Handling Confrontation
Whether it’s giving bad news, challenging someone’s behaviour or telling them their work isn’t up to scratch, it is never easy to deliver difficult messages. Confrontation is a topic delegates ask me about all the [...]
To the life raft! How to manage your team through uncertainty
What does the current situation we find ourselves in mean for you as a line manager or team leader? How do you manage your team through uncertain times? I tweeted this a couple of weeks [...]
Immediacy: What is going on between you and me?
I’m asked how to handle difficult behaviour all the time. Of course, there is no simple answer, because every meeting of two personalities is a unique occasion, with its own context and often complicated baggage. [...]
Are you having an emotional hijack?
An emotional hijack is when the rational part of our brain is overtaken by our emotions, and we act impulsively and inappropriately. It might happen to you, or you might see it in colleagues. It’s [...]
“Here’s my resignation” – A true story
The phone rang, and a tired sounding woman said she’d been given my number as someone who maybe able to help. I asked what the problem was. She told me her company had a neglected [...]
Psychopaths in the Workplace – Guest post by Jeremy Renals
First published in the journal of Oxford Business College Pros and Cons: Psychopaths in the business environment This feature investigates what psychopaths in the workplace are like, how to spot them, and how psychopaths can be [...]
What Managers Want From Training Days
I was speaking with a client recently about what managers want, and the old chestnut of ‘not being able to please all the people all of the time’ came up. [...]
Mindfulness and Frogs
It’s been a long while since I read ‘Eat that Frog’, Brian Tracy’s famous book on time management. It advises us to do the one thing we’ve been dreading or [...]
Facing a personality assessment? Don’t panic!
Many employers use personality questionnaires when recruiting, especially when they are looking to fill senior positions or they are looking for very specific personality traits. It can feel like a dark art is being used, [...]
So you don’t do small talk? Maybe you should
So you don’t do small talk? You have no need for inconsequential trivia? I’m sure you’d rather deal in the important stuff of life. I hear this quite often. I’m [...]
Being asked for help? Here’s six ways you can respond
People coming to us for advice is a normal part of life. They might be asking questions, wanting solutions or guidance on how to sort something out. Have you ever [...]
What does success look like in your organisation?
I was asked recently to run a couple of sessions for HR students on success in organisations. I asked them to identify ‘What good looks like’ in their own companies [...]
Creativity vs. Decision Making – and why ‘Just do it!’ is sometimes wrong
I married a creative genius, who constantly comes up with all kinds of ideas, sometimes practical, sometimes not. He just doesn’t see the boundaries that most of us are hidebound [...]
Are you sure you want to give that feedback?
We all have to give feedback from time to time – or do we? In my experience, it’s common to feel that you ‘have’ to tell someone something that has [...]
The Perils of Meeting and Greeting
I was asked these questions about meeting and greeting by a journalist recently, so I thought I’d share my responses here. Why do people often mis-judge a greeting (going for [...]
Harvesting People Skills – How have yours grown?
Reaping what you sow September is a lovely month. Somehow it combines new beginnings (we never forget the new school year!) with abundance and fruitfulness – the harvest that feeds us for the rest of [...]