One of our most important motivational needs is “connection”, through social interactions and building relationships. If we don’t feel connected with others, we feel stress or a heightened sense of anxiety. With our amazing technology, it’s often assumed that social media and interacting online provides what we need to feel that level of connection. […]
Have you wondered how executive coaching, and specifically how I could help you and your team? By way of introduction, I’ve been an Executive Coach for 14 years, following many (many!) years in senior leadership roles and management consultancy. I’m passionate about helping clients unlock their full potential and for leaders to create environments for […]
As one of the executive coaches, Karen is involved in the Aspire Leadership Development programme with Barclays (via Black Isle Group). This has been recognised with a Gold Award, in the “Best Advance in Leadership Development Category” 2023. Aspire is a Global high potential programme for Vice Presidents. It supports a pipeline of diverse, resilient […]
Do you sometimes feel that you’re drowning in expectation (from your manager, team, peers, family, friends, or even yourself) – trying to do all that is required of you in terms of managing the day to day, taking on new projects and initiatives, and being creative enough to take your team and its results to […]
Many people are put off giving any feedback at all. They underestimate how much others desire constructive feedback, and worry they could anger or upset the person they’re giving it to. We’ve all been on the receiving end of someone saying “can I give you some feedback” and immediately thinking that it’s going to be […]
Article written by Karen for Bond & Des Voeux When we first get the go ahead for our house move, excitement kicks in. A new adventure, in a new home. It’s not long, however, for the excitement to turn to stress, when we think of all the things that need to be done to get […]
Can you be sure that you’re accurately assessing your abilities in the workplace? Most of us will have heard of imposter syndrome – a term to describe a feeling high achievers have when they cannot recognize their success and are afraid of being exposed as a fake or a fraud. Sadly, a lack of confidence […]
There seems to be a lot of struggle in the workplace to get and keep ourselves motivated and proactive – let alone helping others. But it’s no wonder many of us are feeling a bit demotivated at the moment. Over and above the obvious issues and anxieties that we’re facing at this strange time, there […]
“Zoom fatigue” – yet another phrase we would never have said or heard of this time last year! And it would be fair to say that many people are in the “I’m bored of it all now” stage. 2020 has certainly been a masterclass in seeing how mental anxiety and stress increases when we are […]
Nobody likes to feel left out of a conversation, or that their contribution isn’t valued. Well, I’ve not met someone yet! The phrase “out of sight, out of mind” has become increasingly concerning recently, and as we move forward with new ways of working. Effective leadership and communication will help keep the whole team engaged, […]
As humans, uncertainty is something we don’t really like. And we’re current all experiencing the biggest period of uncertainty in our history. Uncertainty is contagious, fuelling anxiety in many of us. We try to pay attention to every opinion or scenario, ending up feeling overwhelmed. And that’s because uncertainty triggers the fear part of our […]
As humans, uncertainty is something we don’t really like. And we’re current all experiencing the biggest period of uncertainty in our history. Uncertainty is contagious, fuelling anxiety in many of us. We try to pay attention to every opinion or scenario, ending up feeling overwhelmed. And that’s because uncertainty triggers the fear part of our […]
Are you planning on investing time on you this year? What is it that you want to develop for yourself? What are your targets and goals for your development that you want to put in place? We spend all our lives using certain skills and behaviours, but something can then make us realise that some […]
Can human nature be causing issues in today’s organisations by instinctively being anti leadership? The biggest challenge for leaders of today is the shift in power away from a command and control, carrot and stick management, to an understanding that their focus needs to be on others. As organisations grow and develop over the next […]
Do you know your strengths, struggles and stressors, and how these are affecting those around you? Much of our behaviour is unconscious and only becomes apparent as the “reputation” we have in the office. And our reputation can be very different to our internal dialogue or intention. But reputation is what we will be hired […]
According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report, even though there will be advances in robotics and AI, it’s the leadership skills around human behaviour that will be even more important to succeed in 2020. Chief Human Resources officers from global companies were asked what they thought the top 10 skills required for […]
Negatives can affect us at any time, and it’s not just about being in a positive or negative mindset. As per my previous article, getting the right balance of emotions at any given time is key, especially for self-regulating our emotions as leaders and for when we’re working with others. For instance, when we’re angry, […]
We’ve all walked into a room at some stage and thought, “wow, you can cut this atmosphere with a knife”. The energy in the room is electric with negativity, conflict and possibly even anger. And most us would prefer to turn around and walk straight back out again. A negative atmosphere can spiral out of […]
I vividly remember the first time that I delegated a piece of work to someone else. It was to a lovely lady who was assisting me as I’d moved on to a new consulting role. The first piece of work was for her to put together a presentation for me. You might think that a […]
How can you keep calm when all around you seem to be getting angry and frustrated? There are some people who manage to do it easily, and keep control during difficult conversations. They come across as quietly assertive, and are highly respected for their communication skills. But unfortunately, most of us don’t, and we find […]
Procrastination: on goals, actions, to-do lists, ideas. The report that needs to be done, presentation to prepare, even fitness targets we want to achieve. They can start piling up and lead us to feel overwhelmed, which may make us procrastinate even more. Have you been known to decide to start a task, only to immediately […]
As we breathe approximately 20,000 times a day, inhaling and exhaling about 15 to 20 times a minute, you’d think we’d have it all under control. But no!! Think about the last time you were in a stressful situation, made a big mistake, or were asked a question in a presentation you couldn’t answer. What […]
Have you ever considered who’s paying the price for your emotional state? If you’re in a bad mood in one meeting, do you find that you’ve taken that mood into the next meeting? And then, those people in the second meeting are paying the price for what’s happened previously, and often have absolutely no idea […]
When trying to achieve success for goals and targets, changing a couple of tiny words can help you move your focus from negative to positive. Not only is this very useful for your personal goals, but it’s will make a difference when communicating and motivating others. For more information on how Executive Coaching can make […]
What is it that you want to change for yourself this year? What are your targets and goals for your development that you want to put in place? Change isn’t easy, and it’s rarely fast. The initial decision to change can be fast – can be overnight. Something happens, someone says something – and we […]
Are you ever worried that your communication isn’t perfect? Before your conversation (i.e. in your head), you know what you want to say and how you want to say it. You may have also considered what the other person’s thoughts or objections may be. You may even have learnt some new techniques (be it in […]
How often do you think you should be “seen” by your team? When should you be available to your team if they want to talk to you? Those keeping to the confines of their office may appear unapproachable or intimidating. And although sometimes that can feel like the better option, so work can be done […]
Not a sentence I would expect to say very often: my coat went to the theatre without me. But that’s exactly what happened the other day Having had a very nice meal at a lovely restaurant, my friend and I went with our hanger tickets to collect our coats from the receptionist, who had put […]
If you get to the end of the day and realise that you’ve helped your team do their roles, but not had a chance to do yours, it may be that you need to develop a team that takes more responsibility. It’s important for leaders to be there to help and assist their team, but […]
We often make promises to people, and pride ourselves in keeping those promises. But there is often one promise that ends up being put to the bottom of the list, or even forgotten about completely, and that’s the promise to ourselves to develop our own career. “I’m in a good enough role for now”, “there […]
