"It was love at first sight!" "I knew they'd be right for the job the moment they stepped into the interview room." Aren’t human beings amazing? We lay our eyes on someone and within mere seconds we have analysed and concluded whether: we like them we trust...
We don’t have to look far to see organisations going through major adaptations and changes: restructures, downsizing, changing business practices and processes. As a people manager you have probably had your hands and head full, getting to grips with what’s happening in your organisation. If you...
What’s the worst question you’ve ever been asked at interview? Or the worst question you’ve asked a candidate? On our Recruitment and Selection Skills courses, participants tell us about a whole host of inappropriate, seemingly irrelevant and unhelpful questions. Candidates find this very frustrating as...
When you go into a recruitment interview, as the recruiting manager, do you know exactly what you’re looking for or do you rely on ‘knowing it when you see it’? Many managers tell me that they get a gut feel for the right candidate pretty much...
What are the important one-to-one conversations you’ve had recently, perhaps as a professional, as a friend or as a parent? How could you have got more from that conversation, especially if it was with someone where the relationship is currently difficult? A conversation between two people has...
You’ve just sat down with one of your team to review his objectives and you’ve agreed that he needs to focus on developing his influencing skills, particularly in relation to his new project. You’re both very familiar with the concept of SMART, but have no idea...
As you walk away from yet another meeting where you feel personally underwhelmed by the quality of ideas, are you convinced that with a bit more time you could have all come up with something a bit more creative? How do you achieve meetings that create...
To paraphrase Leo Tolstoy: “All happy teams are alike; each unhappy team is unhappy in its own way.” A dysfunctional team can be a nightmare and suck up huge amounts of time, emotion and motivation as well as significantly affect results. Sometimes, it can seem as...
We all know that teams don’t just perform at their optimum level from day 1; it takes time and energy from everyone involved, from the team members to the managers. The stages of development that teams pass through to achieve high performance, as defined by Bruce...
When I received school reports for my two daughters at the end of last term, I was a bit surprised by the new format used. The way the report was written had changed and some key information, which had always been there before, was missing. ...
Are you a TEAM or a WORKING GROUP and why does it matter? In this blog I’ll explore the difference between teams and working groups and explain why it’s important to differentiate between the two so that you don’t fall into the trap of trying to...
We all know it’s a good thing to have a development plan but, when it comes to executing it, are you taking the steps to ensure that the learning takes place and actually sticks? Maybe you’re a manager who goes through the process of development planning...
It can be exciting when you have an opportunity to work in partnership with another person, department or organisation and you’ll be keen to move forward. But, how do you make sure this partnership works ….and lasts? A Partnership is defined as “an ongoing relationship where...
Why do you delegate? Is it because you’re busy and can’t get everything done? Is it because you want to give someone else an opportunity to develop? Is it a bit of both? Whatever your reason, delegation is an ART and, like any art form,...