Category: Charity

  • Speed coaching gets results

    It’s amazing what 30 or 40 minutes of focused one-to-one coaching can achieve.  Insightful questioning and deep listening from a skilled coach can quickly get to the core of a problem, help someone discover what is really getting in the way,  and come up with do-able actions to move them on immediately. During my last…

  • What makes a great team player?

    Love her or hate her, not many people would say that Margaret Thatcher was a great team player. These days even top leaders recognise they need to be team players to get the most out of their people. Team working really matters. Tensions and conflict from poor team playing wreck havoc on productivity and take…

  • New leaders – how to flourish in your first 90 days

    The first 90 days in a leadership role are important. This is when you create an impact (or not!) and set the tone for the way you’ll be leading in the future. Whether you’re chief executive or team leader, everyone is watching to see how you behave and what you can do. You want to…

  • My vision for 2013

    There’s no doubt that 2013 will be a tough year for the third sector. We all know about the 20% fall in donations and that one in six organisations fears closure in 2013 (and not because they are no longer needed.) Yes, it’s going to be a year of struggle, there’s no question. At the…

  • Make it up – make it happen

    The pressure is on me at the moment. And it’s all of my own making! At a recent training day, I challenged participants from the charity I was working with to choose a task they’d been procrastinating on and make a pledge to the group about when they would get it done. I found myself…

  • 10 good reasons to get on the phone

    We’re all busy, so it’s tempting to whizz through your to-do list firing off emails and ‘getting things done’, but I encourage my third sector clients to take a break from the digital world every now and again, and make use of the old technology. Here’s why… 1. You really do get the job done.…

  • Why the Olympics is good for the voluntary sector

      This might not be such a great photo – but the moment was a gem – my daughter giving the thumbs up to her day out at the London 2012 Olympics. Who knows what that day did for her, with it’s focus on positivity, team spirit and self belief? There are many reasons why…

  • 21-day challenge

    21 days until the Olympic Games! You can bet your bottom dollar that all the athletes taking part are firmly focused on their medal goals and doing everything in their power to be winners. There’s a lot you can do in 21 days, too, to get a task achieved that you’ll be really satisfied about.…

  • How to thrive in your role and beyond

      I’ve coached some fantastic third sector clients in the past few years. Some have been managers, others leaders, some striving to be leaders. Others have become aware of their leadership potential through coaching. And I’ve coached all personalities too – flamboyant extroverts, quiet introverts, powerful orators, gentle persuaders. Each one of them bringing a…

  • Now or later? The best time to work with a coach

      When’s the right time to get coaching for your third sector staff? When David is under-performing so badly he’s about to lose his job? When Leila is totally fed up, demotivated and desperate to leave? When tensions and disagreements in the team are taking up hours of your precious time? Certainly, organisations often bring…