‘Am I too old to go for that promotion?’ asks Mary. At 53 years old or young, she is questioning the possibility of going for a promotion at work. Mary took a career break to bring up her 3 children. She re entered the workplace 7 years ago when her youngest child started secondary school.…
Author: verawoodhead
Banish limiting beliefs to progress your career
Have you ever been in a situation in which you did not perform as well as you could, leaving your confidence at a low and a reluctance to put yourself in such situations again? I know that I have and in most cases have plucked up the courage to have another stab at it. But…
Develop your team by helping them to be problems solvers
Emma is nettled. I can see it in her body posture and hear it in her voice. She is describing her boss and the impact his approach to managing and leading the team is having. Emma is a highly skilled professional. Her new boss keeps telling her what to do, gives advice and always has…
Why be a Hero when you can be a Leader?
Katy flops down in the chair. Her shoulders are sagging, she looks drawn and weary. When asked how she was feeling, her response was, “I am worn out, pooped, dog tired’. ‘What’s causing this?’ I enquired. ‘I seem to spend all my time fixing other people’s problems, and then having to catch up on my…
Effective leaders coach. 5 guaranteed ways to better conversations
Tony wants to have better conversation with his staff. He is keen to enable his team to experience the benefits of coaching conversations as he did through our coaching sessions. ‘How will I know that I am engaging in coaching conversations?’ he asks. Coaching conversations differ from normal conversations. The purpose of a coaching…
Get the most out of your team: Start building trust
Last week I was working with a leader who was poor at communicating with his team in a timely fashion, often micromanaging and engaging in excessive oversight. Things came to a head when one of his team members blurted out in a heated exchange that he was “controlling, made promises that were not fulfilled, didn’t…
How to have those difficult conversations you avoid
It’s weighing on your mind, disrupting your thoughts, pulling you down. You know that you got to have that conversation. But you don’t want to. You are not sure how the other person will react and even more importantly how you will react. You are hoping that someone else might address it, that it might…
Using the silence in your leadership conversations
“I nodded, smiled encouraging and said nothing. It felt like ages and I was conscious of the quietness and then she spoke and came up with a way of moving forward …” These are the words of Tom as he feeds back on his coaching ‘homework’ which was to practice his listening skills. Tom is…
A tale of 3 leaders
Once upon a time there lived William, the owner of a company called, Allsorts. He had 3 children and bestowed an equal share of the company to each. His wish was that they use their share for the benefit of Allsorts and the people that work there. He gave them free reign, promising to return…
Get the most out of your team: Stop micromanaging & start coaching
“I couldn’t possibly let him close the deal on his own. What if he gets it wrong or can’t answer a question, I have to be there”, says Gary. I am in a room with 11 sales directors who have been identified as ‘not able to let go, not letting their sales reps develop, taking over their…