Category: coaching

  • Review: The Strengths-Focused Guide to Leadership

    Review: The Strengths-Focused Guide to Leadership

    If you want a practical manual to understanding how to harness strengths, for you and your team, this book is a great place to start, as it: introduces the key concepts of strengths provides the research base for more inquisitive readers illustrates with narratives prompts you with a range of exercises and action points explains…

  • Coaching 101: Myths busted and advice for using a coaching approach

    Coaching 101: Myths busted and advice for using a coaching approach

    Coaching 101: Myths busted and advice for using a coaching approach Do you want to help your team members improve their performance? Do your one-to-one meetings often end up with you giving all the answers and telling them what to do? Do you want your team to be more self-sufficient and empowered? If the answer…

  • You only win when you’re singing

    You only win when you’re singing

      In Britain, football crowds have songs for every occasion. If your team overturns a losing position, to taunt the opposition fans now sitting in crestfallen silence, you bellow at them: “You only sing when you’re winning” (improbably to the tune of a traditional Cuban song, Guatanamera). But have the fans got this the wrong…

  • 7 questions for impactful leadership

    7 questions for impactful leadership

    Review of the Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier Your team sometimes just need a bit of support to shine. You can provide this support through changing your leadership approach to coaching. Helping people to find their own solutions is more impactful than giving advice, providing rules or direction. You can coach anytime, anywhere, and with…

  • Ensure that people know what is expected of them

    Ensure that people know what is expected of them

    When I talk to managers and leaders, the theme of high performance is a frequent topic of conversation. We can all agree that being an excellent organisation and delivering exceptional products or services are very important, but does everyone we work with know what we actually mean by excellence in the day-to-day? 6 methods to…

  • 3 ways to create a high performance culture

    3 ways to create a high performance culture

      Does culture matter? Recent research carried out by James Heskett at Harvard Business School suggests that 20%-30% of corporate performance can be attributed to a positive, strong performance culture. As Edgar Schein, probably the most prolific and oft-quoted researcher and author in the area of culture, suggested: “The only thing of real importance that…

  • The magic of freedom?

    The magic of freedom?

    British training company Happy Ltd has been rated best for customer service and work/life balance among many other awards. Henry Stewart, Chief Executive, has written a book about the story of Happy and its achievements. The book has a clear tone, comes with real-life examples, provides evidence where required and poses thought-provoking questions – overall…