My (mostly) weekly thoughts on leadership, high performance, wellbeing and more.
Have a read through, or you can see a complete index here
Don’t tell me: why some leaders see learning as a threat
There are a few perfectly understandable and very human reasons why leaders might view learning opportunities as threats, but you stand to gain enormously by overcoming that. Here’s why.
Why it’s not always good news when you get on easily with your team
It can be challenging to lead people who have very different personalities from your own, but it's not impossible. Easy rapport is great at a cocktail party but not necessarily at work.
How much time should your stakeholders get?
Do those in your working world who are loudest and most demanding get most of your time, energy and attention?
Use this grid to help you decide what will work better…
The Joy of Subtracting
Overwhelmed clients often ask me for tips and tricks to help them handle the demands on their time and energy.
Stop to think about it, though, and that’s bonkers. How is adding more going to help with overwhelm?
A bit of a rant about toxic positivity
I really get irked by the toxically positive idea that any negative emotion you might have is a limitation holding you back. Eradicate the limiting belief and success will be yours, so this pervasive trope would have you believe! No.
Can your team tell you what they really think?
I once heard a leader describe her team as being “wrong” for saying they didn’t feel safe to offer her feedback, thereby proving that it was not, in fact, safe for her team to offer her feedback.
How to escape from meetings overload
“In nearly all of the dozens of workplaces we’ve studied, helped, or worked at, we’ve found that meetings in particular create wasteful and soul-crushing friction”…
A new Harvard Business Review piece reports research finding what we all already know to be true – and importantly, offers some solutions.
8 Habit Traps to Avoid
Building a new habit is much easier when you avoid the common pitfalls that can derail your efforts.
Avoid these 8 mistakes when trying to develop new habits.
The best time to take a break
When you feel like you can’t stop working, you’re in fight-or-flight mode. Here’s what to do…
Delegating: top tips
Delegation is an important component of most leadership roles. The trouble is leaders often have a difficult time letting go of responsibilities. Here’s some tips on when and how to delegate.
Lowering the bar
This week I'm sharing a blog from before-times (February 2020), on the topic of lowering the bar. It's an oldie, but still very relevant.
Busywork will take over if you let it
Lately there has been a real theme among my clients: how to find time to get important work done in the face of the relentless onslaught of to-dos.
Here’s the hard reality…
Origin of leadership
What style of leader have you been lately?
The origin of the word “leader” holds a surprising clue.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
If you are feeling unhappy with what you’re doing in your career, but also very disconnected from what lights you up, here’s a few ideas to get you moving.
The million dollar question
If I were to pay you $1,000,000 a year on the condition that you had an occupation, what would you do?
It’s surprising how many people have a detailed answer right on the tip of their tongue. Here’s how to use that information to help you get unstuck in your career.
Fear in a new role
No matter how capable you are, when you’re new in a role there is a time lag before you find your feet. That can be disorienting. Here’s something that can help.
Get curious before you…
Going into a feedback conversation all fired up, ready to make someone feel bad and small for that terrible thing they did may make you feel better in the very short term but won’t produce great results. Instead, try this…
Time to get out?
Lately I’ve had a few conversations with clients and friends who are deliberating over whether to leave a job in which they are unhappy. Here’s 3 different possible answers…
How do you explain the events of your daily life to yourself? And why does it matter?
How do you explain the events of your daily life to yourself? And does it matter?
Whenever anything happens in our day, we ascribe a reason to it We do this fast, automatically and mostly subconsciously. Interestingly, the kinds of causes we attribute to things could have a huge impact on our mental health.
How to use job crafting to make your life more fulfilling
Do you wish your work was more enjoyable and meaningful?
Job crafting could help you transform your experience without having to change careers or even search for a new position.