Last Friday I was invited to attend the Forward Ladies Women in Business awards. One of the speakers was Rachel Hannan, who co-founded Gatenby Sanderson, a leading executive recruiter and now a business adviser and angel investor. As she shared her entrepreneurial journey, citing Angela Coutts as a role model, her message was for women…
Author: verawoodhead
Be Bold in 2015
“Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid”, Basil King Join me and a small group of like-minded women as we find the courage, commitment, support and help to achieve the results, success and fulfilment that we desire On the 26th April 2015 I will running my first London Marathon for Children with…
4 ways to boost your confidence and self belief
Have you ever been in a situation in which you did not perform as well as you could or something untoward happened which has resulted in your confidence being blown away? If like me and many others, just thinking about it fills you with dread and a reluctance to put yourself in such situations again?…
Getting to aha moments with your staff
There is nothing more magical than observing a client harnessing his creativity and inner resources to generate that ‘aha’ moment. Oscar, one of my clients entered the room, appearing to be carrying the world on his shoulders which are hunched, a look of weariness on his face and fatigue in his body. He had been…
Go beyond your limit
“Set some goals then demolish them” ( Nike) Have you ever been in a situation where you have felt so overwhelmed by the task ahead or where you have set a goal which seems so mammoth, that you go into panic mode and spend your energy being in a nervous state? This has been me:…
Are you Thriving at work?
Last week I organised and spoke at the Thrive Yorkshire Business Growth Conference. I facilitated a discussion on Thriving. I deliberately chose to focus on ‘the self’ as often in our busy 24/7 lives we tend to forget about the most important asset –ourselves. We can learn new skills, acquire knowledge about marketing, sales and how to be…
Eeh by gum, that was Grand
When the world’s biggest cycle race came to Yorkshire, it did so with a big bang last weekend. Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 July were a climax after events across the county in the 100 days leading up to the Grand Depart. I am not a cyclist nor am I a cycling fan. However I…
Rejoice in being a Quiet leader
“From the start, with a quiet demeanour, Vera has provided robust input and challenge at board meetings…” and so goes my board appraisal (my first with this organisation) last week which was an excellent one, exceeding expectations. As I read the above, I wondered if there was some inference that by being of ‘quiet demeanour’, I…
Where has my mojo gone?
These past few weeks have been mentally and emotionally challenging for me. I was uncertain as to whether I should ‘bare/ expose’ myself by sharing a personal story. After much contemplation and cogitation, I have concluded that life has it ups and downs and it would be inauthentic to just focus on the…
6 ways leaders can build their resilience
Change, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity can be found in most workplaces today. In such environments, leaders are required not only to cope with the resulting adversity, emotional ups and down and stress but at the same time, support their people and help them move forward in these challenging times. This requires leaders to be resilient.…