Keep Calm and Manage

28 / 03 / 2018

Last week I was talking to a manager who expressed concerns about one of his team leaders, Kevin. Kevin was promoted last year. He can cope with most of the day-to-day aspects of the job and is generally very capable. The issue is that if work piles up a red mist descends and Kevin loses control of his temper. His...

Tediosity is the Clue

21 / 03 / 2018

Yesterday I was ambling to the office thinking about the tediosity of having to sort out all my papers for the end of my VAT quarter. Errm - “tediosity”?! Good lord. I realised I might have been reading a bit too much Louise Rennison, creator of the gloriously loopy and very funny teenager Georgia Nicholson (star of e.g. Angus, Thongs...

Leave Work Behind

13 / 03 / 2018

When was the last time you fully switched off from work? I mean properly - didn’t worry about it, didn’t have a to-do list buzzing away at the back of your brain, didn’t sit bolt upright in the middle of the night scribbling notes, turned your smart device off and left it in a drawer? Most of us find it...

Helping Hands

07 / 03 / 2018

Last Friday afternoon I had a speaking engagement at Cranfield University. Despite the Beast from the East meets Storm Emma scenario, the delegates had managed to get there, so I had to get there too. It was the worst day of the snow in this area. My husband drove me, muttering furiously all the way. I can’t blame him. Everywhere...

Team Talks

28 / 02 / 2018

The ability to deliver a motivational pep talk spurring employees to better performance is a must for any business leader, yet few managers receive formal training in how to do it. Instead, they learn from trying to copy inspirational bosses, coaches they had at school or college, or even characters from films. Some people turn to executive coaches for help,...