This weekend my eldest child begins her training for her expedition to the Amazon and Andes. It seems like only yesterday that she was a helpless and dependent infant. As I reflect back on my journey as a parent I am humbled by the mammoth learning that I have gained from it and how it…
Author: verawoodhead
9 ways to help you build your resilience
Resilience is an essential attribute for leaders, who need to remain flexible and adaptable during today’s rapid and continuously changing environment. Building resilience has been topical during my work with a group of managers of an organisation which is undergoing a period of difficult transition and significant changes. Although we cannot control what happens to…
Getting to the top: women in senior management
Last week I met Sarah Day who is the head of Finance and Projects group at DLA Piper, Leeds which has been providing legal services for over 200 years. I asked her what helped her to become the first female Managing Partner and elected member of DLA Piper’s International LLB Board. Her response was that…
Decisions Decisions: Oh why do I have to make them?
Last week I started to work with a team of lawyers who are all partners in a firm. It was apparent quite quickly that making decisions in a timely manner and acting upon them was a challenge. Business leaders and managers face many challenges one of which is the ability to make effective decisions. Information…
Women who inspire from Yorkshire and beyond: International Women’s Day
To commemorate International Women’s Day, myself and Janet are bringing together women from across Yorkshire and beyond to celebrate, share and connect with each other through the stories that we have collected. We are uniting through virtual connections and bringing to life the everyday stories of ordinary women who have and are making a difference.…
When things go wrong change your attitude
There are times in our lives when we are the pigeons and other times when we become the statute. This week it has been the latter. When things go wrong everything else seem to follow the same path. Our subconscious plays havoc with our emotions resurfacing all the ‘not so good’ things that happened in…
Who you gonna’ call when things go wrong?
So far this year I have made 2 errors of judgement which have both been costly as I have terminated my association with the people involved. Both were concerned with the poor and non delivery of services, not fulfilling mutually agreed expectations and a total lack of integrity. As someone who places integrity and trust…
Trust, leading change and storytelling
In my last blog I posed the question, ‘What does Trust have to do with communication and feedback?’. Here’s my take on the role of Trust in leading change. Trust plays an important role in organisational performance and has been shown to have positive commercial benefits when it has been built, developed and maintained (Searle…
What does Trust have to do with communication and feedback?
Enquiring about ‘Are you doing anything special tonight for Valentine’s?’ to a colleague yielded the response, ‘I went out yesterday, it’s awful being in a restaurant and seeing couples there who don’t seem to have much to talk about’. I began to think about the times when we are together as a group,…
How are you influencing those who matter to you the most?
It was my intention to write this week’s blog on influence and leadership within an organisational context. However a remark by my eldest child yesterday about ‘not waving her off on her way to school anymore because I am always Tweeting instead’ has made me change my context. As a family, we have a limited…