Managing for mental wellbeing

It’s Mental Health Awareness Week and the theme this year is anxiety. Many employers will be providing talks, activities and resources to support greater awareness of the importance of our mental health and wellbeing. One of the most important factors in workplace mental health is how employees perceive they’re being managed. So if you manage… Read more

Psych Stuff – March 2023

Time for another quarterly round-up of articles, videos and resources that are based on psychology. What to do with a wailing baby? Confession: babies howl at the very sight of me, so I’m the last person to give advice. Thankfully, Karen Hopkin’s much better qualified to share why babies wail and what to do to… Read more

7 ways to build self-awareness

  Why self-awareness? When it comes to being Emotionally Intelligent, self-awareness is often described as the ‘cornerstone’ of our EQ. I’ve shared this post from the vault, as I think our self-awareness has been a bit bruised in these uncertain times. The good news is that we can take small, steady steps. Here’s a few… Read more

7 ways to keep your team motivated

  How can you tell your team is really motivated? What are the signs that say so? Do they show enthusiasm for their work, their colleagues and the wider organisation? Is there discretionary effort – going above and beyond what’s expected (as opposed to demanded)? Are they energised and engaged? Or are they quietly doing… Read more

Is it too late to evaluate your training programme?

As the end of the year gets ever nearer, many a Learning & Development professional finds themselves trying to establish the value of their efforts. Yes, they got feedback at the time (before anyone left the actual / virtual room if they were smart) but they know that was just the initial reaction. How to… Read more

10 reasons why you need to delegate more

1.     Good delegation develops people who can then step up, making the whole team stronger and more effective. 2.     The more frequently you delegate, the more you’ll be developing a key management skill. 3.     Delegation demonstrates trust in people to take on a task and get it done. Being entrusted is motivating, as people can… Read more

Help! How do I handle questions in my presentation?

  Good question! Seriously, if you’re giving some thought to your audience’s likely questions, you’re way ahead of many other presenters. Whilst it’s essential to prepare your material and yourself, there’s much more to a successful presentation than the ‘ME show’. Failing to prepare for your audience – and their questions – is preparing to… Read more

Psych stuff round-up – September 2022

As we wave goodbye to Q3, it’s time to compile my quarterly round-up of articles and resources based on psychology. Turn the noise down! Fans of Susan Cain’s ‘Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking’ (it’s now 10 years old and still going strong) may like ‘Golden – The power… Read more

New in the job? Fix what needs fixing

when we’re new in a role, we can default to doing what we’re good at – but that may not be what’s really needed. First, find out what needs fixing – watch out, it may not be what you think…

Interview questions to help you hire right

Right now, many employers are working hard to recruit more people. So I thought this post from the vault might be useful for readers who are interviewing candidates. One of my clients took an interesting approach to their six-pack of bite-sized workshops: they repeated the same topic, ‘How to interview potential recruits’, six times. This… Read more