Mindfulness for trainers: noticing everyday experiences mindfully
This month, I am sharing a technique that has enriched my life, and my training practice. Sitting practice is powerful, but I love the Mindfulness for Life approach of bringing mindful awareness to everyday tasks, such as driving, washing up, and walking (I’ll cover mindful walking in a later blog). This month, I am sharing […]
Why managers need to learn to be impartial
One of the biggest pitfalls for leaders and managers in business is a rock-solid belief in their own impartiality. Long experience and intimate knowledge of situations and people mean they must know best. It’s a problem when it comes to relationships and diversity – in how different types of people are perceived and treated; when […]
Presentation skills: take a deep breath and drop the corporate mask
Connecting with an audience in a business setting isn’t just about content – it’s about being able to bring your authentic self to the room. To get better at giving presentations, we first need to look within ourselves. In a corporate training room in London, an inspiring space with lots of natural light, creative décor, […]
VIDEO: What’s your work/life tipping point?
Struggling with your work/life balance? Maggie Buggie, SVP, Global Head of Innovation Services & Solutions at SAP (formerly at Capgemini) suggests finding your tipping point, and asks whether there’s a more important underlying question to face. “A lot of people ask me about work/life balance, and I have to be very honest here, I genuinely don’t […]
Transformational leadership: it’s not what you think
Don’t be fooled by the name – transformational leadership is charismatic leadership with a fancy title. The idea of transformational leadership sounds good when taken at face value. A transformational leader is someone who instills pride, respect and trust in their followers. They inspire and motivate people beyond expectations, sparking innovation and change. If you […]
The psychology of change: how companies should approach transformation
The key to successfully implementing change in an organisation is psychological insight – understanding your people and what they need in order to adapt to it. No matter where you work or what you do, everyone is talking about the future — anticipating change and how it impacts our lives. Human beings have, of course, […]
Why memory is the most important skill to train employees in
Training employees to have better memory skills makes logical and financial sense – after all, why spend money training them in other skills if they won’t be able to remember them? Here are some tips to help improve memory recall. What if you could not only help your employees to improve their performance, but at […]
Does Boris have the skills to be a great leader?
Two of the major political parties in the UK have gained new leaders this week. On Monday, we learnt that Jo Swinson will take over from Vince Cable as leader of the Liberal Democrats. And yesterday, in a result that was even less surprising, we were told that Boris Johnson has been chosen to lead […]
Five ways to have better conversations
While technology and management styles have been transformed over the past hundred years of working together in formal environments like offices, our ability to have ‘good’ conversations is stuck in the past. It’s important because businesses don’t just depend on the quality of their people – they depend on them communicating. Workplaces continue to involve […]
How physical intelligence can benefit employees in the workplace
We’ve heard a lot about emotional intelligence, but now it’s time to discover how physical intelligence can transform our careers and business outcomes for the better. Authors of new wellbeing book Physical intelligence, Claire Dale and Patricia Peyton, shed some light on this emerging skillset. Physical intelligence is the ability to detect and actively manage […]
2050 – Living in the algorithm era…
2050 is not that far away from us. Barely three decades… (Still remember the 90’s, right?) Of course, it is impossible today to precisely depict what our future will look like 30 years from now. But there are at least 2 facts that we can now take for granted: #1 – First, the world population […]
Continuous learning: The core of the workplace
On-demand learning may not yet be a matter of instinct for everyone but the time when it must be is upon us. Continuous on-demand learning is the only way we’ll be able to navigate the future that modern working life demands. This is not simply an employee issue, employers need to build a culture that […]
Analysing an emotional reaction during a training session
When conflict arises during training sessions, your initial reaction might be to shut down the other person immediately – but taking time to analyse their reaction can provide a greater learning experience for both parties. A few years ago, I was hired by a company to help them through a TUPE transfer (Transfer of Undertakings […]
Soft skills: the four cornerstones of a great conversation
I believe that the most important things that happen at any organisation are conversations. They are the reason we innovate, collaborate, sell, lead, coach, change, succeed, or fail. A salesperson who struggles to have meaningful customer conversations, a leader who is misunderstood when implementing strategy, or a manager who prefers to avoid coaching conversations are […]
Video: great leaders guide rather than direct
What makes a great leader, asks John Wagner? He shares an example of a great boss who has shaped his leadership style. “Reflect back on the good bosses you’ve had and why they were good: why did you feel you really wanted to go to work and work harder and do the right job for […]
The art of persuasion: the new top skill needed by employees?
What’s now the most desirable quality among employees? According to the latest global LinkedIn data on job opportunities and what employers are asking for from applicants, it’s the skill of persuasion. ‘Persuasion’, though, is often seen as being more like manipulation and lies. The kind of dark art used by sales people to pressurise customers into […]
Nonsense Wakes Up the Brain Cells!
I don’t know if it’s a sign of impending middle age – I’m 52 so I’m probably nearly an adult now – but I’ve grown tired of the e-reader that I initially embraced with the same boyish fervour as every other new gadget. My love of paper books and real bookshops has been re-kindled (sorry […]
Business after Brexit: four leadership lessons for uncertain times from military and sporting heroes
The tumultuous trading environment that Brexit has created means strong leadership is more important than ever before. Business leaders should look to the worlds of sport and the military for lessons on how to keep a level head in times of uncertainty. It is a difficult time to be a business leader and, as Brexit […]
Let’s welcome a new dawn of behavioural learning analytics
With the rise of learning experience platforms, L&D teams will be able to measure and assess the behaviour of employees as they progress through their learning journey, taking learning analytics to a whole new level. Like it or not, the L&D sector is not where it should be when it comes to proving its worth […]
Soft skills: is it really that hard to measure their effectiveness?
Measuring soft skills may seem like an almost impossible feat, but by asking the right questions before any training takes place you can produce measurable outcomes to assess the impact of your learning solutions. In the noughties I decided to move my career from IT training to soft skills training. In those days (as you […]
