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

At different times and in different situations I’ve been fortunate to benefit from the wisdom of mentors – and been privileged to have mentored others. I also help clients get their mentoring programmes working well. For a mentoring relationship to flourish and deliver the desired results it needs to be more than ‘just a chat’… Read more

When I facilitate ‘How to delegate effectively’ workshops, something participants need help with early on is their reluctance to delegate. This can show up as self-imposed obstacles that get in the way such as, “I don’t want to overload them”, “I’m not sure they’ll get it right”, “I’m too busy to delegate properly” and of… 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.

  “What’s an ‘amygdala hijack’ – and how would I know if I’ve had one?” Let’s take the terminology first: the term emerged in Daniel Goleman’s best-selling book, ‘Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More than IQ’. Goleman offered an accessible term for the neurological stimulus-response that occurs when the amygdala perceives a threat and… 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

Participants in Zoomly’s workshops often hang back to ask me questions at the end, and I feel privileged to be asked.  The ‘How to manage upwards’ session is typical. I’ll always do what I can to help. Yet I’m acutely aware that I don’t work there and I’m not their manager. But I try to… 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