What’s Your Decision Making Style?
Someone asked me recently “What’s the most important competency of a leader?” I was tempted to say “communication skills” or maybe “resilience” in light of events in recent years. We could debate this for a very long time, but few would disagree that decision making must be up there among the top skills every leader needs. Whatever role … Read More
How to Turn Adversity into Business Opportunities
Over the years, it’s been a privilege to meet some amazing leaders and to learn from their words of wisdom. One of the best pieces of advice I ever received was from my personal mentor, Ron Hansell. He asked me to memorise this quote: “Every adversity carries with it the seed of an equivalent advantage” … Read More
Read our Article in CEO Today Magazine
Executive Coaching has emerged as an essential way of supporting the peak performance of individuals and teams. To read our ‘CEO Today Magazine’ article on the benefits of coaching click here
What can we learn from gold medal winners?
It’s been exciting watching the Olympic coverage these last few weeks – just the tonic we needed after the challenges of the last 18 months. But now the games are over, I wonder – what can we learn from the world’s elite athletes and, in particular, the gold medal winners? The question on my mind … Read More
How to Create Psychological Safety for Others
Have you ever wondered why sometimes people just don’t behave the way you expect them to?! Here are a few examples to illustrate what I mean: You’ve just delivered a rabble-rousing motivational team talk – yet nothing much happens afterwards. You write a stunning proposal for a client who verbally agrees to proceed – but … Read More
Allow yourself scheduled worry time
Vaccines may be in short supply, but there is no shortage of things to worry about these days! Whether it’s concern for loved ones, work pressures, money or a host of other issues, worrying is to some extent a natural part of being human. Our brain goes into overdrive while it tries to problem-solve… and … Read More
How to Have a Good Conversation
How good is your ‘conversational competence’? This might sound like a strange question to ask, but is there any 21st century skill more important than being able to sustain an engaging, coherent and confident conversation? Nothing beats a good face-to-face conversation for making a deep and meaningful connection. But much of today’s communication is based on being … Read More
Grey Hair Is Back In Fashion
Based purely on age alone, the chances are that anyone under the age of 32 has not experienced a GENUINE business recession in their working lifetime. For example, just before Hong Kong went into lockdown mode in January I was invited to run a team coaching session for a group of professionals at their regular … Read More
Unlocking the potential of young leaders
Young leaders often report being on a ‘performance treadmill’ with little time to step back and reflect. They usually approach their careers from a technical perspective with less time spent on developing the soft skills needed to flourish at higher level. Therefore, Executive Coaching assignments often centre around carving out time for reflection, increasing self-awareness … Read More
The Worst Excuses for Calling in Sick
I recently read an article that made me laugh out loud! It featured some of the worst excuses the British used for calling in sick and included such gems as: “I had a bad dream and needed the day to recover” “I thought it was Saturday today” “My partner threw the TV remote at me last night and … Read More
Achieve Your New Personal Best in 2019
Strategies to Kick Start Your Year It’s that time of year when most of us are gazing into 2019 wondering how we are going to achieve our personal goals, business targets and KPI’s. So rather than simply wish you a “Happy New Year” I wanted to add value by giving ideas to help create momentum … Read More
First Impressions REALLY DO Count
First impressions REALLY do count. To prove the point, just cast your mind back to the last time you met someone for the first time. It probably took you just a few seconds to decide whether you trust the other person …….most likely based on pure ‘gut feeling’. And other people do exactly the same … Read More
The secret weapon of winter Olympians
Here’s a question for you. Would you enter the Winter Olympics without the support of a coach? Almost all of the world’s leading sports people employ coaches to help lift their game. But when it comes to business, our first thought can often be “Why do I need a Coach – what’s wrong?” The answer … Read More
Is ‘Digital Distraction’ stopping you from achieving your goals?
We live in a world dominated by digital devices. Whether you are riding on a train, relaxing in a coffee shop or simply standing in a queue the chances are you’re checking your Samsung, iPhone or tablet. Gone are the days when we only had one electronic channel – email. Today we have Facebook, iMessenger, … Read More
Think again before you press ‘Send’
Whatever did we do before email? It was only 20 years ago that email services were first made available to the public and even then they were only used by a minority of people. It was not until 2004 that Google launched its Gmail service which helped popularise the use of email as a day-to-day … Read More
What can we learn from movie trailers?
Movies are big business generating worldwide box office revenue in excess of US$38 billon. However, for every blockbuster success there are a dozen that will struggle to break even or lose money. One of the things that can drive success at the box office is a high quality trailer that grips and excites an audience … Read More
How to make a big impact in your new job
Congratulations! You’ve landed your dream new job, but now what? Before you dive into your new role there are some simple but effective techniques to help your maximise your chances of success and avoid the potential banana skins. Before You Start In your mind at least, the day you start your new role should be … Read More
When the going gets tough, the tough get going
Day-to-day business can sometimes be a rollercoaster ride of highs and lows! Hopefully you will have more ‘ups’ than ‘downs’, but when you have to dig deep, what strategies can you use to see you through? Adventurer Rob Lilwall is currently on a solo-mission trekking across the Taklamakan desert in China’s wild west. It’s a … Read More
Why does “talent” not always guarantee success?
Working as an executive coach and trainer I get to meet some amazingly talented people from a wide range of backgrounds and industries. Over the last 30 years I must have met thousands of business professionals and I am still curious as to what makes people succeed. Is there a magic ingredient? There is a view that only two personality traits determine … Read More
Are you playing to your strengths?
You are unique. There is no one else exactly like you on the planet! ……. but have you ever stopped to carry out a personal audit of your strengths, to make sure you are maximising on the real ‘YOU’? Identifying your uniqueness can take a lifetime of discovery. For some, it can be a long … Read More