Most feedback fails to have the proper impact, not because we give it badly, but because…

…people aren’t usually taught how to receive feedback well. They’ve never truly understood that all feedback – no matter how hard to hear – can be a real gift. Therefore, it is at least as important to teach people how to receive feedback, as it is to teach them how to give it. Problems can […]

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Are your like-minded friends and colleagues a blessing or a…

-Reason for sub-optimal decision making?-Reducing your empathy?-Impeding the deep thought required to grapple appropriately with complex issues? There is much encouragement to be had from those who think and value what we do. But there’s also potential for building in unnecessary blind spots from having homogenous groups. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting you

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How important is humour in your work place?

My friend sent me this picture earlier today and it made me chuckle. It got me thinking about how important humour can be in our organisations. Used in the right way, it can:-diffuse awkwardness-improve engagement-elevate culture-provide respite from the heaviness of the mission/task at hand I worked with a leader a few years ago who

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Are some in your team struggling to manage change at the moment?

One of the big barriers to coping with change is an error in perception that change is moving prom static point A, to static point B. The reality is more akin to moving from fluid rhythm A to fluid rhythm B. Why is this so important? Because people then convince themselves that they need to

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Do you equip and empower or control and dictate?

Many in leadership want to make the parameters for success really clear for their teams so that they feel secure in what is expected. This can often slip into being prescriptive about what steps to take instead of the results we are aiming for. Instead of empowering people, this creates a culture of learned helplessness.

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Are your good intentions to support actually preventing the development of your team?

One of our primary jobs in leadership is to develop better thinkers. We want to grow a team of leaders who are capable of dealing with all of the challenges that the future will throw at them. We want to know that when we move on, the next generation of leaders is ready and willing

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How do you reach the hardest-to-reach?

Here’s a video I recorded a few months ago of some training I delivered to Headteachers who were considering setting up their own in-house provision for students that were struggling to engage in their mainstream classrooms. With ever increasing numbers of students struggling in mainstream schools, there are more young people needing quality Alternative Provision

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Define the outcome, not the process

This video perfectly summarises one of the most important principles for all leaders… Define the OUTCOME, not the PROCESS It’s all about ABC 🤝Accountability – colleagues need to take ownership of the results and know they make a meaningful contribution (or not!) Where this goes wrong, people relinquish ownership of the outcome and instead, only

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