Author: verawoodhead

Invest in your career, whether you are staying put or seeking promotion Have you ever been complacent or comfortable at work? Perhaps on autopilot? That was me at one stage in my career. Great job, excellent salary, wonderful family….life was rosy. I was coasting along. And then I started to notice that my peers were…

Soul food Got my mojo working… some holidays feed your soul in more ways than one. After 10 days off-grid (yep, no social media 🚫📱) immersed in the vibrant culture, rich history and sheer diversity of New Orleans, I’ve returned with a spring in my step, a song in my heart and my curiosity fed…

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭. Too often, leaders chase results without building the culture that sustains them. In my experience of driving transformative change, a positive culture, not just targets, drives lasting performance. Culture influences our mindsets, behaviours, attitudes and sense of belonging, leading to higher engagement…

Last week, I spoke with a leader whose team was struggling with low engagement and energy. Here are the 3 strategies I suggested that will boost the team’s morale quickly: 🌟 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥: Invite your team to bring an object that holds personal significance to the next meeting. This simple act of sharing stories…

This comes as no surprise. They reflect what I hear from both senior leaders and organisations. 📊 Gartner’s Top 5 HR Trends for 2025: 1. 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: 75% of managers struggle with expanding roles and only 36% of leadership programs prepare them for the future. 2. 𝐎𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞: 57% of managers fail to…

If you missed my October’s newletter, you can still access it here I explored how senior leaders can drive strategic change and innovation by building aligned, engaged collaborative teams, while maintaining high performance and wellbeing. A peek inside: 📊Gartner’s Top Priorities for HR Leaders in 2025 – Leader development retains its number 1 spot 🤝Mastering…

Recognising each team member’s unique strengths is essential for transforming performance. When these strengths are overlooked: ❌ Team members may not be working in their areas of expertise ❌ Misaligned tasks can slow down progress ❌ Disengagement can occur when talents are underutilised What happens when you leverage their strengths? ✅Team members thrive in roles…

Why do some teams excel while others struggle? Back in 2000, while researching team effectiveness at St James Hospital in Leeds, it became evident that teams are a reflection of their leaders. They set the tone, role model postive behaviours, drive the culture. It was here that I came across Amy Edmondson’s early work on…