Practical tips. Prompts to get you thinking. The odd rant.

World Mental Health Day this year is focusing on suicide prevention. You can be forgiven for wondering if this is an out-of-date post, or for simply being confused: Word Suicide Prevention Day (organized by the International Association for Suicide Prevention – IASP) took place on 10 September; the theme is continuing on this year’s World… Read more

  How are you doing? Good? And how well are you progressing towards your goals right now? Not this quarter, or even this month, but right now, here, today. If we’re not careful, all that planning (or daydreaming, or wishful thinking) we did way back when the year seemed all shiny and new will come… Read more

Experienced givers of feedback will know the alternative (and more widely used) name for this workplace snack. Whatever they’re called, I’m not a fan of them. I’ve lost count of the number of times this point has come up during Zoomly’s ‘How to give effective feedback’ workshops. Someone asks, “What’s so wrong with the old… Read more

Your team has a new member: a brand-new employee in their very first job. They may be a new graduate recruit, or an apprentice straight out of college or even school. You have been assigned as their manager. If you’re new to managing people, before you go power mad, bear in mind that it’s not… Read more

So you’ve got your very first full-time job – well done. I hope you’ve got aims and ideas about where you would like this job to take you in your career. We all need something bigger than ourselves / this week / now to aim at. At the same time, you will need to demonstrate… Read more

Here’s one of my occasional round-ups of psychology reporting and studies that I hope you’ll find useful. Which is more likely to foster wellbeing – introversion or extraversion? Here we go again…Whilst readers who tend towards extraversion may be thinking, ‘obvs, wellbeing’s all about being outgoing and talkative’, and more introverted people may be thinking,… Read more

Shameless plug alert: ‘How to plan and prioritise’ is one of Zoomly’s top-selling workshops. Hmmmm… I wonder why? I think getting on top of what we have to get done is an issue for most of us. We all need to be mindful of where our time’s going – let’s face it, when it’s gone,… Read more

To clarify, this post isn’t about how to manipulate people and somehow put one over on them. That’s neither respectful nor likely to build trust in the long-term. In Zoomly’s ‘How to influence and persuade’ workshop the point is made from the start. There are multiple everyday situations when we simply want to be heard,… Read more

If you’re in need of some inspiration, try these words of wisdom from leaders who’ve been there and done that. “You manage things; you lead people.” – Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper “The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.” – Kenneth Blanchard “Fearlessness is like a muscle. I know from my own… Read more

Good for you – and here’s hoping it’s good for your mentee too. Here are some reasons why people step up to the role of mentor in their organisation, professional body or community. Good mentors want to: Help and support others’ development Develop their soft skills Share their experience Broaden their perspective Be a better… Read more