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You’ll never say ‘imposter syndrome’ again after this
On the vlog today I talk about WHY we need to drop the term imposter syndrome immediately.
Plus, two simple techniques I use to turn those feelings into something positive 🦸🏻♀️ and what we should really focus on instead.
What if “flexibility” is the wrong word?
Up to 90% of people in some polls say they want flexibility in work. But when we interview them and dig into the details of what they specifically want… it’s something very different.
What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?
British Chambers of Commerce data from August shows that 79% of businesses surveyed—92% of which are SMEs—have faced challenges with recruitment, with hospitality and construction firms struggling the most.
“WFH is a catastrophe for feminism”
You know that feeling when you leave a discussion and wish (so hard) you’d said something differently that you want to go back in time?
How listening improves your thinking
Steven Barlett confessed this week that he’s a ‘fixer’ who’s had to learn to ‘sit in the mud’ with other people’s problems rather than jumping into solutions.
Not interrupting is my theme of the week.
3 ways to master your emotional power
Dr Julia DiGangi is a neuro-pyschologist who has written a book on increasing our emotional power. She says her first draft was so boring she threw it in the bin and started again. Thank goodness she did, because the published version is the most fascinating book I’ve read this year.
Is WFH being murdered?
My analysis of what’s actually happening in the work-from-home/return-to-office debate right now… with a bit of help from Toto and the flying monkeys.
What's more damaging than burnout? Lessons from ‘The Bear’
The kids are back! Hope you’ve had a good summer (aside from anyone in the UK who needs to take this week off to absorb the only sunshine we seem to have had since June).
This week on the vlog, moving on from burnout to explore its opposite: Boreout—its impact on people, productivity, and retention, and what you can do about it.
The best advice for working parents
16 missed calls.
That’s what I had when I left a meeting.
Since then, I’ve learned that a supportive network is essential for working parents. But that finding it alone isn’t enough. You also need a strategy to get you through the potential rifts when your kids behave in less-than-ideal ways.
The secret to becoming a stress slasher
Stress at work is as contagious as the pox.
I once ruined a whole holiday in Cyprus… on the beach with three little girls. While we were ordering ice creams and booking those fabulous sea pedalos with slides, I was pinging increasingly pissy emails back and forth with my boss.
How to know if your presentation sucks—while giving it.
Okay, so if you’ve just finished speaking, and no one meets your eye or comes to talk to you… *brutal news incoming* you blew it.
If some people chat and follow up—you did OK.
Putin isn’t the only one with insurgency problems
A senior guy at a large management consultancy spent some time last week rambling me through the inane complexities of their annual appraisal system. The ins and outs are far too boring to report, but headlines: Massive time suck. Damages morale (oh the irony). Blunt, old fashioned rankings.
What people REALLY want from bosses will surprise you
The power to make work better is ours.
The big question this week is: why aren’t we stepping up?
Especially when the Gallup data we touched on last week shows that, globally, 65% of us experienced a lot of stress (44%) or anger (21%) just yesterday.
Disengagement: new data sparks urgent call for action (and new ideas)
Gallup’s Global Employee Engagement data released this week says that 77% of employees are disengaged. That is 3 out of 4 people! Most of them are ‘filling a seat and watching the clock’. But 18% are actively disruptive.
The data is new but the trend isn’t.
The most shameful decision of my career
There have been a few (!) but the one I‘m referring to feels as raw and nauseating today as when it happened.
Is hybrid actually the WORST way to work?
Except, of course, as Churchill might have said, for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time…
Hybrid is so wildly popular that even leaders who hate it have mostly conceded defeat and are sticking with it. So much so, that many tell me it’s sorted, done, old news.
Next level of performance management—or the ick?
Your performance review is coming up and you’re nervous.
You’re feeling quite disconnected: you’ve not seen a lot of your manager aside from in Teams calls, you keep missing them in the office, and they’re super busy. (Plus, you’re pretty sure they don’t quite know what it is that you do, or how painful that client is.)
Vital: 5 Game-Changing Leadership Insights!
Last week‘s HR Technologies Conference at ExCel was like HR Disneyland—a rollercoaster of information that it took me two days to come down from.
One thing you MUST know about your colleagues
Knowing it will reduce your stress, their stress and enable you to manage teams and clients a whole lot better… Also, it’s excellent for your sleep patterns.
But even talking about it may make you anxious.
How to handle bullies & blunderers
Dominic Raab (Deputy Prime Minister) and Tony Danker (Director-General of the CBI) have both left their jobs, furiously refuting allegations of bullying and harassment.
I, like most of you I reckon, recognise the pattern.