We are well underway into the shift to moving back into the office, staying remote permanently or for most, a mixture somewhere in between. For leaders and managers, there is an onus to keep their teams motivated and engaged during this shift. There are many moving parts in teams at the moment – there is [...]
In June this year, American multinational business magazine Fortune ran a report citing its research that found that 12% of corporate leaders in the US are psychopaths. Now, a lot of us immediately jump to the Hannibal Lector or Ted Bundy school of psychopaths, but psychopathic behaviour is hugely complex. Common traits include having no empathy [...]
Small business owners are a unique bunch – they are resilient, brave, hard-working and, often, master of all trades because, well, they have to be! SMEs account for 99.9% of the business population (6.0 million businesses). And at the start of 2020 there were 5.94 million small businesses (with 0 to 49 employees). This is [...]
When I get asked what I am, I say I am a business consultant, but what exactly is a business consultant? ‘Consultant’ can be a very broad term for many areas of business improvement. And sometimes it comes with the connotation of someone swanning in and not doing an awful lot. We’ve all met them [...]
It was a real pleasure to chair the recent Smart Bidding event as part of the Catch the Wave business support programme for the Brighton Chamber on 3 December. Having spent many years managing bid teams and running major pursuits, I find these events to be so informative and relatable for small businesses. With the expert panel [...]
Getting the balance right between work and home is tricky – it’s like the Holy Grail at the moment isn’t it? There is a lot out there about work/life balance and self-care but the pressure of that in itself can be overwhelming. But by going back to basics, balance is definitely in reach. In this [...]
I recently had a wonderful chat with corporate anthropologist, Andi Simon. She is the founder of Simon Associates Management Consultants and author of new book, Rethink: Smashing the Myths of Women in Business. It was deep, enlightening and truly inspirational. We discussed how women can seize opportunity from crisis and what some of the current challenges [...]
As a leader, are you managing people going back into the office? Is there even an office to come back to or are you opting for working remotely instead? The way of working is changing considerably but how do you ensure your team are happy and productive? I am speaking to a lot of leaders and [...]
Sometimes we find inspiration in books on the first page, others seem to take an age to get through. And funnily enough, as we’re talking productivity here it should be simple to find the tips, tricks and hacks we’re all looking for! Books on personal development and the business success are big sellers but where [...]
Getting back to work seems to be the key incentive for a lot of businesses currently. But how do you ensure as a leader both you and your teams are motivated, productive and better-connected whilst working remotely? What is the new way of working? Who wants normal anyway? I don’t know about you, but I’m [...]
With a large number of businesses having furloughed some of their workforce, there is advice out there about the money they can claim. But there’s not a great deal about how, as a leader, to keep your furloughed employees inspired and engaged. More commonly, a recent question I’ve been asked is “how do I manage [...]
In these worrying times, various leaders from all over the world are using widely varying techniques to combat this epidemic. From a professional standpoint, it is hugely insightful to witness. There are certain key leadership qualities which are needed in a crisis. Like us all, I have been watching open-mouthed the recent happenings and am experiencing a [...]
