⚡️ LinkedIn Top Voice ⚡️ Be happier and more fulfilled by changing how you work ⚡️ Former People Partner at KPMG

I help teams to improve their performance by changing how they work.

When teams work differently, companies get the performance they want and people get work that feels more fulfilling.

My approach combines behavioural science, leadership psychology, and real-world experience.

That real-world experience comes from over 20 years at KPMG, where I was a Partner, COO, and Head of People for a major division, alongside leading complex client work. I have seen first-hand what actually drives performance in high-pressure, high-accountability environments.

I work with organisations where:

Productivity is falling despite longer hours and bigger teams
High performers and future leaders are leaving
Engagement and discretionary effort are declining
Cognitive overload is driving poor decisions
Burnout and stress-related absence are increasing
Client experience and service quality are slipping
Innovation is squeezed out by constant busyness
Leaders are stuck firefighting instead of leading

The solution is not greater effort.
It is working differently.

Organisations including HSBC, M&G, and Royal London work with me globally on leadership and management development programmes, offsites, and all-company events, both in person and virtually.

“𝘔𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘺𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦-𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴.”
– 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥 𝘙𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘊𝘌𝘖, 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘱𝘭𝘤

If you are a senior leader exploring how to improve the performance of your team through better ways of working, feel free to message me.

Mostyn Wilson

Rude people win at work.

Not because they're better.

Because we let them.

When someone is blunt, dismissive, or aggressive, it creates an illusion of urgency.

People think they must be important.
Under pressure.
Getting things done.

So they get more space, airtime, and influence.

Meanwhile, respectful people wait their turn.
They don't interrupt.
They trust their work will speak for itself.

It hardly ever does.

Teams tend to adapt around the loudest voice, not the best one.

When we stay quiet, we reinforce it.
When leaders look away, they allow it.

I've broken down exactly why this keeps happening in the carousel.

And what changes when we stop accepting it.

The moment someone speaks up, the dynamic shifts.

Because everyone else was thinking it too.

Your co-workers are waiting for someone to say what they're all feeling.

That person could be you.

Follow me Mostyn Wilson for more ways to be successful at work.

The Real Reason Rude People Keep Winning at Work

Management is not a promotion.

It’s a trade.

I’ve spent 25 years leading teams.

Here’s what that trade really costs.

You stop being measured by what you produce.

You start being measured by what others become.

That shift sounds inspiring.

Few people are ready for what comes with it.

Here’s what that trade really looks like:

Emotional labour becomes your real job.

👉 You manage confidence. Doubt. Conflict. Unspoken tension.

Decision fatigue becomes normal.

👉 By late afternoon, your brain is tired from non-stop decisions.

When the team wins, they get the credit.

👉 When things go wrong, you carry it.

Friendships change.

👉 The same people you grabbed lunch with now look to you for direction.

Your calendar stops being yours.

👉 Deep work moves to the end of your day.

And you will miss being an individual contributor.

Because there was a time when finishing your own work felt like progress.

Now progress only happens through others.

Most people chase management for status.

Few understand the exchange.

But when it’s done well, management multiplies your impact in a way being an individual contributor never can.

You don't just deliver outcomes.

You start building people.

You leave the team stronger than you found it.

And that scales far beyond anything you could ever deliver alone.

That is the trade.

And that’s the real promotion.

💾 Save and repost this so your network sees this.
And follow Mostyn Wilson for more like this.
__

Get weekly 'work secrets' here:

https://lnkd.in/eE287NTG

6 Brutal Truths About Management

A lot of people try to impress their manager by doing more than they need to.

I know this because I used to do it myself.

When I was earlier in my career at KPMG, I’d jump into every topic whether it was mine or not.

I thought adding my input made things better.

Sometimes it did, but often it just created noise.

Eventually I realised the real value wasn’t in doing more.

It was in doing the things that genuinely moved the team forward.

And doing them well.

That shift helped me focus on what mattered, protect my time, and make life easier for the people I worked with, including my manager.

It also freed up hours each week that I didn’t realise I was losing.

And funny enough, my relationships improved too, because I stopped unintentionally slowing down other people’s work.

So I put together a simple carousel with the 6 behaviours that help you look good to your manager in the right way – without overworking, overstepping, or overcomplicating your day.

Small changes, big impact.

Especially when you apply them consistently.

If you find this useful, save the carousel, or share it with someone who’d benefit.

Follow me Mostyn Wilson for more ways to be successful at work.

How to Make Your Manager Look Good

Competence is judged in the first 20 seconds.

Not over the full meeting.

Not after your slides.

The first 20 seconds.

And I’ve seen incredibly capable people lose authority before they even reach their point.

Not because their idea was weak.

Because their delivery was.

They begin with context.
They walk through the background.
They explain every variable.

By the time they reach their actual point, they've lost the room.

Here’s what most people miss:

– Clarity is interpreted as intelligence.

– Structure is interpreted as leadership.

When your thinking feels scattered, people assume your judgement is too.

Strong communicators flip the order.

They start with the conclusion.
Then they explain the reasoning, if needed.

That one shift changes how you're perceived.

It signals control.

It reduces cognitive load for the listener.

It makes decision-making easier for everyone else in the room.

Authority is not usually about knowing more.

It’s about making your thinking easy to follow.

The biggest rule I use now is simple:

If I can’t summarise my point in one clean sentence, I’m not ready to say it out loud.

I'm still working on it... but that rule forces clarity.

And clarity compounds into credibility.

Over time, people start describing you differently.

Decisive. Clear. Sharp.

Not because you got more intelligent.

Just because you changed the order of what you say.

Pretty cool.

Take a look at the whiteboard for more.
__

Want smarter ways to get ahead at work?

Get weekly 'work secrets' here:

https://lnkd.in/eE287NTG

Whiteboard titled “The Communication Framework That Makes You Look 10X More Competent” by @mostynwilson. It presents nine boxed sections with blue and red headings outlining tips for clearer communication: why people sound less competent, speak in conclusions, a four-part formula (Context, Point, Reason, Next Step), one-sentence-first technique, stop rambling, weak vs strong example, adapt by channel, remove hesitant phrases, and questions to ask before speaking. Key highlights stress leading with the point, reducing filler words, and structured messaging. Bottom line reads: “Clear thinkers sound competent.” Markers and an eraser sit on the tray.

AI is creating a new productivity trap.

Because of what we do while it’s thinking.

You ask AI to do something:

Write a report
Review a document
Generate code

Then you wait.

10 seconds.
30 seconds.

Sometimes longer.

And that tiny pause creates a new behaviour.

You open another app.

Email.
Teams.
WhatsApp.

By the time the AI response arrives…

Your brain has switched context.

Now you need to reload the task again.

The workflow ends up looking like this:

Ask AI
Check Email
Read AI response
Write new AI prompt
Reply to email
Read AI response
Write another prompt
Jump to Teams
Return to AI
Try to remember what you were doing

Tiny interruptions.

But repeated hundreds of times a week.

The irony:

AI is designed to remove cognitive load.

But the waiting time actually increases context switching.

Which destroys focus.

I catch myself doing this constantly.

The real productivity skill in the AI era might be this:

Ask AI. Then wait.

No app switching.

No dopamine scroll.

Just stay in the task.

But much harder than it sounds.

Have you found yourself doing this?
__

Follow me (Mostyn Wilson) for more practical insights on professional work.

Illustration of a bald man with a black beard wearing a black polo shirt sitting at a desk with a laptop and holding a smartphone. The laptop screen shows “AI Thinking…” with a spinning loading wheel and a progress bar, indicating an AI response is generating. Around him, colourful notification cards float in the air including Slack (3 new messages), Email (17), WhatsApp (2), a calendar reminder saying “Call starts in 5 min,” and an “LI message.” The man looks upward toward the WhatsApp notification with a distracted expression while motion lines around his head suggest his attention is jumping between alerts. The scene uses a vibrant, energetic background with lightning bolts and movement to illustrate the chaos of task switching while waiting for AI to respond.

Helping entrepreneurs use public speaking to build their brand | Public Speaking Coach | Author of Make It Count | Former COO and TEDxClapham Founder

Why is it, that some people get away with breaking every public speaking rule in the book, yet we still want to listen to what they’ve got to say? 

If there’s one thing I've learned working with some of the most successful leaders of our generation, it’s that there is a big difference between having an idea and being able to communicate it.

That is what turns big thinkers into thought leaders.

As a leader, speaking is an important part of your life. You’ve got to cast a vision, inspire your team, and influence stakeholders. Yet, so many have never paid any attention to the one tool that has the power to unlock even more. 

Your voice.

---

I've spent the last 10 years helping people like you unlock the true potential of your ideas so they get the credibility and respect they deserve.

Public speaking isn't something that's come naturally to me. I've had to hard work at it and have seen first-hand the power of being able to communicate ideas well. 

I've used public speaking to build a business from 4-250 people. Then I founded TEDxClapham and the talks I've worked on since have turned those who delivered them into the go-to people for their subject matter.

⚡️ 15 million views and counting 
⚡️ £310m+ raised  
⚡️ Government legislation changed

I'm brought in by organisations like Adobe, Bloomberg, WeTransfer, Mastercard and Amazon to do the same for them.

Your work is only as good as your ability to communicate it. The earlier you can start, the more impact you'll have.

---

Ways to work with me:   
🚀 Scale-up Founders (£20m+ valuation): Work with me 121
🎤 Solopreneurs, thought leaders and keynote speakers: Apply to join MicDrop
🧠 Organisations: Book me to deliver a workshop or keynote for your team

Enquire here: https://calendly.com/d/cp53-tkn-tm3

Alex Merry

If you're giving a talk this week, remember... 👇


1. Less is more 🤐
2. Showing > telling 🪄
3. Embrace your quirks 🤪
4. It's not a memory test 🧠
5. Your time slot isn't a target ⏳
6. Be selective with your numbers 📈
7. Your personal story is not a requirement 💔
8. Lead with your words, not with your slides 🛝
9. Analogies will help you to simplify the complex 🤷
10. A title slide is a terrible first impression - remove it 🥱
11. Distil your presentation down to one single sentence ☝️
12. Start with a question that challenges your audience's beliefs 🤔
13. Allow for moments of spontaneity; they'll make it more memorable 😀
14. When you 'mess up,' you give your audience a glimpse into the real you 🫶
15. Your message is only as good as the examples and stories you use to drive them home ⚡️

You've got this 💪.

---

♻️ Repost if you found this useful and follow Alex Merry for tips on how to communicate big ideas.

I used to think that product launch success = selling out in minutes...👇

Rarely does a day goes by without someone announcing a product launch success story on LinkedIn.

My problem with these posts is that they make it look deceptively easy and that can lure others into thinking that they're failing when they're not.

I can't help but think that a more interesting post would be to share the brutal reality.

---

We've opened MicDrop's doors to new members 5 times in the last 3 years and 'sold out' 4/5 times. 

Most recently with our March intake. 
We hit our goal with 3 days to spare. 

Not once has a launch been easy.

Every single one has required months of work, most of which you never see. 

---

I've personally spoken with 68 prospective members to fill our 20 spaces - that's 17 hours of conversations.

Demand that's come from:

✅ Member recommendations
↳ Word of mouth is always our most powerful lever. 

✅ 15 x newsletters 
↳ Each taking a couple of hours to write (with a subscriber base I've been building for 3 years)
 
✅ ~40 LinkedIn posts
↳ Each taking 1-2 hours to write (with a following I've been building for 5 years)

The North Star? Quality over quantity - we've never turned so many away.

---

Oh and then there's product development. 

The culmination of hours and hours of member interviews, reading feedback survey individually to understand what will make MicDrop their most valuable investment. 

It's why this year we're:

🎤 Running our first event at SXSW London
🎯 Curating a two day Stage at Ideas Fest
🤝 Launching hand-matched mastermind groups
📚 Rolling out a Speaker Foundations course
🤖 Investing £££££ in AI

Make no mistake about it, at times, it's been BRUTAL.

But we've hit our goal - and we've evolved more in the last 8 weeks than we have in the last 18 months.

---

So this morning, I'm trying to take a moment to appreciate how far we've come while signing books for our final three members - beautiful morning for it!

Tomorrow, we welcome our new members and our attention turns to giving them the best start to their member journey's possible.

Whenever I'm suffering from a lack of confidence before a talk, I watch this video...👇

Why? Because confidence is fickle. 

Some days we have it, 
Other days we don't. 

We don't get to choose when it shows up. 
Nor do we get to keep it when it does.

---

It would be easy to watch this video and think: 
"Look how confident he is."

But what I see is someone choosing courage. 
And there is a big difference.

---

Confidence is belief in your ability.
Courage is action despite doubt.

One is built through repetition and success.
[And is still extremely unreliable.]

The other shows up in uncertainty and risk.
And can unlock new levels of potential.

Put another way:
Confidence is a state.
Courage is a decision.

---

We can't manufacture confidence before high-stakes moments, but we can choose courage in them.

That's what Michael Pollack did.*
And this video is a little reminder that we can too. 

Footnote: 
He's since gone on to write music for Miley Cyrus, Beyonce, Justin Bieber, Lizzo, Selena Gomez, Maroon 5, Kelly Clarkson.

---

♻️ Repost if you found this useful and follow Alex Merry for more content like this.

I'm taking to the stage at Ideas Fest Encore next Wednesday. The topic...?


Ideas that Land: Communication Secrets of the 1%. 

It's for anyone who's:
1. Fed up with speaking into the void 🔇
2. Realised their message has gone stale 🥱
3. Done with playing it safe 💡

I've spent the last decade studying communication outliers and if there's one thing I've learned, it's that there's a big difference between having a great idea and being able to communicate it. 

The 1%? 

They break every rule in the book.
It's why we can't stop listening.

In the session, I'll be sharing the fundamental principles that will change the way you communicate your ideas forever. So you can lead with: 

1. Original thinking 💡
2. Personality 🫶
3. Vision 🔮

The way you were always meant to.

---

MicDrop is hosting the Think Tank stage at Ideas Fest this year. 

This session is going to be the perfect warm up for some of the unbelievable thought leaders we'll be showcasing. 

The details: 
📆 Wednesday 18th March 11am-11pm
🗺️ Babel Beerhouse, King's Cross, London

If you haven't got your ticket yet (it's free), but you'd like to come along: https://lnkd.in/eCPdTiez

If you're already coming and would like to book into my session (I've been told spaces are already limited): https://lnkd.in/er3gSUBS

If you're a thought leader, what's the best way to get noticed by an event planner?

That was one of the questions I posed Lisa James in yesterday's MicDrop Masterclass. 

And she shared an extraordinary story...

---

Lisa was working on an event for a corporate client who thought they needed a motivational speaker.

What Lisa helped them realise was that they actually needed an expert on finding your flow state. 

So she set out to find someone 🕵️‍♀️.

And struggled until she remembered she had a book on flow sitting on her self!

She then reached out to the author on LinkedIn who: 
a) Wasn't a speaker 
b) Lived in Asia 

They got on a chemistry call and ultimately convinced them to change their plans and fly over to the UK and deliver this talk.

---

There are so many gems in this story (and from the session in general):

𝟭. 𝗔𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿'𝘀 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 🧩
↳ Speakers are often just one small piece of a very large puzzle.  

𝟮. 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲 + 𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰 𝗳𝗶𝘁 > 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝘂𝘀 🧠
↳ Thought leaders would do well to spend more time showcasing their expertise than constantly reminding everyone that they're a speaker and hoping enquiries come their way.

𝟯. 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 ✨
↳ When an event planner puts a speaker forward for a talk, they're putting their reputation on the line (so make it easy for them - see point 4)

𝟰. 𝗔𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗮 '𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘄 𝗠𝗮𝗻' 🧑‍🌾
↳ That's insider lingo for session outline - bonus points for including energy state and transition moments. (If you'd like to see one of mine, comment 'Straw man' below).

𝟱. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 😮
↳ Event planners love it when speakers say: "You know what could make this even better..."

𝟲. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗱, 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 🧲
↳ In this example, it was a book. She also mentioned finding speakers through LinkedIn, newsletter articles, meeting people at events and of course, recommendation.

But perhaps most important of all was the through line from our conversation. 

---

Everything we talked about was about creating magical experiences. She spoke about this at The DO Lectures last year. 

And like all good speakers, she pinned it down to a single idea: 
Collective Effervescence 🪄

Well worth a watch: https://lnkd.in/epjEx7TQ

Thanks Lisa :-)

---

P.s. MicDrop members the replay is officially live... 🍿 (as are your Speaker One Pager and Straw Man templates)!

We're down to our final 3 places, so Livvy and I have started placing bets...👇

At the time of writing, we have:

5 offers on the table,
4 prospective member calls this afternoon,
5 more next week,

So the big question is... 
Who are those final spots going to?! 🥁

---

What stops most people is a niggling question in the back of their mind:
What if I don't make the most of it?

Our happiest members (the ones getting outsized results): 

1. Get the foundations in place 🧱
↳ A few hours work

2. Drop in and out 💧
↳ When they need to.

Prioritising the one or two things that have an outsized impact on their goals: 

✅ Getting direct support from me
✅ Joining a Mastermind for accountability
✅ Attending one of our live sessions to (contribute/learn) 
✅ Applying to speak at MicDrop shorts or our SXSW event

You can do that in a community. 
You can't on a course. 

---

There's a weight to unmade decisions. 

You always feel lighter when you've made one,
Whether it's a yes or a no. 

But wait too long, 
And someone else will have made it for you.

Our next wave is shaping up to be rather special.

To those who've already made the decision, only 11 days to go!

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The Battle

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The Battle

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