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

For the purpose of this post, let’s assume that the whole team is being formed for the first time. So your employer is taking on a new project, or has won a significant contract, or is setting up a new venture. If you’ve been selected to lead this team, chances are you’ve been involved in… 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

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

When your manager gives you a task to do and you don’t know where to start, what can you do?

  In his best-selling book, ‘Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion’, Professor Robert Cialdini sets out six ways to influence others: Liking Reciprocity Social proof Commitment and consistency Scarcity Authority Based on participants’ questions in my workshops on topics such as presentations, communication or – surprise – influencing and persuading*, the last of the six can… Read more

Got a mentor? Lucky you! You are in a very fortunate position if you have someone to turn to, as well as your line manager, who knows the ropes. Typically, a mentor has experience that the mentee can learn from and importantly, they’re not directly responsible for the work you do. What that means is… Read more

In Zoomly’s ‘How to negotiate’ workshop (co-created with ‘How to pay less for more’ author Marc Lockley), after participants have practised negotiating with each other, we debrief and ask for insights gained. One of the big ‘aha’ moments people report is the power of asking the right questions – and the perils of asking the… Read more

Here’s my quarterly round-up of resources, research and snippets focused on psychology.  Do elections cause stress? Research has reported increases in anxiety and stress after an election result. It seems that ‘anticipatory stress’ and negative mood can be found in the run-up to an election. Something to bear in mind…  Q: Can anxiety work for… Read more

Are you being delegated to or simply dumped on? If your manager gives you work to do and you’re not sure why it’s needed, where it fits in and just how on earth you should do it, chances are that you’re being dumped on. Or, dare I suggest, not listening all that actively to said… Read more

A question I sometimes hear from participants in Zoomly’s workshops is ‘How can I convince someone to step up?’ When we explore this it’s often the case that the person in question seems to lack confidence – even though their manager sees them as very capable. For example, they: Seek approval for every step of… Read more