Cocktails and Coaching

If you want someone to agree with you, start with the Why … So often we ask for things by starting with what we want , rather than why we want it … 'I want you to get ready for your swimming lesson' rather than 'I think you'll be good enough to swim by yourself with your friends this summer holiday' Or 'I want funding for a project' rather than 'I believe we can create a better experience for our customers'…. 'Oh, and I need some money to fund it!' People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it… This week I learnt about Simon Sinek's Golden circle… The theory is that you need to start with Why , then How and finally What , whereas so many of us start with What, then How and actually often forget about Why… So what do we mean by starting with the Why? It's all about the Purpose , your Beliefs , what Drives you. Why are you having a 4 hours meeting? Why do you need extra res...

So most of my blogs have been about developing yourself, but what if someone works for you who has development areas but they don't realise?  How do you get them to recognise a gap that they would benefit from working on? I'm quite keen on not telling people what they ' should ' do... That applies for work and also home life... It's amazing when you become a parent how many people tell you what you ' should ' and ' shouldn't ' do!...  ‘You should feed on demand’ ‘you should feed them every 3 hours’ ‘you should never wake a sleeping baby’ ‘you should never let a baby sleep after 5pm’!!!  The truth is, whether it's as a parent, buying a house or developing at work, you need to do what's right for you as an individual - no one likes being told what to do! However, as a manager you sometimes need to help people identify the areas where they can improve. The key for me is to get them to identify the gap themselves rat...

So, it's a new year and resolutions are being made (with some swiftly being broken) everywhere!... I've loved having a few weeks off, really switching off and relaxing, drinking a few (too many!!) cocktails. And having time to reflect and think about the year ahead… One resolution that I'm going to make (and stick to!!) is to make sure I'm happy at work. (Oh, and to lose a stone of course!!) Anyone who knows me, knows I'm generally a very happy person, but I'm always striving to be better and do more… Being happy at work will obviously mean different things to everyone, it could mean being clear on how you set yourself up to succeed in your current job , getting a promotion or moving jobs altogether… Are you really happy with your job? - if you love what you do you'll get energy from it, which will then have a positive impact on your home life… and if you're then in a place where you're happy at work and at home then you're...