"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...

  “Culture eats strategy for breakfast” said Peter Drucker, by which I think he meant getting the right culture is very important for organisational and team success. Rather than just accepting culture as it is, a key question that leaders need to ask themselves is “how can...

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...

Three years ago, my colleagues and I delivered our first virtual training event for participants from around the world. It certainly was a steep learning curve and pretty much everything that could have gone wrong did – including the MD of the Moscow office taking...

  One of my favourite quotes about presenting is from George Jessel who said “The human brain is a wonderful organ.  It starts to work as soon as you are born and doesn’t stop until you get up to deliver a speech.” Many of the people we...

  The modern world is complex and requires leaders who can leverage the talents of a team of experts to solve problems and gain a competitive edge. As these individuals will most likely have more knowledge and experience than you in their areas of expertise, getting the...

  The psychologists tell us that batching things in threes is a powerful way of communicating – three is the magic number, as the saying (or the song by De La Soul) goes! This is because the Rule of Three suggests that things which come in...

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...

Have you ever wanted to involve the team or a group of peers in collaborative problem solving but worried about the chaos that would ensue? Have you wished there was a simple problem-solving structure you could use that wouldn’t take forever, but would give everyone...

Picture the scene – you’ve had a full-on day; your head is spinning with a jumbled to-do list and you’ve still got work to do before you can head home and make that all important gym session / parents evening / drink with friends. Then out...

How do you calculate the true cost of an organisational problem? We may struggle to convince others of the value of change. They don’t feel the problem is sufficiently large to warrant the effort of change - particularly if it’s not impacting them personally. The...

  This is a question that all leaders should ask themselves but, if we do, our reflection is often skill or attribute focused, for example “should I be more visionary, or more empathic, or more decisive?”. Is this skill or attribute focus the most effective way...