5 common reasons for resistance to change
When I worked as part of a large business transformation program we used to joke about being ‘licensed to change you!’ yet we all know that the reality is that the only person who can change you is you! Yet why is it that we are reluctant to change even when we...
Letting go to move forward
I’ve been thinking a lot about letting go! The more I work with people experiencing change, the more I realise that in order to move forward we have to be able to let go of the past. International Women’s Day (IWD) has become a marker for me, a time to reflect on...
Recognising a passive aggressive person
My previous blogs on assertiveness seem to have struck a chord with many people! In this one, I am going to talk about a negative behaviour that most of us have demonstrated at some time. Being passive aggressive! So what do we mean when we use this term. Let’s start...
Four steps to coaching your team
Do you want to know more about coaching your team? It a great way to grow and develop your team and subsequently your business. Or are you like many other business owners and managers who still believe in their role as a problem solver, cutting short conversations...
Why doing nothing is sometimes the best thing to do
You’ve just heard the news and you’re shocked. It’s big and unexpected, a shock. I’ve been there, so I know what it’s like. One summer’s evening in 2001, I learnt through a phone call that my younger brother had died of a brain haemorrhage. He was 38 and his partner...
Are you onboard the change rollercoaster?
Change can be exciting, terrifying, dull and distressing. To feel a mixture of emotions is perfectly natural. It is a bit of a rollercoaster and sometimes you want to stop and get off and at other times you’re whizzing along feeling exhilarated. The feelings and...
One year on! 5 lessons on growing my business
Last year on Valentines Day, I decided to treat myself! Not because my hubby had forgotten but because what I wanted he couldn’t provide! I had finished my job on Friday and the first thing on the Monday morning I set up a business Facebook page and changed my...
Leaders need to communicate their ‘why’
As a business leader do you communicate your why to your potential clients and suppliers and employees? The need to do this is something I've been thinking about. What it is that ignites passion and high performance in the leaders whom I coach and meet at the...
Happiness is an inside job – 2 things you can do today to increase your happiness.
If you’re unhappy today, you’ll be unhappy tomorrow — unless you take action. I am not trying to be alarmist, just saying it as it is. Research by the University of Edinburgh shows that up to half of our happiness is down to our genes. We have a certain predisposition...
In search of happiness, start here…
Is it possible to take specific action steps to become happier? In a previous blog, I wrote about becoming happier through being more assertive and this got me thinking about what we mean by happiness. Do we find ourselves pouring effort into improving our...
Being Bullied: 4 steps to take if this is you
Are you being bullied? I have been learning about the impact that bullying has on the lives of two women I have met since I set up my business. Both had experienced bullying, either themselves or one of their children being bullied! I've never been bullied myself: one...
Are you a people pleaser? 6 tips on saying No
Thinking that saying No makes you a bad person or not very nice is common but flawed. ‘No’ is one of the shortest words in our vocabulary, so why do so many of us find it so hard to say? Well, many of us are people pleasers, suffering from ‘the disease to please’....
Are you fed up of being the person everyone relies on?
Are you the ‘go to’ person when people need something done? Yet it is the others who get promoted? Maybe you run your own business but still end up being taken advantage of by your suppliers, customers or even your family. Are you the family organiser and the one who...
How to be a leader in three steps.
In my twenties I was lucky enough to be appointed into my first leadership role. I’d had no training in how to be a leader and if truth be told was struggling to really understand who I was. It was important to me that I was liked by peers and team and I also wanted...
Becoming happier by being more assertive
When I was younger I struggled with being more assertive. It took me many years working at it before it became second nature. And guess what it made me happier and it could you too. Here's how. I had a wonderful but very traditional childhood, dad was in the RAF and...
Five ways to create a winning team
Have you ever been part of a really high performing winning team? What was it like? How did it come about? What was your part in it? Only once in my career have I had this experience and it was awesome. During our time together, we achieved an incredible amount and...
Is technology damaging your brain? Eight ways to stop it
Have you ever thought about whether technology is damaging your brain? How do you feel when your phone doesn’t ring? What about when no one responds to your Facebook status or Tweets? The internet is 25 years old and social media even more recent and yet it has...
5 Top Tips on facing Career and Life Change
Facing career and life change can come at stage in our lives but it can be even more scary when we're post 45 isn't it? Do you sometimes see yourself in the mirror and wonder where the years went? Like many people, most of the time, I don’t consider my age to...
Are senior HR roles the loneliest place to work?
Why do people choose careers in HR? You might be surprised to know that many people high up within HR didn’t start their careers looking to go in that direction and I am one of them. An article published by Rasmussen College sites 10 perks of working in HR and I...
Are you dreaming of your next career move?
Do you know what your next career move will be? How will you decide? Will you passively let someone else make that decision for you or are you taking control of your career? Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about work and careers. You might think this is strange from...