The Collab Journal
People + Culture
This is where we keep it real. No jargon, no stuffy HR speak, just honest, practical advice to help you lead your team with confidence and care. Whether you're figuring out how to give feedback, navigating tricky conversations, or trying to keep your culture strong as you grow, you’ll find tips, tools, and behind-the-scenes insights right here. Because people leadership doesn’t have to be perfect... it just has to be human.
What Leaders Can Learn from Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Part 3: Sustainable Leadership & Knowing When a Season Ends
Great leadership is not just about performance, it’s about sustainability.
In the final part of this Eras Tour leadership series, we explore what founders and CEOs can learn about energy, boundaries, resilience and knowing when a season has run its course.
From leadership fitness and recovery rituals, to vulnerability with boundaries and the courage to close chapters that no longer serve the next phase, this piece brings the full series together with practical, human insight for modern leaders.
If you are building a business for the long term, without burning out yourself or your team, this final chapter is for you.
What Leaders Can Learn from Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Part 2: Employer Brand & Alignment
Employer brand, culture and leadership are not “nice to have” concepts. They are strategic business assets that directly shape your ability to attract talent, retain your best people, protect your reputation, and drive sustainable growth.
In this second part of the Eras Tour leadership series, we explore what Taylor Swift’s tour teaches founders and CEOs about alignment and why your external brand is only as strong as your internal reality. From the smallest moments that create belonging, to the unseen work that builds trust and loyalty, this piece unpacks how culture becomes your competitive advantage.
Whether you’re building a fast-growing business or leading an established team, these lessons offer a powerful reminder that the most magnetic brands are not manufactured through marketing, they’re built through everyday human choices inside the organisation.
What Leaders Can Learn from Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Part 1: Leadership & Culture
You don’t have to be a Taylor Swift fan to learn from the Eras Tour.
After watching the full Eras Tour documentary series including the final episodes released this week, I found myself thinking this is one of the clearest leadership and culture case studies I’ve seen in years.
Beneath the lights, music and spectacle sits a masterclass in how extraordinary teams are built: through preparation, psychological safety, belonging, inclusive leadership, and leaders who deliberately create space for others to shine.
From the language leaders use (“we sing together”) to the way teams are supported to show up as their full selves, the Eras Tour offers powerful lessons for founders, CEOs and people leaders who want to build high-performing, values-led organisations.
This first part of a three-part series explores what leaders can learn from the Eras Tour about leadership and culture and why great teams are never an accident.
Whether you love Taylor Swift, feel indifferent, or simply don’t get the hype, the insights here are relevant to anyone responsible for leading people.
The Anatomy of a Happy Team: What I Learned From 6 Months Inside Fast Growing Retail Brands
Over the past six months, I’ve been deeply embedded inside several fast-growing retail and ecommerce brands working with founders, leaders, warehouse teams, creatives, marketers, customer service teams and everyone in between. Here’s what I’ve learned, from the inside, about what genuinely creates happiness in fast paced, founder led workplaces.
What Founders Get Wrong About HR And Why Fractional HR Is the Modern Solution
Let’s talk about the biggest misconceptions I see from founders every week… and why the right HR partner can completely change how your business scales.
Why I Don’t Believe in Performance Reviews (and What to Do Instead)
Performance reviews eat up hundreds of leadership hours and often do more harm than good. Here’s why a talent review is a smarter use of time — and how it actually drives engagement.
The Engagement Paradox: Why Retention Is Up but Employee Happiness Is Down
Employee retention in Australia is at record highs — but so is disengagement. The latest research reveals why staff are staying put for now, why happiness is falling, and what small to medium-sized businesses can do to keep teams truly engaged.
What "Good HR" Actually Looks Like in a Growing Business
Good HR is people-focussed, commercial, and build to support your growth.
Recognition That Works: How to Show Appreciation Without the Eye Roll
Recognition matters, but it has to be done right. Here’s how to nail recognition without making it awkward or leaving you with a cupboard full of company mugs.
What It’s Like to Work with The People Collab: HR Support for Growing Businesses
HR support can mean a lot of things.
An outsourced helpline. A policy pack. An in-house hire. A consultant who hands you a PDF and disappears.
At The People Collab, that’s not how we do things.
How to Have Difficult Conversations at Work (Without Losing Trust)
If you’re a manager or business owner, you’ll eventually face “That conversation”.
This blog will walk you through five practical steps to handle difficult conversations at work with clarity, empathy, and confidence.