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

First, please allow me to declare an interest: when professional development of any kind shows a return on investment, finance directors take a more benign view of that particular line on the spreadsheet when seeking ways to save money. This keeps providers like Zoomly in business. It shouldn’t be so hard to demonstrate ROI on… 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

The dictionary defines motivation thus: “willingness to do something, or something that causes such willingness”. In the workplace, what motivates employees to do their best work? Looking for answers finds some common themes. 1.Autonomy Autonomy features strongly in reports and research on workplace motivation. Dan Pink, in his best-selling ‘Drive: The Surprising Truth About What… Read more

  Whether you’re working virtually with your team-mates, or getting together face-to-face, now’s a good time to recap what teams are all about. Here’s my A-Z of healthy, happy, high-performing teams. Accountability Successful team members hold themselves and each other accountable. They commit to the team’s plan. Belonging People identify with the team, its purpose,… Read more

Live virtual* training courses / workshops have been around for a little while now (and yes, Zoomly offers them). At time of writing, demand has soared, as more employees work from home. People still want and need to learn, develop and grow their skills. Obviously, there are differences between face-to-face and virtual training – yet… Read more

Most of us are always learning in some way: to build our knowledge, master a new tech tool, or to boost our presentation skills for example. Beyond the workplace, we might be learning a new language or trying to improve our technique in our preferred sport. As adults, we learn differently to young children, who… Read more

I’ve written a lot about giving feedback, particularly in The Feedback Book. It’s an essential skill for anyone who works in a team and/or manages people in the workplace. Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that that feedback isn’t just given – it’s also received. How do you feel when a colleague says, “I’d like… Read more

Investors in People (IiP) have just published their annual ‘Job exodus trends’. It makes essential reading for managers – though brace yourselves, it’s not pretty. Here’s a few headlines: 77% are stressed of respondents at work Over half are looking for another job 24% are unhappy at work The point that really stood out for… Read more

The words ‘Work Christmas Party’ can strike terror into the strongest souls. According to the Institute of Leadership and Management, even senior managers feel anything but relaxed at these events. If you’re not scared, I can only surmise that this is your first year in full-time employment. Here’s hoping you still have your job the… Read more

  One of Zoomly’s 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 meant that they were able to provide essential basic training for all the managers who get involved in the hiring process. Some of them were pretty senior,… Read more