Do you thrive on silence? Then get the 05.55 Virgin East Coast train from Newcastle to London one weekday morning. It’s there. Silence. Broken only by the odd announcement, offers of tea and something they call coffee but I don’t think is, Oh and the sound of 21st Century working. That is, tap tap, whoosh,…

Would you talk to your best friend the way you talk to yourself? Come to that, would you even speak that way to someone you didn’t like? No? So why is it ok to use that tone when you talk to yourself? My friend and colleague Judith Leary Jones is doing some great research on…

The worst endings can be the best beginnings. 3 years ago I left substantive employment and it felt like my life had ended. Yet now, I’m heading up my own successful leadership coaching company and making a positive difference. From feeling worthless, with nothing to offer, I’m now enjoying working with inspirational individuals, supporting them…

That’s right, forget all the New Year, New You stuff that’s everywhere you look just now, and stop stressing about the new year resolutions you’ll make and break within weeks. You don’t need transforming, no-one does. Instead try taking some time to reflect on what it is that nourishes you, what makes you strong and…

Despite not having taught in school for almost twenty years now, I still can’t get past the feeling of a new year and new beginnings come September. That sense of anticipation, hope and excitement….hair cut, new shoes, re-stocked pencil case. January, with its post Christmas bloat and punitive resolutions doesn’t come anywhere near in terms…

Some of the clients I work with share traits that you might recognise in yourself. They tend to overthink things, they over plan, they agonise over detail, particularly when it comes to stepping out of their comfort zone. These same people tend to find themselves frequently disappointed, because no matter how carefully they plan, or…

Do you find time flying by faster than ever, leaving little or no space for the things you used to enjoy doing? Are you racing from one half finished job to the next, going underprepared to yet another meeting, making multi-tasking your default mode? Do you feel a sense of inner frenzy and distraction? Then…

Hey, slow down….is your workplace a “no thinking zone“? When we are stressed, exhausted or distracted we

How much of your time is spent seeing things from other people’s point of view? Do you find yourself, like me, a willing helicopter parent for grown up children, patiently caring for very elderly relatives, being a proactive member of the workplace and struggling to manage everything else in between? Agreeing with everyone, being amenable…

By extending kindness, patience and curiosity to all you meet you make your community a better place, which in turn benefits you and those you care for. That much should be obvious, but how can you play it into your workplace, and crucially how can you keep it authentic? The chronic power stress associated with…

Some problems are so complex that you have to be highly intelligent and well informed just to be undecided about them” Laurence J Peter. Do we place undue stress upon ourselves and others at home and work by believing there is a right answer to everything if only we could find it? By assuming every…