Archive for the news Category

Let’s Talk About….When “Performance Culture” Goes Wrong

Q: I recently moved to a large company claiming a “performance culture”. Everyone is very dismissive and unhelpful which, even as a Manager, I find very difficult. What should I do? A ‘performance culture’ is wonderful, if carefully created and managed. Contented staff, doing jobs that suit […]

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Let’s Talk About…Improving Training Content & Delivery

Q: Our employees are unenthusiastic about the training we provide. Any suggestions? How frustrating! Let’s look to some simple ideas from the world of Adult Learning Theory, to inspire both content and delivery for 2014: Adults are internally motivated and favour self-direction, so aim to understand what […]

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Let’s Talk About…The ‘Ideas’ Trap

Q: I’m great at having new ideas, and yet never seem to move forward. Help! Some people constantly generate ideas, big or small, and it can become very difficult to progress any one task – almost like a child ricocheting from new toy to new toy at […]

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Let’s Talk About…Leadership skills

Q: As a manager with particularly strong technical knowledge, do I really need to concern myself with ‘leadership skills training’? My company’s plans for next year revolve around a ‘leadership culture’. Any work on culture is great news, in terms of setting a standard – a poster […]

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Let’s Talk About…How To Delegate

Q: My desk is piled high with new projects, but I find it difficult to delegate to my team. Is there a recommended method? We often focus on the immediate negatives of delegation (effort, inevitable beginner error…), forgetting that it will actually contribute to long-term employee, business […]

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Let’s Talk About…Stopping the ‘Auto-Apology’ Habit

Q: I feel that I am too apologetic in the workplace, and losing ‘power’ as a result. What can I do? Many of us have worked sorry into our general vocabulary without even realising it. Sentences start with an unnecessarily apologetic  “I’m sorry, but (how do I…)?”. Good […]

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Let’s Talk About…Designing Your Personal Development

Q: As a senior manager, I have spent the last couple of years focusing on intensive staff development. However, I now realise that I have neglected myself! What can you recommend? I recommend opening up the conversation so that you can approach this somewhat strategically! Randomly choosing […]

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Let’s Talk About…Driving Your Own Career

Q: Recently, my boss has suggested training courses and roles that I don’t feel suit me. Until now, all of his suggestions have felt relevant. He has promoted me often, over the years, and I want to maintain our close working relationship and not let him down. […]

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Let’s Talk About…Defining & Communicating ‘Efficiency’

Q: I run a growing service business and want to run it efficiently. I’m not sure how to describe that to the team, or where to start in general. Can you help? Coming from a background in Operations, this mention of ‘efficiency’ really draws me in! Efficiency […]

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Let’s Talk About…Coaching vs. Mentoring

Q: I have been offered the option of ‘coaching or mentoring’ at work. I think I understand what Mentoring is – someone from my industry helping me, based on their own experience – and I wonder, is Coaching different?    This is a really good question, as […]

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