Recently I was privileged to be awarded a government contract to deliver peer to peer learning amongst 250 SME owners in Suffolk and Norfolk. For 16 weeks we met for 2.5hrs every week/fortnight and chewed the fat over current affairs. My vision for the programme was to create intimate groups of talented business owners, who would build trusted relationships and share their real vulnerabilities. For some this was their first experience of self-development and lots admitted that if it wasn’t for the pandemic, they would not of allowed themselves the luxury of taking the time out for their own pe ..read more

Entering into week 18 of lock down seems unbelievable. I feel that lock down means so many different things to us all now. What does it mean to you? It feels as though the emphasis is now on us the employers, to get our workforce back to the office, which depending on the size of your team is easier for some than others. How do you feel about this? Many have already returned to work and it is business as usual, some of us plough on working remotely because maybe we have child care commitments, we feel safer at home, sales do not meet the demands of a full team, or we simply don’t have the saf ..read more

Happy Monday, and welcome to week 11 of lock down. For me, this is day 76 and something has changed! I have been very comfortable serving and supporting, after all that is my role as a coach, and where I am at my happiest. I felt the shift happen on Friday. I attended my regular monthly Mastermind group where we share our challenges, successes and receive a healthy amount of accountability. We call it a nudge! Upon reflection, I realised that I have been holding back in a big way. I have been so aware of everyone’s challenges whilst we have adapted and changed our businesses to allow for remo ..read more

How are you? So………………..week 10! Are you still calling it lock down? For many of us nothing has changed, the children remain away from school and we remain working from home. There does however, seem to be light at the end of the tunnel, with the announcement that non-essential shops will reopen on 15th June and some year groups returning to school next week. Whatever we feel about the decisions being made, it has to be  good news for business. With Perspex being the most sort after material and the fight for loo roll over, it shows the shift in our needs as we fight to regain life as we ..read more

Astonishingly, we are now beginning week 9 of Lock Down, for me it feels like forever since I have enjoyed face to face coaching with my clients, but it also feels unbelievable that I have been working remotely and coaching via Zoom for almost 9 weeks. It surprised me, like many others how quickly I fell into the new norm. Many people have asked me if I will return to my office and to delivering face to face coaching, or remain offering a remote service, as lots of businesses are weighing up the pros and cons of returning to their work place and assessing the need for office space and balanci ..read more

So, you are in week 8 of lock down – or are you? I’m not sure about you, but I felt that last night’s message from Boris Johnson was very confusing and a big anti-climax, due to the lack of clarity. The message now is, if you cannot work at home you can return to work, so does that include everyone such as hairdressers and dentists? Boris also said that from Wednesday we are allowed to play sports with our own family members, so does this mean that sports centres will open. The message is that we must stay alert and control a virus which we cannot see, taste, hear or feel. Surely this virus i ..read more

Wow week 7, how does that feel? I think, if we are honest, we all initially expected lock down to last until June, so why does it feel like we are on an extended period? Last week I spoke a lot about mind set, it seemed as though everyone around me had hit a wall, family, friends, colleagues and clients were finding it tough last week. We have all done our own things to help get us through, some have relied on exercise, DIY, decluttering, others on Zoom calls with friends and family, but last week it seemed that even those things were less impactful. I witnessed business owners cope with the ..read more

Motivation, morale and mind-set are the three M’s which I am hearing the most about during the last few weeks. These have overtaken, fear, frustration, and furlough, which is interesting and a maybe a sign of how we are managing our emotions as the weeks progress. Is this dependent on our own self leadership styles? Some of us are better at self-motivating and self-discipline than others. I have seen recently amongst clients and my circle of friends, that some struggle to focus and dedicate their attention to work whilst remote working, due to distractions of family members, chores, media, or ..read more

We commonly talk about how time flies,  but how do you feel about when you look back on the last 6 weeks? Most of us will be full of mixed emotions, we have settled into remote working and may of even experienced a little period of calm, but our “make up” means we can’t stand still and are racing to look to the future and get back to normal. The most common expression I am told now is a feeling of being very “flat” maybe as entrepreneurs we thrive on energy, innovation and vitality, to feel like we are standing still is alien and affects our tenacious spirit. So how do we mend our mind s ..read more

After finally coming to terms with the impact that our children may not be returning to schools before September, and our repertoires have had to include teaching at all levels. (GCSE maths and science are proving a challenge for me) There have been noises during the past week that Schools and the premier league may now finish their timetables. Personally, I feel that our leaders are trying to share hope and optimism, to keep us engaged with their plight in keeping everyone at home. It is easier to accept that the lockdown may be lifted within weeks rather than months. It helps us to focus on ..read more