Articles
WHY DO WE NEED COACHING SUPERVISION?
Narrative There was a coach who had worked with various teams in different industries worldwide. She was known for her ability to motivate and engage with various team members, but she faced a new challenge when she was assigned to coach a team of software engineers...
A cost too far?
Shutterstock, Corund ID: 159452003 Most companies introduce change through a project or a programme comprised of multiple projects. The need for good project management is obvious but I come across many companies experiencing difficulties in delivery. This is often...
Take Action
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., gave us many memorable quotes and the one that has always stood out for me is the simple message from his sermon at Temple Israel of Hollywood where he said, “Through our scientific genius we made of the world a neighbourhood, but we failed...
THE NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION
Once again we are at the beginning of a new year … and everybody is talking about and sharing their “New Year’s Resolution”. I have to admit that over the years’ experience has jaded my view of resolutions and I know that many will come to nought, so I want YOU to try...
Wrong Turn Guys!
Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash - Thank youJohn Maxwell (Leadership author) is quoted as saying, "To add value to others, one must first value others." I believe he has a point and worryingly, I am seeing a trend where many companies are hiring based upon the least...
Switch to Plan B
I always find this time of year interesting because of the large number of parents disconsolately saying if only young Oliver / Emily / Andrew etc. had just applied themselves a little more in their exams. Now what are they going to do? – What's our Plan B? As a...
DELEGATION
In my line of business, I often end up coaching around the challenges of delegation. Today’s leaders and managers are expected to evolve and move with the latest business and organisational theories. Normally the C-suite executive in conjunction with a consultancy...
Generalist or Specialist
In my days in the British Army, we had a large pool of generalists called Infantry. I can say that now, because I can look at the subject with the benefit of hindsight and with the fact of being rather more detracted than I was when I was in. Even then we had...
Should my Project Manager be Contract or Permanent?
“Do I use permanent or contractor project managers?” As somebody who has spent the last twenty five years working as an Independent Contractor (IC) in IT Project management / Quality management, I am often asked, “Should Project Managers be permanent staff or...
We are not so different!
In the many years I have worked as a Project manager and a Change manager, I have worked with many people of different race and religions. Recently I was re-united with an Indian friend I worked with years ago in Delhi whilst doing a Software Factory Acceptance Test...
“One small step for a man, but……”
It’s nearly fifty years ago that Neil Armstrong left his boot print in the surface of the moon. What an amazing feat of courage! imagine his enormous sense of achievement, coupled with the continual nagging doubts that if anything went wrong, he and the rest of the...
Nothing Changes
A few days ago, Andy Murray lifted the All England Tennis Clubs singles championship cup and banked Two Million pounds. Interestingly, his coach Ivan Lendl was with him the last time he won Wimbledon in 2013. They separated in 2014 and only recently got back together...
Feeling Stuck?
Coping with change A couple of weeks back on a coaching call, my client related a lovely story that she had shared with some of her school children and I want to share it with you. A monkey was walking through the Jungle, when it came upon a hole in the ground. When...
Questions about Coaching
You have questions about coaching? I am often asked, “What is coaching?” One clean definition of coaching is, “The art of enabling others to improve their development, learning and performance”. Another definition is, “Professional coaching focuses on setting goals,...
Step out of your comfort zone!
Brian Skerry took this incredible photograph for National Geographic a couple of years back – Talk about stepping out of your comfort zone!! I do a lot of work with Companies and individuals who are in transition – they are either working towards a strategic goal or a...
Work to live, NOT live to work!
Last week I read an article by an Australian palliative care nurse, Bronnie Ware, who said that many of her patients had indicated their regret at spending so much of their time on the treadmill of a work existence. Which begs the question, “Do I live to work, or do I...
The Article 50 Conundrum
Following the UK’s referendum resulting in an overall majority to leave the EU, it occurs to me that there is an opportunity here for our elected politicians and the supporting law making administration to drag this whole thing out whilst they line their pockets with...
Until I shouted, “pull”
Until I shouted, "Pull!" I remember it as if it was yesterday... It was a freezing cold January morning, the ground was crisp underfoot with a white hoar frost and I remember thinking what a good job that I had my thick socks and hiking boots on so at least my feet...
They shall not grow old
I think it is truly wonderful that three pensioners from the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London, should travel a little over three thousand miles to attend an act of remembrance with us here in Bahrain. As someone who has served, remembrance parades and services gives...
The Icebox Cashless Country Challenge!
The Banking Challenge - Cashless Society As a young programmer I worked for the Italian International Bank in London, who were owned by the Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena reputedly, the oldest surviving bank in the world having been operational since 1472. As an...
You should write, right?
I love to read George R. R. Martin, the American author of the epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, probably known better to you as Game of Thrones wrote, “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one.” ―...
Normal service may NOT resume!
We have all this modern technology, but ……………….. I love reading books – good old fashioned hardback books. They appeal to one’s senses - they‘re tactile, they rustle when you turn the pages and they smell like a book, which is more than can be said for an Ipad or...
“Stand and Deliver!”
Many years ago, “Stand and Deliver!” meant giving up your valuables or your life could be forfeit. Highwaymen were a common problem in England from around 1650 to 1800, where travel was already hazardous due to the lack of decent roads, no one rode alone without fear...
ET Phone Home!
Comms have come a long way As an ex British Army Signals Officer, I have spent some serious time tweaking antennae and radio dials whilst listening to crackling background noise trying to discern the nature of the message that was usually very faint and...
Parents Teenagers just don’t understand
"Duh!, Mom you just don't ged id!" - Well actually you do, and they don't. By Mike Jackson The Teenager perspective Powerful technologies such as neuroimaging and advanced brainwave scanners have shown that adolescent brains undergo considerable structural change...
Writing a Vision Statement
NASA.GOV Creating a Vision As a veteran project manager I know that the vision is all about creating a picture of where you want to be in the future. My personal favourite was provided by John Kennedy in a speech to congress in 1961 when he said, “I believe that this...
STAND STILL! YOU ‘ORRIBLE LITTLE MAN!
Life's lessons are tough! I can still recall Staff Sergeant Kirk screaming, “STAND STILL you ‘orrible little man…..So what!! Wot you goin’ to do NOW Sir?”. As I think back now, I can’t help but smile and remember that whilst it was hard and tough ….bloody...