During the last months of the year, we all look forward to a few days away from work to observe various holidays and spend time with loved ones. It’s a time for travel, shopping, gift-giving, social gatherings, and remembering the less fortunate. But it takes creative coordination and compromise to ensure that when employees are away from the office for the holidays, the workload transitions seamlessly, and certain tasks are still accomplished while much of the workforce is away. Communication is essential – from building maintenance to the reception desk to the C-suite.  Please Join ..read more

I’m not great at talking about how I’m feeling. It’s easy enough to sit and type that as the introduction to a blog. A breezy admission of failure always goes down well. It’s self-deprecating. Makes me appear more human. But it’s true, particularly when I’m talking in person. When it comes to some of the most difficult conversations I’ve had in my life, I could and should have done a lot better. Feeling Lost for Words Take when my friend Pete got in touch to tell me that his cancer was back. I stammered some platitudes about always having hope. About being strong. You know the sort of thing. W ..read more

The often griped-about “winter blues” may not sound like something to worry about, but as the days get colder and shorter, Seasonal Affective Disorder could be infiltrating your workplace without you knowing! Winter depression can arise from seasonal changes in sunlight exposure and temperature. Combine this with the ongoing cost of living crisis, and it’s never been more important for managers to recognize and combat stress within their teams. Managing the Winter Blues Low mood or depression can affect anyone, so it’s vital that managers take support themselves, as well as supporting their te ..read more

Just a few years ago, remote working was something that I viewed as a rare benefit, a perk that very few employees got to take advantage of. Employees were asking for it, pleading even, but many organizations were hesitant to commit. Bosses and team leaders felt their employees or team members wouldn’t be able (or they didn’t trust them) to produce the same results working from home.  What Is Productivity Paranoia? This attitude was described in a 2022 Microsoft survey as Productivity Paranoia: “where leaders fear that lost productivity is due to employees not working, even though hours w ..read more

“I don’t write material. Funny things happen to me in the course of a day, and I just make notes.” Kevin Hart, comedian I love the kind of laughter that creeps up on you and erupts in a moment when you absolutely should not laugh. Like when you’re ten years old, sitting in church and watching a person across the aisle nodding off, slowly slumping sideways – and suddenly their glasses slip off their nose. The abrupt waking up, the scramble to catch the glasses, and the attempt to make it all look very dignified… that’s just hilarious. (It happened to a friend. Wink wink.) Seriously though, bur ..read more

As a young adult, I decided that I didn’t want to have children. It seemed to me that all my parenting friends had struggled to find the balance between work and family. And they had to deal with loads of stress, runny noses, and first-day-of-school-tears (their child’s and their own). When I made that decision, the universe probably smiled, nodded, and said, “We’ll see.” Many years later I met and married my second husband – who had two teenage children. Although they never lived with us full-time, they did occasionally come on vacation with us or spend time with us when we visited their home ..read more

In our last blog, we recommended some fantastic books to help you to learn about Black history. But positive change depends on action. And as this year’s theme for Black History Month U.K. is “change not words,” we need to do more than read to become anti-racist. Especially when hate crime is on the rise in England and Wales. Anti-racism is about more than just being non-racist. It’s about actively combating racism. This can seem daunting, but there are lots of things you can do. We explore some strategies to help you actively fight racism. Avoid Performative Allyship Have you ever seen a ..read more

As a young adult, I decided that I didn’t want to have children. It seemed to me that all my parenting friends had struggled to find the balance between work and family. And they had to deal with loads of stress, runny noses, and first-day-of-school-tears (their child’s and their own). When I made that decision, the universe probably smiled, nodded, and said, “We’ll see.” Many years later I met and married my second husband – who had two teenage children. Although they never lived with us full-time, they did occasionally come on vacation with us or spend time with us when we visited their home ..read more

Even with the best of intentions, creating an inclusive workplace doesn’t happen by accident. In striving for inclusion, leaders may find it useful to ask themselves, and their employees, whether everyone understands their role in building an inclusive environment. They may also want to find out whether staff feel they can call out and challenge exclusionary behavior. While the answers given may highlight some uncomfortable truths, it’s important to know if people are supported to be themselves, and whether opportunities to contribute and develop are truly open to all. Mind Tools Coach and co ..read more

Armchair psychology is when someone without any relevant experience or qualifications gives you mental illness advice. Often, they think they’re helping, but in reality, their “diagnoses” can be damaging. I was reminded of this issue a couple of years ago, and decided to share my observations in the Mind Tools Forum. I asked my fellow coaches and Mind Tools members to share their thoughts and experiences, too. Here’s our discussion. Playing Armchair Psychologist Some of you will know that I teach a leadership course at the business school of a university. My students are all adults who have be ..read more