The gender pay gap still exists – and it gets in the way of abundant leadership. Abundant leadership is important to us at the Forton Group. Whether that’s an abundance of women, of the inter-generational workforce or diversity of culture, colour and styles. We love it.  Because it creates innovation, better leadership and creativity.  So, whilst we’re not happy about the subject, we are happy to share some updated information that may support your career development. I was fortunate when I got my first mortgage.  The CEO of the (then) ‘Building Society’ announced on national tv that he’d give ..read more

Is it just me, or has ‘teamcoaching’ taken over as a buzzword, when really what we mean is ‘teambuilding’ or vice versa?  We get asked to deliver a lot of teamcoaching and teambuilding assignments. It’s an area of work where I derive great satisfaction. Why?  Because the results are typically immediate: Group of Business People in a Teamcoaching Meeting Improved colleague understanding and appreciation of each other Willingness to work through issues and problems Pride in mutual success The independent coach can facilitate discussion, bring new perspectives and shine a light in dark corners ..read more

As organisations explore the communication skill set needed by managers, those labelled a ‘coaching’ are coming under greater scrutiny. Full disclosure: Forton is an elite sponsor of next month’s Creating a Competitive Edge through Coachin symposium, organized by the International Coach Federation. We see the symposium as an opportunity to challenge the myths and sort out facts from hype. This is what organisations say when they start along the ‘manager as coach’ route: Our managers don’t have time for this We can’t afford for managers to go soft on tough performance targets We can’t risk the ..read more

My safety boots come out for an airing every so often; they’re very comfortable.  They’ve seen the Glasgow train line at 3 in the morning; more warehouses than I care to remember, and they’ve been restoring our home too. They’re not pink.  They don’t have a daft name like “Barbie”. And, most importantly, they fit. I don’t think about them from one month to the next, because why should I have to? And then I read about the research Caroline Criado Perez has carried out for her latest book Invisible Women.  She talks in this article about a world which is literally designed for the average man, f ..read more

You might be forgiven for looking around and thinking that leadership is broken.  Or maybe you’re finding the struggle to recruit, retain and reward the best people more challenging than ever. Uncertainty is a key word right now. Morale is dropping: whether because of underperformance, or managers putting up with low expectations, when decisions are made to cut costs which directly compete with peoples’ needs. As quickly as the HR department issues policies to create more flexible workplaces, another department imposes rules that reduce choice. Caught in the middle are leaders and managers try ..read more

Because I get to train elite leadership coaches, I have the privilege of spending time with some great athletes: tennis players, rowers and canoeists, sailors, cyclists and people who’ve climbed Mount Everest. At Forton we run ICF-accredited Team-Coach training programmes and I learn so much from the participants. Diary dates here Here’s three top tips for you. Performance details matter. Matthew Pinsent once described how Jamie Cracknell obsessed over small details, and how this helped push the team over the finishing line into first place by inches. Listen to the team members who’re focused ..read more

If the world of leadership development and change management was a theme park, it would be called “VUCA World”. A chilling place, laced with black humour; a bit like the Vogon constructor fleet in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Everyone is choosing his own way to achieve his objectives. Some people seek for a specialized coaching plan (more at https://juliehancoaching.com/), some are ready to give a try to VUCA world. VUCA stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity.  There are currently four revolutions happening around the world– in IT, Energy, Manufacturing and Life Sci ..read more

Leaders and managers are catching up with the benefits of coaching and mentoring their people. It improves performance, builds better teams and supports peoples’ career aspirations. It’s an obvious win-win too.  Managers tell us how good it feels when they ‘give something back’ to their team.  Remember all that talk about ‘making a difference’?  That’s the feeling they have. Where to start? The choice can be confusing however. Here at Forton we make it easy for you. We were the first ICF accredited leadership coach training programme over 15 years ago.  Today we’re also recognised by the Chart ..read more

You may wonder why leaders and managers resist coaching their teams, when the financial and personal benefits of coaching are so well known. We regularly hear some great ‘reasons’ from individuals within some client organisations, so I laughed out loud when I read an article on the five myths that prevent leaders from coaching their team members. In summary these are: “My team don’t want my questions, they just want me to give them the answer.” “I’ll coach them when they ask for it. They can ask for help.” “No one is complaining, so everything is fine.” “Good people self-correct when something ..read more

Our Italian partners have invited me to present a keynote speech to their clients, and I’m very excited about the topic – diversity in leadership development.  Less excited about apologising for my poor Italian – but thank goodness they are gracious people. Excited because this is an area I’m passionate about, and because presenting to a foreign audience means you have to get your arguments in line – and clear.  And it’s an area that continues to be a puzzle to people: there’s a willingness for greater diversity at leadership level, but there’s a glaring ‘say/do’ gap. What we say we want is a ..read more