Category: Management

  • Strong and stable or weak and wobbly?

    Strong and stable or weak and wobbly?

    I was talking with one of my coaching clients yesterday. She’s the director of a social enterprise in Manchester and was sharing how challenged she’d been by how to ‘be’ with her team after the recent terrorist attack.  I really felt for her. There was a lot of anxiety and disbelief in the office and she…

  • Five Big Questions. One Short Chat – CEO Athena Lamnisos

    Five Big Questions. One Short Chat – CEO Athena Lamnisos

    The second in my series of mini video blogs in which I put Five Big Questions to charity CEOs to find out what it’s really like to head up their organisations. It’s Gynaecological Cancer Awareness Month so I spoke to the super dynamic Athena Lamnisos, CEO of The Eve Appeal, the only UK national charity raising awareness and funding research…

  • Why you absolutely must trust your team

    Why you absolutely must trust your team

    It’s hard to put total trust in your people sometimes, isn’t it? A big project is about to go live and you find yourself awake at night, worrying. All those disastrous worst case scenarios go round and round.  You wonder whether the staff member in charge really is on top of everything. What if? What…

  • Great feedback is like gold dust. Be generous with yours

    Great feedback is like gold dust. Be generous with yours

    You know how feedback you give to your reports sometimes goes in one ear and out the other? That team member you spoke to last week, for instance, he just doesn’t seem to have taken on what you said, despite your carefully prepared constructive criticism. Changes you thought you’d agreed, just aren’t happening. It’s as if you’d…

  • How to crack the secret of winning one-to-ones

    How to crack the secret of winning one-to-ones

    I’ve just seen The Imitation Game. (Great film. Watch a taster here). It’s thought-provoking on so many issues and, of course, stars the brilliant Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing the World War Two code-breaker. As for being a lesson in how to motivate people to do amazing things… Well, what can I say? Never have…

  • Micro-management? What a turn off

      I’m about to work with a fast expanding third sector organisation where one or two managers are a little too keen to micro-manage their reports. The Chief Exec has identified it’s going on and is keen to help his people find alternatives so that everyone can flourish and grow. I can absolutely see why.…

  • My top five coaching questions

    Part five of my ‘Listen more, talk less’ guide to fabulous questions to use in a third sector one-to-one. Here are my top five favourite questions for helping your team member take responsibility for their own learning and move forward with confidence: I know you don’t know, but if you did, what would you do?…

  • And another five questions

    Part four of my series for third sector managers in one-to-ones. Finally, five questions to wrap things up:     1. So, what will you do next? When? (help them to get really specific) 2. What strengths do you have that will help you? 3. How committed are you to overcoming obstacles, on a scale…

  • Five more great questions for managers

    Here’s part three of  my ‘Listen more, talk less’ guide for third sector managers on having a really successful one-to-one: These five powerful questions will help your reports explore options for action: So, what could you do now that would move you one step closer to your goal? If you knew you couldn’t fail what…

  • More great questions for managers

    Here’s Part Two of your ‘Listen more, talk less’ guide to third sector one-to-ones. Today, I’ve got five more super-powerful questions for line managers. These explore progress with a current project and will help you steer clear of doling out advice straightaway after “what have you done so far?” 1. What’s not happening for you?…