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
You’re working hard, getting stuff done, getting good feedback from your manager and colleagues – so promotion will surely be headed your way, right? Wrong. OK, you might be lucky: the right opportunity appears at the right time. For most people who get promoted, there’s more judgement than luck involved in getting that promotion. ‘I… Read more
‘How to handle difficult situations’ is one of the most popular topics on Zoomly’s menu of workshops. Based on the insights gained on both developing / delivering it and the contributions of hundreds of participants, here are some DOs and DON’Ts to help you when a situation gets difficult. DON’Ts Go for a ‘win’ at… Read more
When you’re working and collaborating with clients, suppliers, colleagues, team members, what questions do you hear? What questions do you ask? Most of us don’t give it too much thought – it’s just a conversation, right? Well, yes and no. Yes, I hope you have two-way conversations with these people. No, asking the right… 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
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
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
December is here…and that means Christmas parties. Not just mince pies and mulled wine – but also colleagues, including your boss. I’ve previously posted festive season tips*; thanks to the readers who asked me to get going with this earlier in December. “I read your post the morning after I’d done EVERYTHING you shouldn’t… Read more
October 10 sees World Mental Health Day, which aims to boost awareness of mental health, specifically advocacy against stigma through education and awareness-raising. This year the focus of WMHDAY is on ‘Young People and Mental Health in a Changing World’ – you can read the full report here. WMHDAY defines ‘positive mental health’ as the ‘ability… Read more
Professor Robert I. Sutton is now known to many as ‘the Asshole Guy’, having given us ‘The No Asshole Rule’, followed by ‘The Asshole Survival Guide’. So if the A-word is too strong for you, look away – and miss out. I like a book that doesn’t mince its words. It’s also good if there’s… Read more
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