“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…
Author: verawoodhead
Telling stories: to inspire future leaders
Everyone loves a good story and most of us would have been captivated by stories in our childhood. Good stories grab our attention, touch our hearts, inspire us and enable us to vicariously learn through the other person’s experiences. Stories can be used in any aspect of communication to create a journey of imagination in…
Learning to lead through adaptive challenges
I am listening to my group of participants as they share their updates on their leadership projects. Their projects are scoped from the challenges that their teams and organisations are facing. Leadership skills cannot be tested out in the classroom. It must be developed, practised and honed in real life, real time situations. There is…
Getting into the leadership pipeline: advancing women in leadership
Earlier this week, the Royal bank of Scotland set a target for one third of its top 600 management roles to be held by women by 2020. The world we live in and in which organisations operate are diverse and senior management positions should reflect this. A world in which women make up about half…
Women, lead without losing yourself in the process
Do you believe that ‘you’ are your greatest asset? It is your ‘self’ that others connect with, trust and get inspired by. Yet we do not acknowledge and harness what we innately have, to leverage success. Instead we try to impress, to act and be like others because we want to fit in, to meet…
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. With my children, a great job, good salary…life was rosy. I was coasting along. And then I started to notice that my peers were moving on and changes were happening around me. The landscape…
Harnessing the leadership power within you
“My biggest challenge was getting comfortable with the notion that I am a leader; I don’t line manage a team of people which in the past to me seemed a pre-requisite for leadership. I’m quiet, I have a natural preference to work collaboratively rather than compete with others. How can I lead?” This is the…
The best is yet to be
As the year rolls to end, it presents a timely opportunity for reflection and taking stock. One thing that has stood out is that given that the life expectancy of women in the UK is 82.5 years, I have lived more than half of my life! And in a couple of years I would have…
Fill up on success; Goal setting for the New Year
Are you one of the throngs of people that make New Year’s resolutions only to find that they fall by the wayside? Perhaps some of these popular resolutions have been on your list? Doing more exercise Losing weight Improving your diet Saving more money Pursuing a career ambition In a survey of 1937 British adults,…
Women, it’s time to stamp out the naysayers
In my previous post, I made a call for Women, it’s time to Be Bold. As part of my own Be Bold journey, I am running my first London marathon on 26 April. At aged 48 and with a dodgy left knee and hip, it pales in comparison to the parathletes at the Paralympics…