiet, and the daily routine and rhythms are yet to pick up.

Great leaders are everything, and can be the difference between a performing organisation, and a high performance organisation. They can inspire people to be at their best, even when the outlook is challenging. They can create magical relationships which are based on deep trust and respect, and unlock significant amounts of discretionary effort in the workforce. They can be a force for positive cultural change, and can turn around long-standing issues in double-quick time. In short, they are awesome, and every organisation should do whatever they can to attract/develop/retain them. Trouble is, lots of organisations fall short in developing their leaders. There is another way…..

We get proud seeing them grow beyond the role they are in and step into a new opportunity, but at the same time, we know that we'll miss having them around and that they will leave a gap to fill.It's a familiar story. We invest time and resources in developing our young people, only to see them leave once they're qualified, or begin delivering real value for our organisations. It's understandable - who wouldn't want to take their career to the next level or get out and see the world? But for some reason it can sometimes feel frustrating for those who have invested in building their skills, confidence and knowledge. and to those of us staying behind.

With some effort, you can create an experience designed to orient your new people at the things that will be important for them to succeed in their role, whilst helping them fall in love with their workplace. A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of talking to young Pasifika talent Latayvia about her expectations for her first few weeks in her new role - her response was simple, and telling. “I want to be meaningfully engaged and I don’t want to be made to feel stupid”. With that in mind, I think that there are five key things you can do to help people like Latayvia feel welcome, needed, and valuable.

It’s difficult enough to find the right talent for your organisation when you’re hiring; from thinking carefully about the right kind of skill sets you need, to the right kind of attitude you want to have within your team.To add to this, the world we live in is changing so rapidly, and many of the skills we have aren't necessarily the ones we need for the future. That’s where our young people come in.

Through focusing on IDEA, rather than just D&I, we have a greater opportunity to achieve workplaces that are inclusive, diverse, equitable, and importantly accessible. And without that, we cannot be truly diverse.

Last year, I wrote about a moment I experienced in the early stages of my career - I’d only been in the workforce for a few years, and was given an opportunity to have some 1:1 time with the Head of HR for a global financial services firm.