Difficult Conversations Archives

C-Suite Leadership, Communication, Covid-19 Leadership, Difficult Conversations, Fear, Leadership, Leadership Development, Team Management

Planning a return to the office? Three tips to allay your people’s fears

Heather here! Confidence in the Covid-19 vaccine is growing, according to a global survey. And as confidence grows, worry about its side effects is declining. This research highlights the all-important inverse relationship between confidence and fear. The relationship is clear – for confidence to increase, fear must decrease. The opposite of confidence is not simply a lack of confidence. The opposite of confidence is fear. The balance between confidence and worry (or fear) doesn’t just apply to the Covid-19 vaccine, of course. ...

C-Suite Leadership, Coaching, Communication, Difficult Conversations, Leadership, Leadership Development, Performance Management, Team Management

Leadership Resolution 4 – What bacteria can teach us about better leadership practice

Following up on my last article so I can share the fourth and final Leadership Resolution before we get too far into 2021. Otherwise, it’s getting a bit late for New Year commitments 😊. Over the last few weeks I’ve shared three resolutions that leaders can take to significantly increase performance and productivity within their teams when done effectively. But effectiveness isn’t the only criterion. To really get results we need to learn a lesson from the worlds of bacteria and ...

C-Suite Leadership, Coaching, Communication, Difficult Conversations, Leadership, Leadership Development, Performance Management, Performance Reviews

Leadership Resolution 3 – Set Clear, Meaningful Expectations and Boundaries

I missed posting this article last week; I was ‘bubbling’ with my niece, helping with her three-year old toddler and four-month-old baby, neither of whom seem to find that sleeping (either day or night) is a requirement. Once again, hats off to every parent of young children in this lockdown situation. What a tough gig. Back to my rather quieter office this week so let’s get to work with a bit of mathematics. Which of the following questions can you ...

C-Suite Leadership, Communication, Difficult Conversations, Leadership, Leadership Development, Performance Management, Performance Reviews

New Year’s Resolution No. 2 – Step away from the coaching!

It’s almost 30 years since “Coaching for Performance” by Sir John Whitmore catapulted coaching into the leadership psyche. Before that, coaches were found in the sports arena, not the Boardroom. It’s a good book and its impact endures – there’s a very strong chance you have used Whitmore’s GROW coaching model. There are spin-offs too – there’s TGROW and there’s GROWER and there’s GROWLER (actually, I don’t think there is a GROWLER, but I like the sound of it 😁). Coaching ...

C-Suite Leadership, Communication, Difficult Conversations, HR, Leadership, Leadership Development, Learning & Development, Organisational Development, Performance Management, Performance Reviews

New Year’s Resolutions That Will Really Pay Off

I guess we start this year with optimism and yet less certainty than we would normally do. I know most of my friends are much more likely to say ‘If I can…’ rather than ‘I intend to…’ when it comes to personal plans and projects. 2020 was a stark reminder of both how resourceful and how powerless we are as individuals and as humanity. So, within this ongoing unusual context, I wish you all the very best for 2021. Over ...

C-Suite Leadership, Communication, Difficult Conversations, Fear, Leadership, Leadership Development, Organisational Development

How Happy Are You Really?

In my article last week, I explored the emotions that people in our workplaces are feeling right now – fear, sadness, anger, guilt and, of course, there’s happiness as well. This week, I’m turning the focus onto those who are leading in our workplaces. Over the summer, I checked in with business leaders to find out how they were faring. The most common answer was ‘I’m fine.’ However, it wasn’t unusual for these same leaders to express concerns about the ...