When good intentions don’t always deliver good outcomesIn mediation, I often hear one or both parties saying at some point, ‘I thought I was doing the right thing’ or ‘I thought you would prefer I did…’ or ‘I was just trying to do this in a way you might appreciate’.What I am hearing is that […]
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By the time employees return to the same worksite, this may be not just a ‘well worn’ cliché but a disregarded one. Catch phrases are memorable and repeatable but do they evoke the intended action?When people are fearful, feeling even slightly threatened, uncertain or in any way unsafe, what is considered ‘good’ for the community […]
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Even though lockdown conditions are beginning to ease, it’s clear that many organisations won’t be returning to ‘business as usual’ any time soon and will be continuing with some aspects of remote work. There are many upsides to this but one area that organisations need to focus on is employee relations, and ensuring that they […]
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In a recent Forbes article Tracey Brower made ‘5 Predictions About How Coronavirus Will Change The Future Of Work’. One prediction is that ‘Your boss and teammates will be more empathetic about your work-life’. Brower claims, ‘After having been home so much….managers and colleagues will have new respect for life’s demands, and appreciation for all-things […]
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In the first part of this blog series the setting for the discomfort felt by both the manager (speaker) and the staff member (listener) was explored. Often the discomfort felt by the manager is momentarily acknowledged then put aside as though it shouldn’t happen and it is weak or poor management to feel this way. However, […]
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Holding a conversation for which you believe the content will upset the listener evokes the concept of a difficult conversation. Difficult because the speaker often assumes the news will be difficult for the receiver to hear. And so the conversation also becomes labelled as difficult for the speaker to know how best to frame what […]
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I’ve had the pleasure in recent weeks of travelling from France to Spain, via the Pyrenees, on the back of a Ducati motorbike. It’s been a journey with breathtaking sights and experiences, and while I’ve spent most of the time in holiday mode, I’ve occasionally had some business-related insights and learning experiences that I captured on […]
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Will the real agenda please stand up! One of the biggest contributors to mistrust between a staff member and their manager is the belief by the staff member that the manager has a hidden agenda. The staff member doesn’t know what the manager’s hidden agenda is but they have such a strong suspicion that one exists they […]
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A Harvard Business Review ‘Management tip of the day’ recommended the prioritisation of working and spending time with colleagues that help one to feel fulfilled and to minimise interactions with colleagues one finds depleting. Essentially the article was a call to action to invest in the ‘right relationships’. I fully agree with the focus on investing […]
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Susan David, psychologist and author of the book ‘Emotional Agility’ states that organisations need to get comfortable with uncomfortable emotions in order to provide a psychologically safe workplace in which staff feel safe to bare their emotional truth. She believes that when leaders are comfortable with uncomfortable emotions, they are better equipped to listen to […]
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