Skills training: how to support and develop today’s graduates
As a new generation of graduates enters the workforce, training providers will need to adapt their methods according to the skills and preferences of these new young recruits and their employers. From healthcare and construction to sales and education, across the full spectrum of industries looking to hire graduates, there is a core set of […]
Groupthink: avoid the drive to conformity
A culture that doesn’t challenge irrational, poor decision making characterises the dangers of groupthink within an organisation. In order to avoid this phenomenon you need to understand why it happens. Back in 2007 I ran a session for senior traders in a financial services organisation. A participant was presenting a project about a complex new financial product to […]
Is a great salesperson born or self-made?
Companies love great salespeople! And it’s not just those in the management who appreciate their particular charisma; clients give into it as well. They know that a persuasive conversation translates to wallet operations – still, they willingly play the game. The Perfect Mix Size and scope are irrelevant; salespeople typically serve as the main connection […]
Why Time Management Training Is Important
Most of today’s managers and business owners are struggling to catch their breath amidst all of the changes that are currently buffeting the market from all sides, but nonetheless precious few of them are paying enough attention to time management training, which has recently grown to become more important than ever before. Those businesses which […]
Learn How to Avoid the Mistakes New Managers Make
Going up against a position of authority inside your organization for the first time can be both energizing and challenging, offering a significant chance to create administrative and authoritative abilities and go up against greater responsibility for driving business results. Unfortunately, it tends to be anything but difficult to fall into examples of poor authority […]
Personal Brand
Okay so it’s been around a while now and I apprecaite it’s not the latest thing out there but keen to explore and understand what it means to others. What’s key to you and why? Okay so it’s been around a while now and I apprecaite it’s not the latest thing out there but keen to explore […]
4 Keys to a Trained and Productive Workplace
When you’re interested in getting all that you need out of your company, you need to make training a fundamental and ongoing part of the process. Too many companies simply set it and forget it with training, treating it like a formality and failing to continuously give employees the information that they need to grow […]
Three Keys to Building World Class Professionals
To get the most out of your workplace, you’ll want to focus on empowering your employees, rather than just having them fulfill your objectives. By taking the time to sit down with them and truly understand what makes them tick, you will have the opportunity to get the most from them in the long run. […]
Helping Your Employees Do “Deep” Work
Deep work is a practice and philosophy that allows your company to get more work done on your terms. The last thing you’d ever want is to have an office that is disorganized and unfocused. Whether you work in tech or handle labor-intensive contracting jobs, the way that you go about your business starts at […]
Video: Dealing with difficult people
In the Clear Lessons video featured below, Zeina Bain suggests trying to work out what makes people tick, so you can work with their personality rather than against them. “Having looked at the different types of people I’ve worked with, typically senior CEOs, or chief financial officers, I’m always trying to figure out what makes […]
360-degree feedback for leadership development: what are you practising?
The idea is simple; it enables people to give and receive honest feedback and to develop greater self-awareness, which will (hopefully) lead to a positive shift in behaviours, in the direction of greater leadership skills. I say hopefully, because there’s no evidence that such a shift in behaviours occurs. It is at its best, when: […]
A Guide to Building Successful Sales Pros
When you are trying to take your company to the next level, it’s vital that you build superstar employees. This is especially the case if your company specializes in sales. By sticking to the tenets of sales that will allow you to grow your revenue, you will be in an excellent position to thrive throughout your […]
Does Your Organization Need External Coaching?
In modern offices around the globe, the importance of coaching your workforce continuously is finally starting to get recognized. Still, many managers, business owners, and HR officials tasked with workplace training initiatives don’t know where to begin when it comes to implementing coaching policies in their own businesses. One of the greatest dilemmas facing these […]
Five Steps to Becoming a Better Boss
The ability to manage doesn’t come naturally to everyone. It takes talent, practice and for some, copious amounts of coffee and reflection. A good leader is someone who dedicates time and focus to individual success and development, rather than the performance of a team as a whole. Being a good leader and being happy were […]
Tips for trainers: why the education system is failing learners and how to change the established learning mindset
Does the British educational system leave a bitter taste in the mouth that affects learning later in life? That may well be the case, but here’s some practical advice on how businesses can turn back time and engage their learners. “Smithy! Stop talking. Here’s the verb table book, now get on and learn it”, said my […]
Networking and Winning
For a couple of weeks our television was dominated by the European Athletics Championship. This was not necessarily my choice, but it could have been worse – in our household we managed to completely avoid the national obsession with Love Island! What struck me most, watching the athletics, was the friendliness of the games. Time […]
3 Essential Guidelines to Hire a Diversity Officer
Diversity has been a prime focus of many organizations for the past 20 years. However, the discussion started heating up more than ever over the past year. Google engineer James Damore created controversy when he released his memo on biological differences between male and female employees last summer. This drove more organizations to evaluate their […]
Sentenced to life-long learning – and what a great thing it is
Life-long learning doesn’t just happen – time needs to be carved out and motivation needs to be sustained. Have you got what it takes? A life sentence might sound pretty onerous and negative. But so can the notion of “learning for life”. It’s something that we may pay lip service to but do we actually do […]
Leadership development: how to create ‘cooling spaces’ in the heat of uncertainty
Self-reflection, or ‘cooling space’, is an underrated commodity in today’s working environment but it’s essential to ensuring that leaders keep a clear head and are responsive to change. The heat is on for the leaders of today. We are living in an age of uncertainty. In the retail sector alone we’ve seen headlines about […]
Instilling tech-savvy values into your company
You need to become familiar with how to get the most out of your workplace. In this regard, your networking capabilities are crucial. Not only do you need to have the best infrastructure in place, it’s also vital that you train people in a way that makes them savvy with their web use and communication. […]
