Welcome to my blog
I write about Inclusion, diversity and equity for leaders who manage teams.
Performance Reviews, are they now useless?
This year I turned 50 and with December fast approaching the invite to events is coming thick and fast, along with all the work that needs to be completed before the end of the year along with booking into next year, it feels like the right time to review the 50th year I’ve had on this beautiful planet of ours.
Rules of Belonging - the unwritten code
When a group comes together we are very adept at figuring out what we need to do to belong. How do people behave in the group, what’s accepted and what language do they use? This desire for social connection is hardwired into us, it is part of our DNA make-up. When we don’t feel we belong we feel isolated and this has a negative effect on us as individuals regarding our health and wellbeing but also our teams effectiveness.
5 people leadership skills learnt through COVID
The wave of change that happened in March in response to COVID 19 was like a tsunami of change and although the wave is receding with the sight of familiarity returning the landscape will remain forever changed.
COVID I feel accelerated the change in how we manage our employees rather than alter it completely. In a white-paper I wrote in February I shared research that identified 5 key leadership skills we will all need in the future of work:
Unlearn Helplessness
We all feel helpless sometimes, particularly when we are in situations where we have little control of our environment, we have all felt this way recently with COVID 19. That feeling of being stuck, helpless and trapped. For some people this feeling becomes overwhelming and all encompassing in a certain part of our lives - relationships, weight loss or our jobs.
Practice makes perfect - the power of Deliberate Practice
As we get older we seem to forget this advice given to us by our parents. As our lives are made easier with the use of technology and we get busy looking after households, family be that young children or elderly parents our time becomes scarce.
How to look after the wellbeing of dispersed teams.
Are dispersed teams the new normal?
There seems to a real mix of approaches about returning to the office, from full return to no return. Then of course there’s the organisations that are happy for employees to pick.
Habits are our energy
A habit is a routine of behaviour that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously. The American Journal of Psychology defines a "habit, from the standpoint of psychology, [as] a more or less fixed way of thinking, willing, or feeling acquired through previous repetition of a mental experience.”
How to weather the storm when the power is out
"The power is out and I’m feeling cut off, cold and exhausted."
Last night a storm blew through and took out the power, and as I’m sat here writing this the sun is breaking through the clouds and as the day brightens is the sky is looking serene against the the frantic energy of the trees blowing in the wind. I’ve just had a discussion with my husband about using our phones for internet and who has what power left and will it be enough to do both our calls this morning or if he takes priority as he has a big presentation to give.
Distress and Eustress - the myths behind mental health busted
#myth 1 - stress is always bad for us so we need to avoid it
There is actually no fixed definitions of good or bad stressors only our reaction to it. What causes stress for one person may not for another. I have a friend John, who's a leader of a Risk and Safety evaluation company providing consulting for the Oil and Gas industry to ensure risks are mitigated. He is also a storm chaser - he goes to America on holiday to chase tornados, for fun! For most people tornados cause huge stress but for him it's exciting.
Achieving Calm in this anxious time
We all know the worst thing to say to someone who is feeling anxious, angry or afraid is ‘just calm down’! This isn’t the answer for ourselves or others, we need to dig a little deeper to figure out what else we are feeling to decide the best course of action to take.
What does it mean to lead in a purpose driven organisation?
The business world is a buzz with purpose, finding the heart of what an organisation means to its' customers, what impact does it have on the world. The vision, mission and values is still there but all underpinned by purpose. This will ensure that customers come on the journey with you, are aligned and loyal as they understand why it is you do what you do but it will also enable you to engage your employees as they will see the difference they make with their unique set of skills and competencies on the customers life. Simon Senik’s original TedTalk has had over 180 million views and if you haven’t yet seen it it’s definitely worth a watch.
Change your perspective to boost employee wellbeing
Mental Fitness is what’s needed for future fit teams it's not enough to just have good mental health.
Have you ever learnt a new sport like learning how to ski?
Eleven years ago my family and I decided to take up this sport and learn how to ski, my youngest son was just 8 years old and his brother was 14 we went with friends to Bulgaria on a package holiday which included ski lessons. We were all very excited to be going on this new adventure, having watched the skiers on the winter Olympics it all looked amazing. Reality was very different.
Seek to discover your purpose and unleash your potential.
The future of work depends on us doing things differently we need to think beyond our perceived limitations if we want to thrive. The role of Human Resource professionals is to help organisations design a work place with the right structure, culture and ways of working to enable it to succeed and thrive. However they often get stuck in policing policies that were put in place to control the masses and keep the company compliant and safe from litigation only to keep them shackled and at risk of failure leading to reduced performance and the company failing. The culture that it leads to isn’t what the company needs but the fear the senior management have keeps them in the control state and doing things the way they have always been done, they have “learnt helplessness”.
Focus your mind to filter your options
I’ve always found my penultimate year of each decade challenging especially as we come to the end of the year. This year probably more so than others. Being born in 1970 means the penultimate year of each decade is also my last year in a certain age bracket and unlike most people I always find that year rather than the year I move into the next one harder. Maybe it’s because it causes me to spend some time reflecting on what I have achieved in the past 9 years and if I’m happy and satisfied with those achievements.
3 Ways Professionals Can Thrive
Professionals are under constant pressure to perform, this comes from the expectations they set themselves but also from family, society and the organisation they work for. This often leads to anxiety and stress as it is sustained over a long period of time.
A lived experience of Burnout
It was the early hours of 26th September 2012, I was in bed next to my husband in Malaysia, I awake abruptly with a stabbing pain in my side, it is excruciating, the aircon is blasting out but sweat is pouring down my face. I gently shake my husband and in my very British reserved way gentle say ‘Darling, Darling I think I might need to go to hospital’, because I don’t want to cause a scene (yes, yes I know I’m in my own house but habits and behaviours run deep!). He is just waking up and is disorientated so asks ‘can’t you wait till Lennon goes to school?’, I pause for a second and decide no I need to go now.
5 Fun Ways to Celebrate Boss's Day
It’s a common sight to see organisations appreciate their employees, by sharing their achievements at the workplace or even celebrating their birthdays with a simple celebration. How often do employees thank their bosses or supervisors for being kind and fair throughout the year?
Fake News of your organisation
Have you ever thought “that’s amazing I can’t believe it” but stored it as a fact anyway without double checking.
We find that we have the ability to search for any piece of information that we need, gone are the days of evenings arguing over a ‘factoid’ with friends and a glass of wine we just GTS (Google That S***). But even then can you trust what you find on the internet? Are your sources reliable and corroborated, can you be bothered to check? Probably not when the stakes are so low in an evening with friends unless of course you’re the one proven wrong. However in the workplace if we are looking to inform - provide information we need to make sure the information we are making available is accurate, up to date and factual.
Do you ever feel like not going to work?
You’re not the only one, today I’m really struggling to get my work done and concentrate. I’m just not ‘feeling’ it, I could skip writing this blog post for today as nobody is holding me accountable but I made a commitment to do it so I’m trying to push through and get it done. My favourite part of the work that I do is working with teams and running workshops it’s highly interactive and I find that energising and satisfying. Sitting and writing is more introspective but it is important to the work that I do as it helps me to take time to reflect on what I’ve learnt over the week so I don’t lose those learnings as well as preparing for workshops I have coming up. Like this week I have a workshop on individual and team performance, of which purpose and employee engagement is really important.
Listen up I have something to TELL you!
LOL, Mark.
What! Why is my team member sending me a message of Lots of Love???
Have they sent it to the wrong person? What’s going on?