Time for a chat?
Have you noticed how communication, even between friends, can become a minefield of miscommunication, indecision, confusion, indecisiveness and decision avoidance? Take the modern process for arranging a night out with a friend: It might begin with a simple text along the lines of “How are you? It’s been too long!” But how quickly it descends […]
Why your creative employees are more likely to be risk-takers
According to the World Economic Forum: “Five years from now, over one-third of skills (35%) that are considered important in today’s workforce will have changed.” However, it also states that: “Creativity will become one of the top three skills workers will need.” In the most popular TED talk of all time, Sir Ken Robinson delivers a powerful […]
Training the mind: a new fitness regime for the workplace
Reducing stress in the workplace requires a major cultural shift. Companies that give people the confidence to express themselves and encourage a positive working environment will thrive. Stress is a huge issue in business today. The cases of mental illness and depression continue to rise and in today’s pressurised and bottom-line centric world the problems associated with […]
How to harness emotional intelligence in a multigenerational workplace
The modern workforce represents a cross section of multigenerational attitudes. So it’s essential to find commonality in human experience and explore the potential of emotional intelligence. We’ve all heard many ways in which the economy was, and still sees, impact from the notable population numbers of Baby Boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964. It’s been nearly a decade […]
How to successfully manage different personalities
One of the biggest challenges in business is managing people, so understanding how to handle different personality types is an important factor in successfully delivering projects. For a project manager, at their best their team will be collaborative and work together with an understanding of one another’s skill set. At the most challenging, the team will […]
Mindfulness: learning to live in the moment
In part one of this content series on how to become a mindful trainer, Kay Buckby, Facilitator at The Mindful Trainer, explores how beneficial the meditative practice can be for learning and development professionals. I have used mindfulness for 15 years now, and in December 2018 I completed a one year programme to facilitate the eight week […]
Debunking the emotional intelligence myth
Getting to grips with your emotional intelligence may be easier than you think. It just takes an open mind and self-belief. Think of a time when you were in flow. Either on your own, or in a group or team. One of those times when things just seemed to happen really naturally and easily. When you […]
Emotional intelligence: navigating today’s leadership challenges
Leaders who are great at coping under normal conditions are sometimes not best equipped to cope with adversity. Unfortunately, leading organisations in today’s business climate means that adversity is never far away. That means we need resilient leaders, who can bounce back and respond effectively to difficult and arduous circumstances. The key to resilience is […]
Why emotional intelligence is essential in the age of artificial intelligence
It has long been known that AI will affect workforces and markets. Robotic production lines will continue to erode manufacturing jobs. Self-driving vehicles will force drivers of trucks, trains and buses to look for alternative forms of employment that can utilise their skills. As AI improves, which is happening quickly, a much broader set of […]
Handy tips to improve your emotional intelligence (EI)
We are all born with intelligence and arguments abound on whether the intelligence quotient (IQ) we are born with can develop and grow or is fixed from the outset. When it comes to our EQ though – emotional intelligence – it is entirely different. For this is something that you can grow and develop and […]
How to boost your optimism through self-awareness
Optimism is as easy as ABC – yes, really! The world is not divided into pessimists and optimists after all. We each have the capacity to be optimistic and passionate about life if we can just learn to breathe, relax and lean into being happy. Easier said than done – sure, of course it is! And […]
Leading change – how hard can it be?
Charles de Gaulle famously said, “l’intendance suivra”. By this he meant that his role as leader was to set the vision or direction and other peoples’ roles were to sort out all the necessary activities required to turn it into a reality. De Gaulle was indisputably one of the great leaders of the 20th century […]
How to become an effective delegator
Do you delegate tasks without due consideration, only to be disappointed by the results? If so, perhaps it’s time to stop and rethink the way you respond. I get to hear the frustrations of many leaders in my line of work, and there’s a common theme in what they complain about: Why do I get so many […]
Why change programmes fail in their tracks
Organisational change is fraught with issues, but it’s not the process that presents the greatest challenge, it’s getting employees to adopt a positive mindset. The figure of 80% failure rate that’s often quoted when anyone talks about change programmes is probably mythical. But it certainly feels accurate. Changing systems and processes, structure, even a new business […]
Retention, INSPIRATION, Action
In my last blog, I explored Retention and the need, first and foremost for learners to remember the training you give them. This week, I want to explain the importance of Inspiration. We’ve probably all been on courses where the trainer, having perhaps noticed a few nodding heads in the graveyard session after lunch, has […]
How to deal with people you just want to strangle
Dealing with challenging behaviour in the workplace is not easy, but there are tactics you can use to reduce conflict and take control of stressful situations. Sometimes we find ourselves in a difficult situation, where the behaviour or attitude of another person pushes all the wrong behavioural buttons and the choices they make, things they say […]
The Route to Action Starts with Retention!
Trainers who attended my Trainers’ Masterclasses in 2018 will, I hope, recall three words that for me are key to successful training. They are Retention, Inspiration and Action and together, they describe what I believe a trainer must achieve – in that order. In short, the ultimate goal of any learning is action back in […]
Why we need to engage head AND hearts!
What happens when we ‘tell’ people how to behave, but we don’t engage them emotionally? And, in those circumstances, what happens when people no longer feel they need to conform to the ‘rules’, or society gives them an anonymous platform in which to ‘relax’? A few weeks ago I provided a link to the film […]
Is An Executive Coaching Program Right for You?
One of the commonly cited reasons for clients to seek out executive coaching is their feeling that their careers have stalled or that they have not reached the height of success that they desire. It has been found that programs that are short in duration and very targeted in nature can yield the best results. If you […]
How to gain control of your inbox
We’re all guilty of checking our emails first thing in the morning and then reacting to notifications throughout the day. But what would happen if we decided to isolate a few hours a day to read and respond to emails? Work is busy and it’s getting busier. Life is busy too. Especially for those of us with […]
