Everyone Talks About Trust. Very Few Tell You How to Build It.
Recently, an email from Harvard Business Review landed in my inbox with the headline: “People won’t take risks on a team they don’t trust.” It’s hardly a surprising statement. Pick up almost any book or article on leadership, teamwork or high-performing organisations and you’ll find one word appearing again and again. TRUST. It’s described as […]
The Yes That Should Have Been a No
In March this year, we delivered a session on Influence, where we explored one of the biggest influences we can have over our careers: how we ask for what we want or need. During the session, I shared a simple system for asking – one that I’ve been using for years. It’s become something of […]
The Deadliest Mistake on Everest Isn’t the Weather
One of the stories I often share with coaching clients is about Mount Everest. Not because I’m interested in mountaineering. And certainly not because I plan on climbing it. I share it because it perfectly illustrates one of the biggest career-limiting behaviours I see in talented people, particularly introverts. The assumption that what they know […]
Would You Teach a Child to Read the Way We Develop Leaders?
Imagine waiting until a child turns 18 before teaching them to read. For years, they would watch other people reading books, newspapers and messages. They might pick up a few things along the way. They might recognise some words and learn a few tricks for getting by. Then imagine asking them to sit exams where […]
The Day Three Boxes of Wine Taught Me a Career Lesson
One of the things we discuss throughout the Elevate programme is that careers are rarely built on performance alone. We use a framework called EPIC – Exposure, Performance, Impact and Consciousness. Recently, whilst delivering our session on Exposure, I found myself thinking back to a lesson I learned very early in my banking career. At […]
What Great Communication Really Looks Like
A few weekends ago, my husband and I stayed at an amazing country house hotel. The setting was beautiful. The service was impeccable. Until breakfast. We’d finished our eggs and wanted something simple – a slice of toast. My husband asked the server for toast with marmalade. As he walked away, I wondered: will he […]
Seven Things Good Leadership Training Must Include (If You Want to Progress)
People don’t attend leadership training just to learn – they do it to move forward. For that to happen, training needs to go beyond theory and create real, lasting change in how people show up and perform day to day. ________________________________________ 1) It Must Include Practical Takeaways If people are going to grow, they need […]
How words can make a situation worse
Recently, I was delivering two virtual sessions for a client for International Women’s Day. Then I was asked: “Can you do one in Spanish as well?” Now, whilst I speak Spanish well, it had been a long time since I’d used it in a business setting. (I mainly use it when travelling) And yet, I […]
What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
We’ve always said it: what got us to where we are in our careers won’t get us to the next step. And it’s a lesson we keep having to relearn. Early in our careers, success comes from execution – delivering, solving, doing. But as we climb the corporate climbing wall*, the rules change. It becomes […]
What Richard Branson’s ‘Inappropriate’ Ask Teaches Us About Influence
Influence Starts with You When we talk about influence, we tend to think about the impact we have on others. But many leadership thinkers suggest it actually starts much closer to home – with ourselves. So the question becomes: how do we create that impact in our own careers and lives? When you look at […]