By Heather Campbell >> It’s that time of year when bright young students head off to university to start their various degrees, bright young graduates enter the workforce to start their various careers, and oldies like me – and Financial Times columnist and author Lucy Kellaway – wonder where the years have gone since we, too, were all bright and shiny. In this BBC News article, Kellaway shares a conversation she had recently with a graduate entrant in one organisation. The latter suggested that mediocre ...

In this Monday’s edition of The Times, the BBC economics editor Robert Peston writes movingly about the profound effect the death of his wife (at the comparatively young age of 51) has had on him. He goes on to describe the way in which some colleagues – notably male ones – found it difficult to know how to deal with the situation on his return to work. And there, I think, lies the problem. Because of the perceived ‘rules of engagement’ in the ...

By Heather Campbell >> Watching BBC Breakfast yesterday morning, I was amused by a story about the potential for a return to economic insecurity and the slowing of growth across Europe. UK share prices have fallen by some 10% in the last six weeks. It wasn’t the story in itself that amused me – but rather the attempts by the BBC presenter to sensationalise a rather banal story. It was evidently one of those mornings where news was slow and the Breakfast presenters had to fill ...

This week the Care Quality Commission (CQC) – the body responsible for the regulation of all health and social care in England – announced a new regime for the inspection of care homes. In future, inspectors will carry out a ‘mum test’ in which they’ll be asked to consider if they’d be happy for someone they love and care about to receive the services patients are receiving – including the way they are cared for and spoken to. In other words, ...

By Heather Campbell >> Recently a manager I was coaching described a conversation he had with a member of his team. He said that the team member commented two or three times that he thought the manager didn’t trust him. The manager was concerned about this and yet, during the conversation, had ignored the point. This is a common practice in conversations. We hear something and still continue the conversation as if we didn’t. Why? The most common reason is that (as ...