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Who Are You?
May 04, 2021
Who would have known that three, three-letter words could be so powerful and so life-changing?
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10 years ago, I was working as an HR Director in London, commuting daily from my hometown of Peterborough and with plans to keep progressing in my HR career with the dream of being a Global HR Director by the time my sons finished their A levels so that I had more freedom to travel with my role and develop teams all over the world.
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I was already coaching some of the senior managers in the business having completed a number of training skills workshops when I began my Executive Coaching qualification, and this was the first time I was asked repeatedly the three little words of âwho are you?â. This was our introduction to everyone in the room during the first day of our coaching programme.
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We asked each other this question, in pairs for 15 minutes, and then we swapped partners and we kept swapping until weâd each spoken to one another and asked these thre...
Are Your Core-Ners Aligned?
Apr 21, 2021
At the end of March I wrote about the Four Core-Ners and how through the lens of these Core-Ners of Self, Relationships, Work and World we can live and lead with more alignment, integrity, authenticity, awareness, understanding, compassion and empathy.
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As I mentioned in the previous article, Your four core-ners are what make you a successful leader.
Leadership is a privilege, itâs about lifting people up, trust, respect, seeing the person in front of us and recognising that their unique skills and talents are what makes them unique. When we lead from our core and recognise that our own four core-ners are what makes us unique as leaders, we not only see, but we appreciate and value the uniqueness of the people we lead, and itâs through this that we change the world of work.
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When you know who your true self is, you make decisions that are right. Your true self and your core values become your true North. No longer can you lead in a way that isnât authentic, h...
A New World Of Work Needs A New Type Of Leader
Apr 06, 2021
The last year has seen changes in businesses around the world in ways we couldnât have foreseen. The high street will look very different when the world reopens, what was once a normal daily commute for many may now be a thing of the past and whilst there have sadly been many business closures, many other organisations have seen significant growth and investment.
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Since the start of lockdown, Iâve remained optimistic and hopeful that changes in the world of work that leaders once thought were impossible, could in fact be here to stay. And in doing so, we create People First workplaces where our people are much more than just numbers on a spreadsheet, but the lifeline of our businesses.
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Now more than ever, the leaders who put their people first, will be the ones who thrive as we enter into a new look and new shape future. Our people will be looking to maintain a greater life balance whilst still delivering and progressing in their roles and with that, we need ...
The Four Core-Ners
Mar 30, 2021
Throughout my school years, I was labelled as a natural leader and a role model. In sports, I was a captain, in class and other activities I was the team leader. My rebellious streak was seen as a strength, my curiosity and need to get the root of a problem were seen to add value and my different perspective was thought to be of interest and in providing great insight.
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As I started my management career as a Trainee Manager, I still remember the coloured folders I was tasked with working through. As each task was demonstrated and signed off by my boss, my competence as a manager was highlighted by the signatures in the boxes. At times though, the leadership strengths that had been appreciated so much whilst I was in school, curiosity, perspective, searching for the root cause and rebellious streak were ânot the way we do things around here'. I was appreciated and valued, but my intuitive nature now needed data to back up my gut feel, my curiosity was quashed, and all of ...
Change - Who's Job Is It Anyway?
Mar 24, 2021
A year ago when the pandemic and lockdown first hit, we saw many ways of working change overnight and what was once thought to be 'impossible' for many organisations, very quickly became the norm. I was hopeful and optimistic that lockdown was a time for real change, an opportunity to take stock of what the 'workplace' really meant and how new ways of working, communicating, leading, managing and engaging our people could really change.
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I'm still hopeful and optimistic, and yet at the same time, I'm disappointed and disheartened at how some leaders still think a one size fits all approach is the best way to return to 'normal'. Have we really not learned that we can be putting our people first and still running profitable organisations? Have we not learned that speaking to and listening to our people is a much better approach than endless surveys? Have we not looked at the last 12 months as an opportunity for real change and to do what's right for our people, our custome...
Rules, Hierarchy and Institutions
Mar 09, 2021
Watching Prince Harry with James Corden and the interview that Meghan and Harry did with Oprah left me with some mouth wide open moments, moments of sadness, moments of frustration and moments of joy. However you feel about the Royals and the departure of Meghan and Harry, I couldn't help but draw comparisons of what it means to work in organisations and institutions that have many rules, written and unspoken and problems with communication when it comes to hierarchy.
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Firstly, let's talk about titles. Meghan said she'd been a Princess and many a royal correspondent and expert in matters of titles will say that Meghan was never a princess. This was explained all over the media at the time of the wedding and the reasons behind this, it seems though Meghan didn't get that memo. When it comes to the title of Prince for Archie, the same experts, news correspondents and experts will say that at the time that Charles becomes King, Archie would then receive the title. I can rem...
Labels and Boxes
Mar 02, 2021
During a coaching conversation last week my client told me they werenât a creative person. The room I could see behind them during our video chat said differently. I could see a guitar, beautiful prints, bright colours, books, albums and more. I asked why they didnât feel they were a creative person and they described how when they were at school they were useless at art and music. We explored where in their life they are creative and they came up with some brilliant examples of how they are creative in their work, their relationships, problem-solving and communication.
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I remember having this same feeling of not being creative for years, and how I felt when I realised that creativity is much more than art and music. Iâm a creative thinker, learner, person.
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All too often, the labels we give to ourselves and others and the labels that other people give us throughout our lives, donât truly reflect who we are. They can hold us back, restrict us and hinder us, th...
Listen
Feb 23, 2021
âListen to silence, it has so much to sayâ â RUMI
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This was the quote in my journal this morning, my moment of reflection and silence after my yoga and meditation practice, I like to start my days quietly before the conversations of the day begin. This time at the start and end of each day gives me time to really listen to what I need, to what I want, to how I want to be and what I want to do on any given day. Itâs my creative time, my thinking time, my planning time and my being time.
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Over the last week, two of my Coaching clients have mentioned silence and listening. One made a comment that she finds silence awkward so always fills it, and yet she knows that when sheâs calm and listening she can consider the best solutions to problems. The other mentioned that sheâd be unable to listen for long periods of time as she likes to give her opinion and debate topics.
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Back in 2017 when I first designed The Listening Leader programme, I was hearing a lo...
Letting Go Of Judgement
Feb 16, 2021
Over the past few days and weeks Iâve seen more and more people passing judgement through their comments and conversations about others. Lots of âI canât believe they are doing thisâŚâ and âthey should be doing more or less of that..â
And Iâd invite you today to think about where this judgement is coming from.
When I first started Tribal Leadership, identifying the cultures that occur in companies, one of the first activities that I was invited to do was to go somewhere like a coffee shop or park, sit, observe others and notice what was coming up for me. Where there any themes? Were there any topics? What was the judgement that was coming up for me and why?
The first I noticed was that appearance was a big thing that kept coming up. The thoughts of âshe shouldnât be wearing thatâ came up a lot in the hour that I spent sat observing. Where had this come from? Iâd always thought that I was an open person who didnât judge people based on how they looked, what was this criticism of other...
What Got Us Here Won't Get Us There
Feb 10, 2021
During yesterdayâs YouTube live with Emmy Rousseau as we were talking about self-care practices, we discussed how something that may have worked for us in the past may not work now. As times and pressures and stresses change and manifest, we may need to try something different to help us back to a place of calm.
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The same is true in HR and for all People Leaders.
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What got us to where we are now, will not work as we progress and move forward. The things we used to talk about as nice to haveâs such as home, flexible and four-day working, may now be necessities. And with this, we need a new way of leading, a new way of managing and a new way of transforming the world of work.
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Throughout 2020 I saw many HR Professionals reach and in some cases pass breaking point. In addition to the âday jobâ we, along with the rest of the world, found ourselves engulfed in this thing called furlough, in some cases entire workforces working from home or being at home and not w...
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