I first ventured into the world of leadership back in the early 90’s. I didn’t know it as ‘leadership’ then. I landed a role which was a step up in my career and it soon became apparent that my principles, values and professional ethics were being compromised by what was happening and not happening in the department. I…
Tag: business
Does what you do define who you are?
‘What do you do’, this was the question posed to me at a community event. Being in a non conformist mood, I replied, that I ‘do’ many things, have many titles and wear several different hats, sometimes more than one at the same time. I could see the look of puzzlement flicker across the gentleman’s…
Don’t leave your career to fate: 3 questions for working mums to ask
‘I can’t believe that they have put her in charge of the team. I’ve been here 7 years, worked my socks off and they go and bring in someone from the outside!’ grumbled Susan, as she shifted agitatedly in her chair. ‘I wasn’t even consulted, or asked if I wanted the role’, she continued. As…
No need to act like a man: 6 tips for women to develop their leadership style
‘I can’t seem to get it right,’ sighs Joanna, as she slumps into the chair next to me. ‘When I’m assertive and forceful, I’m labelled, ‘aggressive and acting like a man’ and when I’m open and ask for everyone’s opinion, I’m called soft and pushover’…. Joanna has stepped up in her leadership role and is…
Ditch the work life balance scales and start integrating
Yesterday I read an article giving tips on work life balance. Whenever I hear the term ‘work life balance’ I think of a set of scales with life on one side and work on the other and people trying desperately hard to keep the scales balanced and getting very stressed. Does one happen at the expense…
Doing our work with love and compassion
Today’s guest post is by Jan Brause (@JanBrause) who shares her insights from Coaches Connect. Jan is a performance development consultant, professional coach and coach supervisor with many years successful experience of enabling personal growth and performance improvement through a passionate focus on the individual in an organisational context. There was an inspirational line up…
What foundations are you laying for the future?
Yesterday, as I dropped my eldest child off to spend a month with a group of strangers in another continent, I experienced a multitude of emotions from tremendous anxiety and worry to pride. My worries ranged from concerns about her safety, her health and wellbeing, about being so far away from home… to immense pride…
Can your strengths become your flaws?
After 20 years of facilitating personal and leadership development, I think that I have a good understanding of what my strengths are and put them to use as much as possible. However, a series of unfortunate events over the past few months have made me realise that my strengths are also a source of my weaknesses.…
Culture: connecting home and the workplace
Whilst we tucking into our Sunday roast, the discussion strayed into getting the eldest to keep her room tidy, something which she describes as nagging. ‘We are good children’ she remarked, ‘some of the people at school are just not nice, you could have had them as your kids’. My husband and I simultaneously responded…
What can you learn about leadership from your elders?
Last Bank Holiday Monday, I was helping my eldest to raise funds for her expedition by running a cake stall at a Spring Picnic event. The aim of the event was to raise money to build a sand dam in Ghana. During the hours of 1130 and 1630 hours, in addition to having your picnic…