Celebrating 100 Episodes
Lessons for Leaders
Welcome to Lessons for Leaders. Can you believe it’s episode 100? The goal has always been to share lessons, learnings, tips and advice and even when things got tough with it, I’ve enjoyed it more and I’m proud to be able to say I got to 100. Many of my regular listeners will know that my girls are the reason I do what I do and my eldest girl is about to make me a Granny next month so it seems like a good time to pause the episodes for a while. This last one is a very special episode, with my other amazing girl joining me at the mic to ask some of the questions you, my listeners...
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How to Persuade Leaders to Invest in Wellbeing
Lessons for Leaders
This week I'm sharing top tips and conversations that I have frequently with people in organisations to help them know how to persuade leaders to invest in wellbeing. We're covering: What to do to persuade your leaders The 3 R’s that I like to go with organisations I work with. Why we need to look at revenue in different ways and I dive into specifics here to give you a head start. How to highlight the risks to an organisation Why it’s important to include reputation in this persuasive detail too. It’s easy to say wellbeing can help to reverse employee burnout and reduce stress,...
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Why a Good Leader Will Give Teams Autonomy
Lessons for Leaders
This week I'm joined by Gemma Woodward who is People & Culture Manager for Netsells in York. We are talking about leadership and autonomy. Listen in for: What are the benefits of allowing autonomy. How leaders can encourage autonomy in their teams. Where leaders get it wrong with a top down leadership and how it can affect their people and the organisation what's one key thing that people should remember about autonomy Key comments and take-aways A top down leadership can create a fear of coming forward and fear of making mistake, their ideas and decisions might...
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Why Leaders Need to Get Back to the Floor
Lessons for Leaders
What on earth is back to the floor? I start with that and why I'm covering the subject (it was inspired by my wonderful friend and leader Tina. So I'm also covering today: Why is it important to know first hand what’s happening on your shop floor Some real life examples and stories of how back to floor worked, and how it didn’t One really, really important question to ask yourself I share stories from my experience in corporate and Tina's feedback too to give real life examples - some are funny, some are lovely, one is a little shocking! Here's one of the key things .......
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Why it's Worth Investing in Stress Awareness
Lessons for Leaders
This week on the podcast I'm talking about Why it's Worth Investing in Stress Awareness. I wonder if you've ever had a time when you've ever felt stressed and known what would help ... but not bothered to do it???? This is just one of the reason why I'm sharing information that can help you make a decision on whether it's worth investing in stress awareness. I cover: What is causing Stress in the workplace? How Will Stress Awareness Help Your Organisation? How Does Stress Impact Productivity? Is it Worth Investing in Stress Awareness? Ways I can support you or help for you to do...
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Lockdown Lessons for Leaders
Lessons for Leaders
Two years since the UK locked down from the Covid 19 virus. In fact pretty much the world locked down. It changed so many things About how we live How we work Connections & communication Wellbeing – what were thankful for – fear / perspective Resilience Have you looked back at those pictures from cities that were empty and streets that were bare? I know I have. There were bits that I loved, bits I didn’t love. There was a significant difference in how people viewed the lockdown. Some loved it. Some hated it. For some it was...
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Supporting Female Leaders
Lessons for Leaders
In honour of International Women's Day, I’m here to give ideas of ways that you can support women in leadership roles. There can be a number of reasons why there are less women than men in leadership roles. Data from the House of Commons found that companies led by women outperform those led by men - but despite this, we're very far from achieving gender parity in the workplace I share information about Break the Bias Unconscious biases, opinions, beliefs are formed early in our childhood. We learn these from family, friends, people of authority that are social...
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Why Empathy is Crucial for Great Leaders
Lessons for Leaders
This week I'm talking to you about why empathy is crucial for great leaders. I cover : What is empathy Why does it matter in leadership Whether empathy can be learned How it can improve performance, create connections and What you can do to be more empathic. Why empathy is crucial for great leaders and what is empathy anyway? Empathy is the ability to experience and relate to the thoughts, emotions, or experience of others. So it's about truly feeling what the other person is feeling. You know I often talk about how we don't 'do' emotions. But empathy is about...
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Easy Ways to Say No
Lessons for Leaders
Do you find it difficult to say no to people? Perhaps it means you end up being busy, stressed, over-committed? Often when we struggle to say no to people it can leave us feeling used, put up-on, juggling too many things. Are you the one who ends up working late because you’ve said yes to others, yet you’re the one with more to do? This episode is for you where I talk about Say no and establish healthy boundaries How to handle the fear, stress, worry and guilt The surprising reason that saying no is good for you Key phrases that you can begin to use to get...
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De-stigmatizing Mental Health
Lessons for Leaders
This week I'm sharing tips and information about De-stigmatizing Mental Health. I share key points on: Why mental health is stigmatized How stigma brings shame and what that looks like How it will impact on your organisation Good news on the wider impact of investing in destigmatizing Key things that you can do and examples too When we prevent people talking openly and transparently we also prevent those who need it from having support. Stigma brings shame. Listen in for information about how people respond then feel ashamed and what the impact will be...
info_outlineWhat’s your most valuable asset?
This might be a question that raises lots of answers and you might be totally against what I’m saying. If so, that’s fine. We’re all entitled to our opinions, but here’s mine.
Aside from your customers - because let’s face it - if you don’t have customers, you don’t have a business or a job. After that, what is your most valuable asset?
Your business? Your home? Your intellectual property? Your network?
All of those are valuable, but (bonus points to you if you saw this one coming!) YOU are your most valuable asset.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re a leader in your own business or someone else’s, what makes you stand out is you.
And it’s not really about your knowledge and expertise either. Of course those things are important, but knowledge can be learned. What’s harder to cultivate is a healthy mindset. A healthy attitude to yourself, your life and your work.
Mindset might sound fluffy. As though it’s about patting yourself on the back and thinking happy thoughts so you have a positive day. But it’s so much more than that.
Your mindset is at the root of every decision you make. Whether you’re operating from a place of fear or growth is critical. With a closed or a fearful mindset you are more likely to:
- Miss seeing opportunities
- Hold yourself back
- Take on too much, rather than delegate
- Let other people set the agenda
- Delay decision making (or the opposite – be trigger happy!)
- Feel overwhelmed or stressed.
You do still need to put effort in but when you have a strong belief in yourself then it can make all the difference!
Can changing something internally really change how you experience life in the real world? Can it help you feel better as well as be more productive in life and business?
Yes, it can. But it’s not as easy as slapping a smile on your face and saying a positive affirmation each morning.
Real mindset change involves digging inside to understand where your thoughts and beliefs come from. It’s about bringing to light the buried stories we tell ourselves about why life is hard, or why we’re not equipped to deal with it, or why we can’t get that promotion. And it’s then about rewriting the script so we’re working with ourselves, not against.
The latest neuroscience has shown that our brains are constantly re-wiring. Even through adulthood.
I’m not saying that this process of re-wiring is easy … but it can be done. The first step is recognising that you need to re-train.
Sometimes you might need help to recognise what’s going on with you and what can be done. When we are deep in the middle of something, we can’t see how the land lies. We can’t see ourselves fully without someone else holding up a mirror and inviting us to look.
That’s where a coach will help you understand what’s really going on in your head, get clear about what you want, and your way forward. Coaching helps you to unlock the potential that’s already inside you.
So – given that you’re your own greatest asset, when’s the last time you invested in yourself? And did you feel the benefit? I’d love to know!
And if the time is right for you to embark on executive coaching, get in touch and we can explore the right option for you.
See more detail about how to work with me here.