This LI post is about taking my own advice! When I’m coaching a client who wants to move forward, I will often ask: – “What, specifically, do you want to achieve?”; then – “What steps could you take to make that happen?”; then, to reduce anxiety, – “What’s the downside risk of doing that?” My…

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Throughout the pandemic, individuals have been encouraged (or forced) to cope with enormous amounts of uncertainty and change.  In my coaching practice, however, I am  seeing individuals now choosing to change: it might be where they live (the much talked-about move from cities to the coast or countryside); it might be how they live and work (somewhere…

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As an Executive Coach & Mentor, with a focus on leadership, my assignments regularly involve a client who aspires to, or has been promoted to, a more senior leadership role.  Some, happily, are in the positive position of “How do I perform this larger role to the best of my ability?’; others, however, lament “I’m struggling;…

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As an Executive Coach & Mentor, with a focus on leadership, I regularly have clients tell me “I’d like to be more confident”.  It is a concern I like to dig into: when have you felt confident and when, conversely, have you lacked confidence?; what would ‘more confident’ look and feel like for you and what…

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In my Coaching and Consultancy work with leadership teams I often raise the topic of organisational Values. This gets met with a range of reactions from “Nonsense – that’s just consultants’ jargon” (No it’s not, as we’ll see below) through “Oh yes, they are not explicit but everyone knows what they are” (I’d wager they don’t)…

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leadership teams, we talk regularly and deeply about Culture: what would a great Culture feel like to the organisation’s people?; how, as leaders, can they create the right conditions for the desired Culture to flourish; how does the organisation sustain that Culture over time despite changing personnel and challenging external conditions.   Sadly, we often see…

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In January 2022 I asked my LI connections for suggestions of topics relevant to executive coaching and leadership about which I might write this year.  The ever-inspiring Emma Lloyd suggested ‘Purpose’ – specifically the catchy title above – so here are some observations from my work with individuals, teams and organisations. What is Purpose? The dictionary…

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There is a Chinese proverb which states “There are many paths to the top of the mountain, but the view is always the same”. In my practice as an Executive Coach and Mentor, with a focus on leadership, it is a quote which I often share with clients who are reflecting on their career and…

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