When was the last time your team had a heated debate? How comfortable is your team with conflict? Who is wasting energy by avoiding disagreement? Today’s guest blog, by Creative Coaching’s friend and associate Melissa Mehta, explores practical ways of being more comfortable with the conflict that’s crucial to your team’s success.
When I was new and green, a PR agency asked me to help them work out their purpose and mission. Way out of my depth, I set up my post-it notes and white board pens with a silent (and stultifying) prayer: ‘Don’t disagree with each other’. …
For many professions, continuing professional development (CPD) (usually technical) is seen as a necessity, a vital part of work and individual development. The Law Society of Scotland sets out that Scottish solicitors have to do a minimum of 20 hours’ CPD a year, and Scottish teachers recognise its importance with 35 hours’ CPD expected a year.
And yet as a business leader, where we are looking after our most precious resource — our people — we are not obliged to engage in any CPD. What does that say about the way we have come to think of our people? …
How does this work? How do I work? Because I’m not sure I know who I am anymore!
That’s seemingly a daft statement because obviously I do know who I actually am. What I really mean is, in this new world where things are opening up, the ‘rules’ are murky, Covid cases are increasing and yet we are being given greater and greater freedom, I am feeling confused, agitated, at times anxious and I am not entirely certain I know how to behave. Is it OK to hug our family and friends? Is it OK to pass the salt at…
“Leadership is influence.” — John C. Maxwell
If you bring out the best in people, inspire others through your actions and influence them to follow you, you are a leader.
Influential leaders have the ability to make things happen, they are able to influence the ideas, thoughts, opinions and behaviours of others in order to achieve desired outcomes.
Title is not synonymous with influence, successful leaders become influential via their likability, authenticity and behaviour.
There are a few ways to build your leadership influence:
Create stronger connections
Your success as a leader largely depends on how well you relate to…
“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” — Robert F. Kennedy
Failure is often what leaders fear the most, yet it is often the catalyst for successful leadership and can be used as a powerful tool for reaching great success. Smart leaders are those who use failure to assess their options and to keep digging until their vision is met. The bottom line is, leaders must fail in order to succeed. When Thomas Edison was asked how it felt to fail 1000 times, he replied ‘I didn’t fail 1,000 times. …
Rising to the top comes with a great deal of responsibility and is often associated with higher levels of stress. By nature, leaders are hard-working and fiercely committed to driving their organisation towards a prosperous future.
It’s easy for leaders to become so immersed in their role that they fail to recognise the warning signs of stress, leading to emotional, physical and mental exhaustion. According to Business Insider, ‘high levels of stress can have a negative influence on leadership potential.’
Smart leaders know how to identify their stress triggers and take preventive action to combat it and even use it…
If you have experienced imposter syndrome as a leader, you’re in good company. Sheryl Sandberg, Howard Schultz and Arianna Huffington are among many successful leaders who have admitted to struggling with feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy.
What is Imposter Syndrome?
It is a well-known psychological phenomenon that causes a person to believe they are not really worthy of their accomplishments. They worry that someday they will be ‘found out’, exposed as a ‘fraud’. Leaders who suffer from imposter syndrome have somehow conjured flawed beliefs about their success, self-worth and leadership ability and attribute these to luck rather than their talent…
Thank you Lisa Malcolm for the provocation to write more about how to give good feedback — here are some of my thoughts, although I am sure you (and others) will have more to add …
First, all feedback will provoke a reaction. For example, Lisa commented on one of my LinkedIn posts, talking about the importance of giving feedback, suggesting that I (someone) talk more about how to give it, acknowledging that we all know it’s needed.
My reaction was — gosh, Lisa’s right. …
The subject of remote working is one that is hotly debated, is it good or bad for an organisation? Does it increase or hinder productivity and engagement?
As a leader, managing and overseeing a remote team and monitoring performance presents a unique set of challenges. It also takes a highly skilled leader to successfully build and manage a remote team.
Here are 4 key leadership skills required for managing a virtual team:
1. Excellent Communication
Superior communication skills are critical for any leader. For leaders who manage remote teams and don’t have the ease of face to face communication it…
We have chosen each other
and the edge of each others’ battles
the war is the same
if we lose
someday women’s blood will congeal
upon a dead planet
if we win
there is no telling
we seek beyond history
for a new and more possible meeting
Unpublished Poem — Audre Lorde
Never take fire from a woman, wrote Audre Lorde. Yet, many of us feel we are without fire, or are lone flames in what can seem like an insurmountable darkness, an impenetrable forest. Yet, even the forest knows fire can be a force for change rather than destruction.
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