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 […]
“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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
It’s often reported that employees leave their managers, not the organisation. The manager is the person, more than anyone else, who help others thrive, increase employee engagement and determine the success for individuals and the business. Or they can demotivate and drive employees away, even to the competitor. High turnover statistics, especially when there are […]
I’m sure most of us, at one time or another, have had a project cancelled, or report/presentation we’ve been working on changed by our manager with little explanation. You’ve put a lot of effort in to the detail, worked long hours to get it completed, put your heart and soul into the results. What do […]
We all experience stress and anxiety at some times in our working lives and many of us feel that a little bit can be fine. But when does it become too much and damaging to our career and our health? Stress really isn’t worth it in the long run, although I appreciate reducing it […]
Have you ever been in a working environment which was improved as soon as the boss wasn’t around or had gone home? The atmosphere lifts, people start to smile and laugh, and yet the work still gets done? It always surprised me that managers could create such an unproductive, stressful environment by their presence and […]
As part of a training programme, we conducted an experiment to review the news and find out how much of the information provided was opinion and how much was fact. To our surprise we found that the majority was opinion – the reporter’s, the politician’s, the interviewee’s. Studies have also shown that when something is […]
Think of a leader in your organisation who you trust. What makes them trustworthy? Any of the following: because they kept their promises; they supported you when you needed it; they backed you up even when they were challenged (eg by their boss, customers etc); they showed up and helped when it wasn’t convenient for […]
Being a manager and leader today can be a very difficult job. Surveys and reports are demonstrating that the number one impact on employee motivation and engagement is down to the abilities and skills of the leader they are reporting to. Work related stress, the main cause of sickness rates, is also often attributed to […]
Rarely do people enjoy arguing with others, and I’ve found that most leaders find that dealing with conflict can be an uncomfortable necessity. Research has also shown that 18-26% of a manager’s time can be spent dealing with conflict resolution – that’s a lot of hours on an aspect that most don’t find enjoyable! Unfortunately, […]
I was writing a blog about the successful ways of destroying morale, and it crossed my mind that many of the attributes I included I had experienced first-hand from managers. But then it got me thinking about the kind of manager I had become directly because of those experiences. You may have heard people say […]
When leaders are developing their communication skills, it’s worth understanding how events around us can trigger a reward or threat scenario in our minds, and what this can do to our ability to think clearly. Let’s take fairness as an example. If we feel that we’ve been unfairly treated or taken advantage of, this can […]
Science has proved that monetary rewards to top performers actually leads them to worse performance! And bonuses certainly don’t work if you want to encourage creativity and innovation. What works best is recognition and allowing people to learn, have individual goals and work on projects that they really care about and can focus on. Obviously […]
In management, it is important to identify and value the differences individuals bring to the success of the team and the organisation; building on this where it works well. Each manager’s style can contribute to a positive and progressive team or (as you may have encountered from some of your bosses), if unaware of their […]
Within the Economist Intelligence Unit report sponsored by the Hay Group, it was found that 87% of business leaders identify that employee engagement is one of the top 3 most significant threats facing their business but, even though most think it is their responsibility to improve levels, currently very few actually discuss it in their […]
In the UK, organisations have recorded that only 3-25% of their staff are highly engaged, offering a huge improvement potential for those leaders who can demonstrate the link to profitability, productivity and staff tenure. The government commissioned paper written by David MacLeod and Nita Clarke, entitled Engaging For Success, provides a number of statistics […]
