The last year has been different. Not only because we have experienced a global pandemic but also finally because diversity, equity and inclusion have become regular, meaningful topics for conversation and not just a box that needs to be ticked by H.R. Awareness of...
Leadership and resilience go hand in hand, but what about the gender divide when it comes to these characteristics? Historically, leadership positions have been male-heavy, and although the balance is being redressed, female leaders are still outnumbered by their...
2021 is here – the year has been anticipated as a hopeful turning point in overcoming the Covid-19 pandemic. While the vaccine roll out here in the UK brings hope that the end is in sight, there are still many challenging months to go, with a new UK lockdown in full...
Last year here on the blog, we wrote about inspirational female leaders in conjunction with International Women’s Day; you can read the blog by clicking here. Following on from International Men’s Day, today’s post is all about our inspirational male leaders. Gender...
While some areas of life have gone back to a relative ‘normal’ in our post-pandemic world; others remain changed. Leadership development is one area that has been affected significantly, as the events of 2020 changed businesses and teams on a scale never seen...
Self-awareness is an essential skill which can improve every aspect of our lives when we learn to master it. Developing self-awareness is about understanding and having a conscious knowledge of our own thoughts and feelings. A lack of self-awareness can cause an...
The Covid-19 crisis will have been a significant test of your management skills. We are now past the worst of the ‘initial’ crisis, and as leaders, we must pick up the pieces to rebuild and strengthen our teams in what will be a challenging time. No leader can tell...
Virtual team working has become the norm for most of us. Back in March, virtual teams were built – and took shape – almost overnight and will continue to be that way for a while yet. For some of us, virtual team working was already the norm. For others, being in a...
With such a significant shift in working practices due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, remote working could be here to stay indefinitely. Employees have embraced remote working in a way that we could not have predicted at the start of the year. Almost half of the...
Virtual leadership is such a pertinent topic right now, as leaders adapt to the new world that the coronavirus has caused. Working from home is one of the success stories of the COVID-19 outbreak, with many companies reporting an easy transition. A recent survey found...
Do you know the secret all great leaders share? It's that there's an intrinsic value to lifelong learning, and by embracing it, you can develop and grow your leadership capabilities. Simon Sinek, motivational speaker and author of the bestselling...
If you’ve recently been promoted to your first leadership role, congratulations! The step up to management is exciting, but it can be a steep learning curve too, and one that will take you out of your comfort zone. No doubt, you are already very good at your job,...
[Post updated June 2023] What exactly is influencing; and importantly, how can you develop this essential skill? In essence, influencing is the ability to affect the character, development, or behaviour of someone or something else. And the ability to understand and...
As we head into winter, now’s a great time to start planning for 2020. How will you face the challenge of developing your leadership skills in the new year? Whilst it’s sometimes easy to focus on what you would like to be doing (improving communication, learning...
We have spent the last few years hearing how the millennial generation will dominate the workforce from the year 2020 and learning about how leaders can lead and manage an ever increasingly diverse and multi-generational workforce. The reality is that 2020 isn’t too...
Something slightly different this week. On Friday it’s International Women’s Day and a great opportunity to celebrate the amazing women out there and the gifts they bring. Having a Y chromosome or not shouldn’t really be an indication of whether you will make a great...
On my way back from a recent training event I was running in Europe, I was delayed in an airport due to our wonderful UK weather. As usual, I caught up on some of the best leadership blogs, posts and podcasts. Something caught my eye, which related to a group of...
Throughout my career there is one law of success that I believe which is: Failing teams, departments and organisations rediscover success as a result of leadership and not management. So often I hear the phrase, and I am sure you do too, “It’s important to lead from...
Goal setting for leaders and pressing a start button in January seems to go hand in hand for many of us. New Year, new start and all that jazz, although you can of course set goals at any time of the year if you want to shift your performance. However, post the Winter...
Being open-minded is a skill I encourage every leader I work with to develop. Over the last few years, the topic of shifting our mindset to improve and create the results we want has become prevalent in most leadership circles. Working and developing our mindset is...
Happy and engaged employees are more productive. I know, it’s not exactly rocket science is it? However, a rushed deadline or far too many things on your to-do list means that the ‘wellbeing’ of your team members is de-prioritised. Suddenly the many benefits of...
“How can I motivate my team?” is one of the most common questions managers ask, and it doesn’t matter how experienced they are. Head over to Google, and you will find there are 65.7 million searches for this question. For those of you who are regular readers of the...
I recently shared the first four steps in our two-part article series on setting and holding a team vision when working remotely, which I know has resonated with many regular readers. In this second article, I will complete the next few steps and share how to hold a...
In an increasingly globalised world, virtual working is on the increase in many organisations meaning a growing number of employees rely on technology to meet, collaborate and stay connected to deliver results. We have previously talked about the importance...
"How do I manage my Millennial employees?" It’s a common question that is asked by many managers who find themselves frequently scratching their heads as they look for the ‘answer’ to their prayers. Managers often talk about the challenge of getting their Gen Y team...
I have noticed over the last six months that several people have commented on having feedback from their senior manager about being a more resilient leader. Don’t get me wrong this is all well and good except when you are left without direction on what specifically...
Over the last few years, I’ve had numerous conversations about the term ‘servant’ leadership. As it’s a phrase that is growing in use, I thought it would be a good topic of conversation for my next blog. I’ll cover the following areas to give you an insight into what...
A recent report by Deloitte called; The Human Capital Trends Survey for 2018, highlights what employees want in today's workplace. Today I want to highlight some of the crucial points that leaders need to know so they can consider how they and their organisations are...
Leading virtual teams? A topical subject in 2018. It is fascinating to see how our online world has developed. According to the history books, Skype launched fifteen years ago, and it used to be quite novel to talk to a colleague in Asia while looking at a counter...
It’s a fact that today’s leader is often required to wear many hats while delivering on all the expectations their team have, including; being a business visionary, a clear communicator, being the route to their next promotion, a development guru, confidante and the...
In today’s challenging business economy. High-performance leadership skills are in demand. The question is what are the key traits needed in today’s leadership landscape? Here are seven that we see embodied in successful leaders. Strategic Business Thinking ...
In my experience as a leader within blue chip organisations and over the last 10 years as an external learning and development professional, one of the most significant challenges I see managers have is around delegation. However, I am in no doubt that delegation is...
When you consider the truly great leaders of our time whether that is in politics, business, not for profit, arts, or public sector they all share similar values and beliefs. In today’s post, I want to share 8 key attitudes and beliefs of successful leaders. ...
“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got” This is a quote I am sure most of you will have heard a fair few times. While logically we ‘get it’, it’s still a fact that many people find change challenging. We like our routines...
In my previous post about leadership challenges, I talked about career development and the reality that not everyone wants a management role. I highlighted some data that Harvard Business Review shared a few years ago from Career Builder on what individuals want when...
One of the key outputs on many a leader’s job specification is to develop individuals within their team to become the future leaders of their organisation. All well and good, however, the new framework for career success needs an overhaul. Truth: Not everyone wants a...
Leadership behaviours ? Something we all strive to develop. As a leader, you’re probably always trying to build your skills. That’s admirable, but it’s also missing a fundamental rule of transformative leadership. That is, leadership growth is often more about...
The learning curve when entering a leadership role tends to be steep and scary, but there are plenty of ways you can make the transition easier on yourself—and on your team. If you come in with the right mindset and concentrate on these key leadership skills, you will...
Team communication strategies are vital to developing a productive team. It’s that simple (and that powerful), yet a huge number of teams in workplaces all around this globe still find themselves operating in a confused and inefficient manner due to poor communication...
How to manage difficult employees is a ‘must have’ skill for all managers. A single difficult employee can disrupt your team, create a toxic atmosphere in the workplace, and make you want to tear your hair out in frustration. One person is all that it takes to...
According to the CIM and other respected experts the data related to managers and leaders in the UK is rather dismal. The truth is there is a similar pattern present across the globe. Did you know that four out of five British bosses are 'accidental managers' who have...
Heart centred leadership? With valentine’s day upon us it seems appropriate to talk about one of my favourite leadership traits, heart centred leadership. I think it’s time for more of it; don’t you? Heart centred leadership isn’t the latest buzz word or trend in...
New year and new start? Here is something that summarises the essence of our leadership programmes. It is a mindset shift that works. Enjoy!
There’s a shift at play in the world of work. Employees are no longer content to work a lifetime in the same job, tacitly accepting poor leadership from their managers in exchange for a monthly salary. Today, as companies battle to keep employees engaged and people...
There’s been talk in leadership circles for some time about conquering the gap between ‘knowing’ and ‘doing’, but there’s a third vital component related to what it takes to be a truly great manager, which is often forgotten and that is the subject of being. Let’s...
Our minds go to a lot of trouble to keep us safely shored up in our comfort zones. Within these ‘safe zones’ we carry out our normal routine, content in the knowledge that we have the skills and learned behaviours required to manage the situations we regularly face—...
Most of us have grown up with the understanding that showing vulnerability at work will negatively affect our careers— and particularly so for those in leadership roles. ‘Never show weakness’ has been one of the most dominant management mantras of our professional...
