Tactics to help you survive an onslaught Imagine, you're going about your workday as usual. A little bit stressed, getting through tasks, and then you get a call from your boss. The conversation is flowing normally and then suddenly, it hits. That comment, decision, action. All of a sudden, you have been hit by a tonne of bricks. It stops you in your tracks, your brain begins to go on hyperdrive and you just don't know what to say next. Fight or flight kicks in.  Next thing you know, the phone call has ended and you spend the rest of the day thinking and thinking about what happened. Me ..read more

I was first given the advice to “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life,” when I was 16. It sounds great, very motivational, but not terribly practical. Even when you’re lucky enough to do work you love, there is no denying that it is still work. And work is hard. There are so many challenges we face at work that it can be all too easy to fall out of love with your job. And what about everyone else who is still looking for work that they love? Is it possible to have a work life you love? So many of us are stuck in our ways of working that we’ve resigned ourselves to the fac ..read more

The world is an increasingly confusing, noisy place. I myself am guilty of letting it crowd in and hamper my productivity and in turn my well being. When I begin to feel unmotivated, I recommend taking a leaf out of ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’. In this now-classic leadership bible, author Stephen R. Covey discusses the Circles of Concern and Influence which affect our daily habits. Our Circles of Concern and Influence Finding balance Our Circle of Concern encompasses things that we care about, and even maybe things that affect us, but which we have little or no control over ..read more

I often find clients come to me wanting to be happy in their career but feel that something is missing. Yet when we start to unpack what is happening and how they feel about their current job and situation, we find that it is actually ticking all of their boxes. There’s a disconnect between what is perceived and what is actually happening. Often clients tell me that they feel like they should be doing more or something different or progressing, and THEN they’ll be happier.  This pursuit of happiness can be motivating but can often leave us constantly wanting something different and can b ..read more

Coping with stress is as unique to each of us as the stressors in the first place. Do your coping strategies help you work through stress, or do you find that it bottles up deep and eventually spills over into the rest of your life? We all phase through spaces in our lives where stress comes (and hopefully leaves). And the right amount of stress for short periods of time helps us be motivated, to take action, and to move through/past whatever it is that is stressing us. Be it a big presentation, sale, or new project at the office, stress as the deadline approaches, it is natural and, if channe ..read more

Yoga retreats, facials, baths, ‘me time’, retail therapy… these are all terms we have heard recently talking of ‘self-care’. And yes, they do make you feel better, in the short term. They really do feel like a break from the norm and pleasurable. But do you find that sometimes it just feels a little ‘empty’? Or maybe a little predictable?  Just maybe, they might not be satisfying your personal sense of well-being and what you need. I know, it’s a surprise. You’re not alone, and it’s absolutely fine to feel this way. If we aren’t fundamentally finding our own version of self and what it me ..read more

Take a different view Imagine that you've just received negative feedback at work. Maybe it's from your boss, a colleague, or a client. You feel deflated, disappointed, and even a little angry. You start questioning your abilities and wondering if you're good enough at your job. This kind of situation is not uncommon in the workplace, and it's easy to fall into a negative mindset that can flow over and affect your work and personal life. This is a common story I hear from my clients often. Getting caught in your head and focusing on the negative feedback can take up a lot of space and energy ..read more

Working through conflict Simply put, emotional intelligence is the ability to recognise, understand, and manage our own emotions, as well as the emotions of others. It's a set of skills that allows us to navigate social interactions and build healthy relationships, both in our personal and professional lives. At its core, emotional intelligence is all about empathy - the ability to understand and connect with others on an emotional level. It's about putting ourselves in someone else's shoes, seeing things from their perspective, and responding to their emotions in a thoughtful and compassion ..read more

Throughout life; we are thrown all types of challenges. Some of these we breeze through, others we struggle with, sometimes for a long time after we have moved through them. In our work life, this is no different. It may be a tricky boss that seems to have it in for you, always looking for fault. In the back of your mind, you always knew it was more to do with them, but somehow at the time, it felt VERY personal. Mulling over this long after you have left the job and moved on. Or maybe it’s the moment you were made redundant through no fault of your own apart from a restructure or a global pan ..read more

Building rapport with others is a life skill that frankly has been undertaught (if at all). Whilst we often learn the basics of presenting, debating and writing a CV (maybe) at school we aren’t deliberately taught how to build rapport and make connections with others. On the whole this can come naturally through friendships and with our family, it is often a different story when we are faced with ‘networking’ or interviews. Creating connections with people that are outside of our intimate circle (where we feel most comfortable). However, in life and work, building relationships is key to our ..read more