Have you wondered whether executive coaching is for you? Unsure what the procedure would be, and therefore feel uncertain about getting involved? Well, hopefully the below will help. Coaching from Assiem Ltd is tailormade, uses your real-life situations to implement what you learn and provides a supportive and confidential environment in which to discuss your […]
The phrase “can I give you some feedback?” can instil dread in many a heart! The next thought can often be “oh no, they’re going to make me look bad here”. A report for DDI by Harris Interactive found that employees would rather suffer a bad hangover, do housework or see their credit card bill […]
Have you been in meetings where half the attendees are on their mobiles/laptops answering queries, where managers impatiently talk over others or can’t wait for someone to finish so that they can put their point across? Most managers know they need to listen and could probably accept that they don’t listen enough. And we can […]
I was in my dance lesson the other day and we were going over the tiniest aspects of a particular step. We analysed all aspects of this one move, in the greatest of detail – for 50 minutes! I realised that for years I’ve been doing the same move in the same way, despite a […]
Whenever someone came up to my desk to ask me something, I automatically put a smile on my face to greet them. I had learnt over the years that apparently I look miserable if I’m not smiling! And it came as a shock to people when I wasn’t smiling! More recently I’ve learnt there is […]
Most people have heard of 360 feedback: getting feedback from your manager, peers and direct reports in order to get a good overview of your strengths and development areas. However, have you thought of how your leadership should be skilled outwardly in all directions, communicating effectively with all those around you? In order to lead […]
Over the years, Leadership Development programmes have cost organisations dearly. Companies can be providing their leaders with the tools, but more often than not, nothing much changes in the day-to-day results. As with the old proverb “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink”, you can provide great leadership development […]
Think about when you’ve had a very busy day at work, you’ve made lots of decisions on strategy, resources, management issues, budgets etc. When you get home you are faced with even more decisions to make regarding the family, what to eat, where you might go on holiday, activities with the children. Sound familiar? At some […]
Do you know when you are stressed, or could you be anxious instead? In the workplace, saying you are stressed is more “acceptable” than saying you’re anxious. But there are vital differences which leaders need to be aware of for themselves and their colleagues. Both are caused by our own thinking and “perceptions”, as in […]
Do you think of leadership as a goal that you may achieve and be good at one day? Ticking off a set of criteria (possibly by attending specific training courses) that get you to the end goal of “Being a Good Leader”? Are you putting additional pressure on yourself to be the best leader, as […]
Have you been told that you don’t take enough risks when coming up with new ideas? Or you need to look beyond the day to day and find new and innovative ways to take the team/business forward? Or you need to do more on building and leading new strategies? Additionally, as a leader, have you […]
The biggest challenge for leaders of today is the shift in power away from a command and control, carrot and stick management, to an understanding that their focus needs to be on others. As organisations grow and develop over the next few years, leaders will benefit from concentrating on empowering, team building and coaching their […]
In a previous article I talked about Motivational Needs and how leaders can motivate or de-motivate their colleagues and teams using psychological rewards or threats against fundamental values such as fairness, significance, variation, certainty, autonomy and connection. Now I wanted to move away from the leadership skills and review what you can do as an […]
How often have you tried to talk to someone, doing your best to explain to them as clearly as possible your ideas or thoughts, only to find that at the end their understanding of what you said was very different from yours? Or, in other words, they just didn’t get it. Words are used to […]
How would you describe being unprofessional? Perhaps a boss, colleague or client didn’t control their emotions under stress, disrespected others, gossiped, or failed to do what they said they would do when they said they would do it? As a leader, how would you handle someone asking for flexible working hours, but then angrily stating […]
Have you ever experienced going to an event with someone and when discussing it afterwards, it was as if you were at two different events? It’s worth understanding why that is in order to help improve communication. We receive an external event through our sensory input channels (visual, auditory, kineasthetic, olfactory smell, gustatory taste). Then […]
Ever found yourself having to do a presentation and you are absolutely petrified? There are many articles on presentation skills, in order to improve your delivery, your appearance etc. However, despite reading all of those, my experiences of doing presentations still felt terrible. This is what used to happen to me. When I was 23 […]
Recently, the CIPD reported that the annual cost of sickness absence has climbed to almost £29 billion for UK organisations, according to new figures from PwC. Additionally, British workers take more than four times as many sick days off work than some of their global counterparts. There are many reports about stress in the workplace […]
Only joking!! We know that most people think they don’t need more stress, they need less. But do you know the level of stress that ensures you’re at your optimum performance level? Or could you be someone who believes that you have to be anxious and worried about all eventualities in order to be in […]
I was asked the other day what I would do to get more women on the board of today’s organisations. From the Women on Boards Annual Progress Report, as of March 2013, the FTSE 100 figures show: Women now account for 17.3% of all directorships, up from 10.5% in 2010. Women account for 34% of […]
In your current leadership role, have you thought about how you’d like to be remembered once you move on to your next challenge? If you’ve already had a number of roles, what was the legacy you left behind? Was it what you wanted, something to be proud of, or was it disappointing? Whether you choose […]
The other day I was asked to provide my thoughts on what makes the best coaching workshop or 1-2-1 sessions. Interesting question, but one it didn’t take me too long to answer, as this is something I’m passionate about. Coaching is successful when I can see those who are attending really getting to grips with […]
After watching a play at the theatre the other day, I started to compare the production of this show to leading a team. May seem strange, but bear with me! During the show, it was possible to sense the “newbie” in the team: the one with less confidence, slouched posture, etc. But I was also […]
There’s been some recent research which shows that individuals working on their own are much more effective at producing new ideas than when working within a team. However, to get even better results, leaders should use a mixture of creating new ideas and brainstorming techniques. From the research by Nicolas Kohn, Paul B Paulus and […]
“That person annoys me all the time.” It’s become more evident from working with some of my coaching clients, that emotional anger and frustration in the workplace is a big concern for them and could be a contributor to lack of success for leaders. Have you ever noticed that once you’re annoyed or frustrated with […]
We all experience stress and anxiety at some times in our working lives and many of us feel that a little bit can be fine. But when does it become too much and damaging to our career and our health? Stress really isn’t worth it in the long run, although I appreciate reducing it […]
Have you ever been in a working environment which was improved as soon as the boss wasn’t around or had gone home? The atmosphere lifts, people start to smile and laugh, and yet the work still gets done? It always surprised me that managers could create such an unproductive, stressful environment by their presence and […]
I was recently with a group of managers who were discussing how difficult it was to be a good leader when the organisation’s culture was one of blame and fear, and many of their bosses didn’t support them in what they were trying to do with their teams. I know from my previous experiences how […]
Have you ever heard “my boss just doesn’t understand me”, or “why does my boss think their way is the only way, rather than focussing on the results I can achieve”? One of my previous boss’ perceptions of my management style was summed up in his description “you’re too protective of your team and have […]
Beliefs are those things that you’ve decide are true for you. And they can be positive (eg, I’m great at spreadsheets), or they can be negative (I’m useless at presentations). Normally, when we believe we can do something (let’s take as an example, “I’m very organised”), we notice the things that prove to us that […]