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

Yes, it’s almost the half-way point of this year. Many of Zoomly’s clients will be conducting mid-year reviews, performance check-ins, appraisal updates – whatever the label, you get the idea. In the overwhelmed, always-on, everything-needed-now everyday rush, it’s all too easy to lose sight of the big picture; the things – and the people –… Read more

  Summer’s here and I think it’s a great time to nurture our creativity. Here are 10 ways you can reclaim your gifts. 1. Draw I’m a big believer that we can all draw. No, we’re not all Picasso, but we can all draw – with a little practice. Stuck for inspiration? If you doodle,… Read more

At this time of year, many employers are conducting mid-year performance reviews. And many children will soon be getting their school reports. Did you ever get this comment in your school reports: “Must try harder”? I certainly did. With the passing of time and the benefit of hindsight I appreciate the intent and feel less… Read more

How to build confidence’ continues to be a best-selling Zoomly workshop. Wonder why? Confidence seems to be a bigger topic than it once was. I think there are several reasons, for example: Social media and how it can prompt us to compare ourselves with others Hard-driving, demanding workplaces asking employees to step up more Lack… Read more

Sometimes we can hold ourselves back without even realising it. We’re working hard, taking focused time to get stuff done, doing what we’re good at – playing to our strengths. But there’s the potential rub: we may be staying stuck in our comfort zone when we could be stepping up. Questions about this often come… Read more

A question that often comes up when I facilitate Zoomly’s ‘How to give effective feedback’ workshop is who to ask for it. After all, feedback isn’t just about commenting on others’ performance; we need feedback on ours too. Some people seem to think there’s no-one to ask or feel a bit awkward about asking. I’m… Read more

What is International Women’s Day and how did it come about? We have The United Nations to thank; they officially began the Day in 1975, the year designated International Women’s Year. But #IWD’s origins go back to 1908 in USA, when women working in the garment industry took strike action over poor workplace conditions. A… Read more

Very often when people think of working on their communication skills, they’ll say they need to boost their speaking / presentation / influencing skills. Fair enough – those are indeed applications of communication skills – yet I have a sneaking suspicion that the focus is on transmitting more than receiving. I think the most under-rated… Read more

I often work with groups or individuals on goal-setting. It may be as part of the annual appraisal (yes, there’s a Zoomly bite-sized workshop for that), 1:1 conversations about development and progress, or a coaching conversation. Within the work context, I think it’s a bit simpler to set goals, because when it’s done right, there… Read more

Whether you’re winding down or still working at full throttle, I hope there’s something in this post that’s just what you need for a quick boost – or a completely new perspective. 2018’s most popular TED talks Want to catch up on TED talks? Here you go – TED’s top 25 of 2018. No, I… Read more