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

    Q: ‘Why strengths?’ A: Because when we identify and apply our strengths, we’re much more likely to be energised, engaged, more effective and more likely to do better work. When all team members are aware of their own and their team-mates strengths, they are more likely to apply these assets to the team’s… 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

If you’re going to progress, you need to delegate. It just doesn’t make sense – professional, financial and for your wellbeing – to be doing the stuff that goes with your old pay grade.

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…

Ever wondered why some teams are super effective and others screw up far more often? It may be the team isn’t learning from their day-in, month-out work and is repeating old mistakes. If this is problem, checklists can really help. If you’re working remotely, they’re essential. Sound out some teams about whether they use checklists… Read more

Some of us find we’re much more productive working from home, using tech tools to communicate virtually. The rest of us find it harder to deflect or deal with distractions and stay focussed to get the job done. Some people find that, despite the use of email, video calls and chat channels, communication suffers. This… Read more

Here’s a post from the vault that I hope will help you if you’re new to remote working. More and more of us are working remotely; some of us some of the time, some of us all of the time. There are pros and cons… What’s great about working remotely? Many of us can now… 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

  You’ve been promoted – well done! So now that you manage other people, a significant part of your job is delegating work to them. This can be a watershed moment for many a new manager, particularly when it comes to delegating tasks that were once your job to get done. Those who get delegation… Read more

  You’ve delegated a task to a colleague. They’ve been working on it without needing any help from you – or so it seemed. Finally, the time comes for you to review what they’ve done. Frankly, the work isn’t up to the standard required. What can you do? First of all, well done for getting… Read more