Are you too grateful?
Do you ever gush with gratitude towards clients, colleagues, friends or family? Or inwardly feel so thankful for what you have that you tell yourself you’d be mad to rock the boat? I’ve pedalled the psychology of gratitude on several occasions over the last five years (it’s an important factor in subjective measures of happiness and wellbeing)
Bravery & Bouncing Back
One thing I love about our uber-socially-technologically connected world is the ability to make contact with people who might once have been out of reach. This month I’m bringing you an inspiring* interview with Kate Wilson, esteemed publisher who appeared on BBC Radio 4’s The Bottom Line programme with Evan Davis (Feb, 2014) discussing her firing in 2010.
How not to crumble when colleagues criticise
I expect you’ve experienced that sicky-lurching-stomach sensation that accompanies a colleague’s unexpected criticism or undermining of you or members of your team. Last year I asked readers of my ‘Flourishing Female’ monthly newsletter about situations/skills they’d like me to explore in 2014; how to ‘be assertive’ and ‘keep it together in the face of criticism’ came up a number of times.
How to leave work on time and still be seen as committed
“How can I leave on time and still be seen as committed?” In a room of coaches and employers at a seminar we ran at the University of Hertfordshire on maternity comeback coaching recently, this was the subject participants honed in on out of 28 themes marked up for potential discussion.
The science of optimism
In this post I’m exploring optimism – the benefits and how to get them. My daughter reeled off a string of things that have gone well for her recently and it got me thinking about the genetic and learned aspects of optimism. The work of psychologist Martin Seligman and others have shown an optimistic thinking style can be learned, although it requires long-term sustained effort. My daughter could equally have been the stimulus for a post on gratitude, something I’ve covered a couple of times in the last few years.
Goodness gratitude me
Had the women at the 4am opening of the Next sale not had enough of queuing, crammed car parks and overheating credit cards last month? Or had they simply not got round to making their ‘doing more interesting things’ and ‘saving money for things I actually need’ resolutions yet? This edition of Here’s a thought is written for every woman who’d rather say ‘Humbug!’ to sale shopping and resolutions in January. I propose a dose of gratitude instead.
Persevering Job Seekers (from the archive)
This month as well as becoming very familiar with the inner workings of a high street bank and J22-28 of the M25 (all in the name of client delight) I started to get to know a remarkable young woman called Victoria who has been searching for a job for 18 months.
Personality at Work
Nicky Dulieu (CEO of Hobbs) has called on women to be more authentic at work. Market research by her business found that one in three women prefer a male to a female boss because women ‘lack personality.’ I read it with a balanced view of humanity and thought ‘yes, yes, we must let our personality shine’ on the one hand and on the other, ‘oh no, that’ll be some poor so and so’s downfall!’
The horse's mouth
“It’s been remarkable – a huge impact on my personal and professional life.” Nicky’s getting better results from her team, she’s confidently approaching difficult conversations and is fulfilling a secret ambition to write a book. Read how Agnes, Dani, Andrea and Emmy say they’ve benefited from a short spell of coaching.
Are you in HR?
The Talent Keeper Specialists helps employers keep, retain and develop returning talented and valued employees through workshops, 1:1 coaching and culture-shaping initiatives aimed at line managers. We provide both off-the-peg and customised solutions through our select team of experienced coaching and talent practitioners.
