Dr Michael Lawless

📢 Excited to announce our latest paper on #TransdisciplinaryResearch! Explore our findings on effective collaboration and leadership in tackling complex health challenges. #ResearchImpact #leadership @alisonlkitson @Mandy_Archibald @MariaAPinero journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/10…

The inability of leaders to delegate is one of the most significant blockers in workforce productivity & in making change happen. So I appreciated this new article by @RoFernn that offers a refreshing perspective & practical actions. Teams often don’t see the pressure that their leaders carry. Leaders fear that if something goes wrong, it will ultimately fall back on them. That’s why delegation feels risky: when we delegate, we can no longer control every action or thought. We can only have influence. The shift from control to influence triggers more fear. Most leaders don’t struggle with delegation because they don’t know they should delegate. They struggle with the daily symptoms of not delegating. The core problem is often a lack of clarity, trust & good processes. But because leaders are constantly firefighting, they rarely get the chance to step back & see it. Effective delegation focuses leaders on controlling what they can control: providing examples of what good looks like; leading by example - creating shadowing & learning opportunities; continuously improving clarity; designing systems with built-in visibility so fewer status meetings are needed & setting clear principles & fair rules. What actions can we take to enable both oversight (direction/control) & autonomy (delegation)? 1) Define the outcome & success criteria: don’t tell people how to do something - make the “what” crystal clear 2) Create visibility without micromanagement: build check-ins, dashboards & visual cues 3) Systematise autonomy: Build templates, process checks & decision prompts so teams can act effectively without leader presence 4) Multiply effort with repeatable systems: delegation through systems (templates, shared steps, clear rules) supports sustainable delegation 5) Use the “Five levels of delegation” to build autonomy: The author suggest using the @MichaelHyatt model to work out where current levels of delegation are & how people can move up stages as capability & systems improve Article: @rociofernn/the-brutal-truth-about-delegation-why-70-of-leaders-get-it-wrong-830d67f8e96a" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">medium.com/@rociofernn/th… The Michael Hyatt "levels of delegation" model: fullfocus.co/the-five-level… Graphic via @hosseini_samira

A new study looked at how using AI assistants like ChatGPT for writing tasks impacts the brain & thinking skills. It focussed on students writing essays but the findings have implications for workplace leaders. The researchers found that people who used AI used their brains less, created work that was “shallow” & “soulless”, remembered less & had less ownership of their work. Starting a piece of work with AI created a “cognitive debt” – people get short term benefits like more efficient writing but pay a price in reduced creativity & a mental laziness that sticks around & makes it harder to think critically later on. Even when peopled stopped using AI, their brain engagement stayed lower. People who started the work unaided by AI produced more original content with wider vocabulary & critical analysis. They retained stronger cognitive engagement even when later using AI. Implications: actions for workforce development 1. Prioritise critical thinking & problem-solving training: ensure people regularly engage in tasks that require independent thought & reasoning without AI assistance. 2. Encourage hybrid workflows: human first, AI second. 3. Implement continuous upskilling & reskilling: as AI rapidly changes job requirements, ensure people stay adaptable, resilient & capable of meeting evolving demands. 4. Use AI judiciously & monitor cognitive impact: regularly assess how using AI affects people’s engagement, learning & critical thinking & adjust policies to avoid undermining core human skills. Original article: arxiv.org/abs/2506.08872 via @PietroMicheli13 Summary & graphic from @IFLScience iflscience.com/this-is-your-b…

@MariaAPinero @FlindersCFI Such a lovely afternoon - and Ale you’re looking very glamorous.

Marking 5 years and 11 months of collaborative research and co-authorship. Grateful for the shared contributions and continued progress in our fields. @FlindersCFI

It takes one (AI) to know one: Researchers ed by @MariaAPinero from 🇦🇺 Flinders University have developed an #AI-based evaluation tool to assess how well clinical AI tools perform in the #hospital. dlvr.it/THz572

When we take part in an unproductive meeting, the effect isn't just the immediate impact of a waste of our time. The effect can go on for hours or even days. It's called a "meeting hangover": a period of diminished focus, motivation or productivity following a bad meeting. Researchers found that more than a quarter of meetings produced meeting hangovers. Five insights from meeting science to prevent meeting hangovers: 1) More active, thoughtful facilitation 2) Cut the guest list ruthlessly 3) Turn agendas into action plans 4) Make every minute count & don’t run over 5) Demand accountability, every time hbr.org/2025/02/the-hi…. Via @brentnreed

Because we want to be "productive", we may spend more & more time in "doing" mode (achieving goals & checking items off our to-do lists). But we may get better overall outcomes if we spend less time in "doing" & more time in "spacious" mode (pausing to see multiple possible choices, make wiser decisions, build interdependencies & relationships). 4 tactics to challenge the "busyness" of doing mode: 1) Give ourselves permission to pause 2) Train our minds to be more spacious 3) Build routines to make it safer to pause 4) Pause with other people who are supportive. hbr.org/2025/02/how-to…. Via @MeganReitz1. Graphic by @lianafinck.

Surprisingly, ignoring worries can improve mental health. Evidence: After practice blocking out fears, people were less anxious—and less depressed 3 months later—especially if they had high anxiety or PTSD. Not all concerns demand attention. Some thoughts are worth dismissing.

Our research is disseminated in medical economics, too! medicaleconomics.com/view/ai-is-now…

@Stewmercer @Rebecca_Feo

Great to be part of this initiative!

Taking a systems approach to leading with kindness. An outstanding new paper - Dec 2024. Kindness means helping others do better. If, as leaders, we want to create a satisfying & meaningful career experience for colleagues which promotes optimal well-being & healthspan, we should focus on four domains for leading with kindness: 1) Agency - people having a sense of control/autonomy in their work lives 2) Collective effervescence - energy & harmony in groups of people with shared purpose 3) Camaraderie - social connectedness 4) Positivity - optimism & caring The paper sets out ten evidence-based systems for applying these principles. Each system can be viewed as an act of kindness: drive.google.com/file/d/15qAuLU… By @espritdeswensen. Thank you Steve for giving me this link so the article wasn't behind a paywall.

@MariaAPinero Well done Pablo! High achieving family!🤭

I am so proud of my youngest son, Pablo Plaza Pinero, for graduating from primary school and receiving the Steve Irwin Award for his kindness and dedication to caring for others and the environment! 🌟 Thanks to his amazing teachers and school teams. On to the next chapter! 🎓💙

@MariaAPinero @StemSistersau @Flinders Congratulations Ale! What a wonderful achievement and recognition for your initiatives :)

Honored to receive the Healthcare Innovator Award at the WOC in STEM Awards 2024 by @StemSistersau. Grateful to my family, mentors, and @Flinders for their unwavering support. Let’s continue innovating for a more inclusive future! #WOCinSTEM #HealthcareInnovation #Research

High staff turnover is associated with higher patient mortality. I’ve said it before & will say it again. If you don’t care for the carers they cannot care for their patients. #NHS bmj.com/content/387/bm…

@MariaAPinero @J_Hendriks1 Congratulations Ale! 🥳

Our friends at @CarersVictoria will host a free online workshop from 1:30 to 3pm AEST tmrw, just for carers looking to improve their own self-care 😌 Learn practical strategies to support self-care while caring 🫶 Register now and join via Zoom loom.ly/gUxCNqY

Our health is influenced by where we are born, live, learn, and work. So how do we create the conditions for everyone to live a healthy life? This @bmj_latest article shares some ideas ➡️ bmj.com/content/387/bm…

Researchers from @Flinders are interested in speaking to people aged 50+ who are managing 2 or more chronic conditions to understand their experiences. To register your interest please contact Caitlin.Wyman@flinders.edu.au @Carers_SA @COTASouthAus @HealthTranslat1 @FlindersCFI