Are you still keeping your New Year's resolutions? Depending on what research you need, the proportion of people who actually stick to resolutions throughout the year varies between 8 and 25%. Clearly, the odds are against you before the midnight bongs have even finished.
Read MoreI recently read “Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader” by Herminia Ibarra. The book’s premise is that we spend too long thinking and reflecting on how we should be as leaders instead of just doing it. The author argues that we should be trying out new ways of acting as if we already were leaders. Only then will we have the experiences to reflect on to try and find a leadership mindset. This is summed up in a quote from Richard Pascale “Adults are more likely to act their way into a new way of thinking than think their way into a new way of acting.”
Read MoreA coaching culture is an organisational culture that values coaching to improve performance and carries out coaching activities regularly, sometimes without even realising it. Coaching is in the DNA. The value of coaching is seen at all levels of the organisation - from the most junior employees, who may need to go out of their comfort zone, to senior executives who will need to recognise that in the short term, at least, the coaching approach takes more time.
Read MoreOver the years, I was often asked why I stayed in the same place so long - sometimes with horror, sometimes admirably. But the answer to me was clear - whenever I was bored or ready to move on, I managed to find a new role in the same organisation that interested me enough to stay.
Read MoreI recently read this article from AllBright on the Likeability trap, inspired by a new book (which, full disclosure, I have not read.) The piece talks about our need to be liked, a need perhaps felt more by women than men, although deep down, I think most of us want to be liked - we have an innate need to connect with others.
Read MoreLast month I read “How Women Rise” by Marshall Goldsmith and Sally Helgesen. The book starts with a story of how Goldsmith and Helgesen once did a conference together. Goldsmith didn't prepare much and was pretty disorganised but won everyone over with his charm and subject knowledge. Helgesen spent hours preparing and worrying about how she would come across. Towards the end of the conference, Goldsmith finds out that his flight leaves earlier than he thought it did (did I say he was disorganised?), rushes off and leaves Helgesen to close on her own - which completely throws her as it wasn't in her plan.
Read More"5 tips for living your best life”, “lean in”, “self-improvement made easy”. The internet is full of tips, memes and headlines on being your best self - quite often aimed at women. But what if we don’t want to be on our A-game every day of the week? What if we are tired of putting 100% into everything, of striving, of feeling inadequate every time we see the latest 28-year-old entrepreneur profiled in HBR?
Read MoreAccording to Tara Mohr in her book “Playing Big”, girls, in particular, learn at school to keep their heads down, do a good job, and assume their success will be noted. When success involves getting good marks in homework and exams, that works. But in the workplace, not everyone sees the good work we do. And with so many distractions for leaders at the moment, we need to work harder to make an impact.
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