Mindfulness at Work

Are you a confident person?

Are you a confident person?

A lot of people ‘fake’ being confident but sometimes their language can give them away.  An interesting article by Bernard Marr highlighting the language of less confident people.  It has received a lot of interest.

10 Phrases truly confident people don’t use by Bernard Marr

While I agree with Bernard Marr, I have also noticed that people who are very direct sometimes use this style of language to try to soften their messages. What have you found? read more

By Alison Wem, ago

Life Lessons: 3 key lessons to appreciate your team

Life Lessons: 3 key lessons to appreciate your team

Much has been said about Theresa May over the weekend by people more eloquent than myself.  My observation is that she is having to learn some hard life lessons in a very public manner about the value of working as a team.  No matter what your political views may be, Theresa needs our compassion as she learns these lessons.

In the middle of leading a large change programme, I was unexpectedly widowed and survived that period in my life through acts of kindness at work and at home. Over night my whole value base shifted to fully recognise the importance of people.  This was not just for my husband, who sadly I had lost, but also for the value the other people in my life brought. These are the values I believe we need for innovative, creative leadership to be successful. They are ones Theresa May is having to learn very publicly – the value of a team working together, the different individual contributions team members can make and learning to listen to people. read more

By Alison Wem, ago

Innovation culture for growth: does your company have it?

Innovation culture for growth; does your company have it?

Companies need to grow to be healthy but the key question is;

 “how do you grow, and how do you grow in a way that adds value?”

John Danner, co-faculty director of the UC Berkeley Executive Education program The Start-Up Mindset ,  says that;

” in some circumstances, growth for growth’s sake doesn’t always lead to success, that some growth might actually destroy value. The key to value-added growth is having an innovative business culture — a culture of full engagement and involvement from your people.” read more

By Alison Wem, ago

Innovation: is your company staying ahead?

Are you and your company innovating?

Today’s dynamic marketplaces necessitate that leaders perpetually innovate to remain competitive.  Successful companies – such as Microsoft and Apple expect innovation and leadership at all levels, bringing the benefits of;

  •  improved performance
  •  innovation in everything that is done
  •  inspired teams that deliver great things.

Kill the myth that innovation is something somebody else does.

 A mindful leader is someone who embodies leadership presence by cultivating focus, clarity, creativity and compassion to reach common goals that maximize the well-being of all stakeholders. read more

By Alison Wem, ago

Google HQ, London

Googlers new London home: designed for their well-being

Many of you will have seen the reports this week on the plans submitted by Google for their new HQ in Kings Cross, London.  Known for being an innovative and forward-looking company, according to the plans Google has designed in recreational space to;

“ensure the health and wellbeing of staff and foster the innovation and creativity that defines the company”

Google recognizes that the formal desk is not always the place where someone has their most inspirational thoughts.  Often these occur when the conscious brain is sufficiently engaged with activities such as running, walking amongst trees, swimming, enjoying an amazing view that your thoughts from your sub-conscious brain can be heard. read more

By Alison Wem, ago

Women: do they make good coaches?

When I started my career in IT, I was often the only woman on the team.  What I observed was that men operated differently and I had to learn to adapt to a new set of team social rules.  In my experience men are;

  • much more direct
  • may even shout at you when irritated
  • not hold a grudge afterwards.

Having a mentor to help with this learning became an imperative for me and was enormously beneficial.

If like me you are in the second half of your career, you may have ruminated on how you operate in the workplace.  Meeting up with a former manager from my youth, he reminded me how when I first worked for him I did not speak up in a group situation, even when he knew I had some good ideas.  This is not an uncommon trait in a woman at work. read more

By Alison Wem, ago