Hello everyone, I am writing this in what can only be described as a personal crisis involving a desk fan, a bottle of water, and the very real possibility of melting into my chair. We are, as I am sure you know, in the middle of a proper British heatwave. And like everyone else in the country, I am absolutely not designed for it. But here is the thing. Sitting here, slightly damp and thoroughly distracted, I realised I was still trying to make everything work. Emails, a new project, calls,...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Hello everyone, It has been a few weeks since I last landed in your inbox. I have had my head down finishing a stretch of work, which feels a little ironic given what I want to write to you about today. We are nearly halfway through the year. This is the point where the third quarter quietly starts to slide towards the summer holidays. I have already had clients tell me, we are all busy now, then it’s the holiday season, so everything is looking to the last quarter. I understand the pull of...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Hello everyone, I asked a room of leaders a question last week: you know your one-to-ones matter… but if you’re honest, are you properly preparing for them? They all smiled. Because they (and I) knew the answer. So then I asked: if you could prepare properly, how much time could you realistically give it? Same answer every time. Ten minutes. And look, that is the reality at this level. There’s always something else shouting for your attention. For years, my advice was simple: protect those...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Hello everyone, I want to share something that came up in a coaching session recently, because I suspect it might resonate with a few of you. A leader said to me, “I just feel absolutely swamped. In the past I could always manage it, but something has changed, and it’s really starting to stress me out.” So we did something simple. I asked them to list everything they were working on, every demand on their time and attention. By the end, we counted eleven priorities. Eleven. Coming from every...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Hello everyone, One comment I hear all the time is “I know I should be coaching my team more. I just don’t have the time.” And I completely understand why. Your diary is full, your to-do list never ends, and adding something new feels like a step too far. One thing I’ve come to believe after years of working with managers and running coaching sprints with leadership teams: the time problem is real, but it isn’t actually the root cause that stops people. The real issue runs a bit deeper than a...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Hello everyone, This week my husband and I treated ourselves to a city break in London. As a birthday gift to each other we stayed at Claridge’s in Mayfair, and if you’ve never been, it is everything you might imagine a great five star hotel to be and then some. We walked miles, explored the city, and came back to what felt like a very quiet, very beautiful oasis. The rooms were lovely, the spa serene, we happily wined and dined. But it wasn’t the gorgeous room decor or the thread count that...
3 months ago • 2 min read
Hello everyone, There is something I genuinely love about Easter weekend, not least because of the chocolate. It always feels like the first deep breath of the year. The clocks have gone forward, the evenings are lighter, and something in the air just feels different. After the slog of January, February and March, it feels like we made it through, and things are looking brighter ahead. But just as we are feeling more upbeat, we can find that by April the goals that felt so clear and...
4 months ago • 2 min read
Hello everyone, I have just got back from two days in London with my husband. A friend of his had invited us to a dinner and wine tasting event, and if I am honest, I was not that fussed. But he really was, so I said yes. But when I did, he immediately started planning more. “Let's not rush back, let's make a proper trip of it”. And I was standing thinking about my diary, about to say no. I cannot give you all of that. I’ve got too much on. Then I caught myself. Because what I was actually...
4 months ago • 2 min read
Hello everyone, I want to tell you about a workshop I ran not long ago. I was working with a group of very capable, bright, mid to senior level managers in a larger organisation. We got onto the topic of presenting to the Exec. These managers had a monthly reporting cycle. The process was clear: get the pre-read deck out ahead of the meeting to allow the Exec to read it and be able to make the decisions. Everybody knew the deadline. Everybody busted a gut to hit it, because the pre-read had...
5 months ago • 2 min read