Monthly articles on career success, leadership and productivity
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Head in the weeds plus how to spot a CYA culture
When a junior person wastes time, it usually results in other people having to pick up some of their work. When a senior person wastes time there will be far more long-term consequences because other people don’t have the strategic oversight they...
Do you take on too much?
Read this before you organise the Christmas party all by yourself One of the ways HR departments judge the engagement of their workforce is by measuring what’s called discretionary effort. This is how people get involved above and beyond their regular...
A high performer in my team is now under-performing.
Operation Director Curtis* had this problem when he was on one of my leadership programmes. It's a common one, so I'm featuring it in this month's article. Let me know if you'd have handled it differently. Ellie, who was only a couple...
Back after the holidays? Start with the end in mind
As business ramps up again after the holidays, pick a point in the future and visualise what you want to have accomplished by then. I explain how Amazon use a Working Backward method for ultimate success and clarity. "Begin with the end in mind” is the second of the...
Don’t blame lazy workers for your productivity problems
Napping or thinking?Productivity is a systemic problem, not a personal one To some of us, increasing productivity means being more efficient so we can clock off earlier and recharge our batteries. Shareholders will be much more interested in how...
Lessons from the Schofield scandal on fiduciary responsibility
The unsavoury Phillip Schofield affair is more than celebrity gossip. It has some useful lessons for all of us. We really do need to be nice on the way up, or there’ll be plenty of ex-colleagues crawling out of the woodwork to give us a good kicking on the...
Raab and bullying: when ‘straight-talking’ turns nasty
The UK’s deputy prime minister and justice secretary, Dominic Raab, stepped down last month after an independent inquiry concluded that his ‘consistently abrasive behaviour’ had in some cases amounted to bullying. Civil servants were so petrified of disagreeing...
Imposter syndrome can be useful to you
Imposter syndrome, as if you didn’t know, is when you doubt your abilities and feel like you are going to be rumbled as a fraud. For most of us, it’s a short-lived experience when we feel out of our depth in new situations or roles.It...
Can you spot a Rescuer?
Rescuers are bad managers with kind intentions. The stereotypical bad boss is an insensitive bully. Word soon gets round about them. Harder to spot is another bad boss, the Rescuer. These are compassionate people with a burning desire to help...
Let’s talk about Love
'Find a job you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life'. Is this true for you?In previous generations most people just did their jobs. It was a lucky bonus if they enjoyed their work, probably reflecting their social...
Are you soaring with eagles or scratching with turkeys?
Do the people around you raise you up or bring you down? Nurture an inspiring group of people around you, their influence is monumental Relationships have a big impact on the goals we set and whether we achieve them. Reflect on the people you spend the most...
A Christmas Tale about Boundaries
Everyone loved Noel, the Operations Manager. Every customer knew him, every colleague relied on him. His team stayed friends long after they’d left the business. He was always there for everyone, picking up the slack. And he was...