Insights

How comfortable do you feel giving and receiving feedback?

I can tell you it’s tricky for most of the managers and leaders I coach 121 and is often a discussion point in team sessions.

If you work with other humans, then feedback is a part of your role and if you are a manager or leader then you have a responsibility to give effective and equitable feedback. However, these valuable exchanges often don’t happen as frequently as they could.

Feedback is important for career development, building relationships with colleagues, and enhancing performance.

Asking for feedback can be a bit intimidating because you're opening yourself up to possible criticism. Cultivating a positive mindset is key to overcoming the fear of feedback. It’s important to remember that no one is perfect, everyone has and will make mistakes, and there's always room for improvement. In this respect, you're the same as everyone else in your organisation. It takes courage to admit that you're not perfect. So, when you ask for feedback, you've already put yourself a step above the majority who don't.

As you know, I'm very interested in mental health, wellbeing, resilience, and career development. I thought I'd share some insight into why.

Most of my clients want to work on their confidence. The context varies from career change to leadership to significant life changes, but confidence always shows up somewhere in the process. To move forward, we need to believe in ourselves and our ability to be successful.

I received generous feedback from someone a while back that my content is great, but I don't share much about myself or my story. Who is Bev? they asked. I have thought a lot about this since, and whilst I recognized they were right, I am a very private person. I decided the time wasn't right, and that I would know intuitively when I was ready. For some strange reason, I opened a Word doc last week and started writing this blog - not about what I do, but WHY I do what I do.

Identifying great people for your organisation and supporting them to express their talents is more critical than ever. It’s also a trendy, sort-after approach, and savvy people are looking to go where they can grow.

I want to write about behaviours that corrode relationships, make for uncomfortable work environments, and create pain within ourselves and for people around us. It’s not a sexy topic but it is an extremely important one, especially as we all face increasing pressure, change, and challenge in our lives and businesses.

Are you a High Achiever? Curious to know if you might be?

Do you have high potential but feel unfocused in your day-to-day activities or career direction?

Perhaps you have High Achievers on your team and want to know how to develop them, or maybe you're feeling a bit jealous or intimidated by them, and these feelings and reactions are bringing out the worst in you.

Maybe you're a High Achiever experiencing burnout and in need of a reset.

This blog has something for all of you... read it all or use the headings to navigate to the information that's most relevant to you ...

Behavioural Neuroscience Vs Personality Psychology.

Personality psychology has contributed much towards identifying the important dimensions of personality, but relatively little to understanding the biological sources of those dimensions. However, the rapidly expanding field of neuroscience is increasingly shedding light on this topic. Personality neuroscience is the study of how a person’s brain influences that individual's behaviour.

Redundancy can be a very difficult time for some people. The 'Holmes-Rahe Stress Inventory' looks at how challenging events can impact long-term health. Job loss, changing to a different line of work and business readjustment appear in the top 20.

Research shows that our attitudes, opinions and thoughts have a direct impact on success. So, with that in mind, I have written this blog to encourage a growth mindset and a positive outlook.

What Are Personal Boundaries?

The limits and rules we set for ourselves within relationships and our lives. A person with healthy boundaries can say "no" to others when they want to, but they are also comfortable opening themselves up to intimacy and close relationships.

There's a healthy balance between work and life, consistent energy levels and a sense of fulfilment as opposed to exhaustion and burnout. 

Self-esteem is how we see our identity, self-belief is how we value our abilities. An overall feeling of confidence can transcend many of the challenges we’re faced with in our lives and career. Sometimes we do well, other times less well, but we can continue to believe that we will succeed in most things and in the long run. Positive self-belief creates a good impression on others and is a good predictor of success. It shows an ability to deal with setbacks and to accept both positive and negative consequences.

Here’s a story about leadership in action.

I met a stranger at the gym which is unusual because when I enter the gym it’s headset on, minimal eye contact, I’m here to train!

This stranger managed to have a big impact on my training and mindset with just a few short interactions. I reflected on that and realised he demonstrated a powerful process that can be adopted by anyone who wants to get the best out of people around them, be it their team, peers or friends.

Leaders are everywhere, not just in the office. Sometimes they pop up when you least expect it.

In our busy lives, we often find ourselves energetically entangled with people, situations, or past experiences, draining our precious energy and hindering our progress. Have you experienced energetic cord-cutting? When we allow ourselves to process the past and release ourselves from unhealthy energetic attachments - we reclaim our vitality, focus, and inner peace.

How to give feedback to unsuccessful candidates and enhance your organisations reputation.

Candidates applying to work for your organisation and with your team are often your biggest supporters. They’ve watched your organisation from afar and want to be involved. Whether you hire them or not. If you manage this well, they will continue to support you. If you fail to communicate effectively (or at all in many cases) what message do you think they will share with the world?

Huna means secret in Hawaiian and refers to ancient knowledge said to enable an individual to connect to their highest wisdom. 

The seven principles of Huna are attributed to Serge Kahili King.

An American Teacher by the name Max Freedom Long, became intrigued by Native Hawaiian healing practices, and he founded the Huna Fellowship in 1945 publishing several books on the topic. 

Crossing over the line and investing in yourself is not as easy as it seems. There’s a lot of psychology involved when it comes to investing in yourself; whether that be time, energy, money …

Lots of people have subconscious blocks around being worthy, deserving of investment or creating a life they love. I have clients who have harboured dreams for years but haven’t been able to move into action. They arrive at my door when they’re ready to stop circling the idea and start creating the life they truly desire.

“The benefits of coaching are many; 80% of people who receive coaching report increased self-confidence, and over 70% benefit from improved work performance, relationships, and more effective communication skills. 86% of companies report that they recouped their investment on coaching and more” (International Coach Federation)

I had an interesting conversation with a friend about the value of coaching this weekend, here are the highlights…

I launched Aumida in July 2018 and it's now July 2019. 

Despite this having been a positive year in terms of ‘achievement’ it’s been a very challenging year for me personally.

I’ve realised it’s possible to be excited, driven and achieve success whilst simultaneously feeling fearful, not enough and to keep tumbling back into a scarcity mindset.

It felt like a year long egg and spoon race.

Busy week? Feeling tired? Eye’s like squares?

How many hours have you spent screen gazing this week?

Why not go on a digital detox this weekend.

This will help you to think through the why, how and when...

Limiting beliefs often originate from early childhood experiences and continue to develop as our subconscious mind absorbs messages from our environment, family, friends, teachers, and society. When we internalise feelings of inadequacy during our formative years, we can spend our entire adult lives believing we are not good enough and/or striving to prove our worth or to fit into a specific mould. Over time, we may forget or lose sight of our own values as we become susceptible to adopting other people's expectations.

What are the key ingredients for successful change management? 

The Human Capital Institute (HCI) and International Coach Federation (ICF) have partnered to research coaching cultures in organisations for the past 5 years. This year’s research (2018) focuses on change management and the role of coaching in change initiatives. 

When you're working with a Coach you want to move from A to B sooner rather than later right?

Are you maximising the time you spend with your Coach? Here are some tips for you...

If you're about to start searching for a new role it can be tempting to launch straight into the application phase; simply adding your current position to your existing CV and firing it off to recruiters and adverts. Whilst I admire the energy and drive, it's not the best approach. Taking a little time at the start of the process to complete key foundational stages will pay dividends in the form of; greater responses, more interviews, more choice and better offers.

Application groundwork completed, it's time to move on and craft a killer CV. Let's dive straight in.

Cover letters should be short and carefully constructed. If you provide essential information, highlighting what's key for the person reviewing applications, you'll secure yourself a first stage phone call if not a full blown interview.

Interviews are both an art and a science. Success boils down to Preparation, first impressions, Q&A and finishing strong. Let's look into part 1 of 4 - preparation and top tips for proactive job seekers. Benjamin Franklin says it best "by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail"

Interviews are both an art and a science. Success boils down to Preparation, first impressions, Q&A and finishing strong. Let's look into part 2 of 4 - first impressions and top tips for proactive job seekers. Ok, so you're uber passionate about the opportunity, you've drunk an obscene amount of coffee, you've; researched, questioned, followed, reviewed and everything inbetween. The CEO of the organisation can't possibly know as much about the place as you do. All of that is great....unless you balls the whole thing up in the first 5 minutes of pleasantries! It's not game over if you do but it will be an uphill climb from the unpleasantries.

Interviews are both an art and a science. Success boils down to Preparation, first impressions, Q&A and finishing strong. Let's look into part 3 of 4 - Q&A and top tips for proactive job seekers. Ask questions about the opportunity and what the person or panel are looking for in terms of skills and experience. The more you understand the needs of your interviewer/s the easier it becomes to select the right examples and responses from your experience. The Q&A is all about them understanding you, you understanding them and how well everything fits together. It's a small window and performing well is a skill in itself. Read on for more support...

Interviews are both an art and a science. Success boils down to Preparation, first impressions, Q&A and finishing strong. Let's look into part 4 of 4 - finishing strong and top tips for proactive job seekers. You're confident you've made a good impression. There's talk of the next stage, rapport and laughing. It's about as picture perfect as an interview can be.

Watch out! Complacency at this point in the process kills job offers.

It's very easy to think 'phew, thank god it's over'. It's natural after all that hard work and nervous clock watching. However, if you're still in the presence of your interviewer you're still being assessed. Have you considered your interview technique at this point in the process? Have you chosen your mindset and set your intention?

Competency based interviews assess how likely you are to be competent at something based on your previous experience and past behaviour. If you're well prepared it's a great opportunity to showcase your skills and capabilities.

This guide will help you develop methods for successfully answering unanticipated questions in the heat of the moment.

Frequently asked questions about coaching. If you have any further questions please don't hesitate to ask.