Mindfulness at Work

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

Mindfulness at work

Finding your Inner You

Many of us have two halves to our lives – work and home.  In your home life you can easily choose to experience more mindfulness and being present in your life.  We can also practice meditation, yoga, reiki which are all good for your body and soul.  The question is;

“How can you bring mindfulness into your hectic business day where your schedule is often not your own?”

This series of articles aims to give you some ideas, hints and tips to be used in your work life.  The first is; read more

By Alison Wem, ago

Women in leadership roles

The UK economy needs two million new managers for it to achieve its predicted growth.

Women could contribute to filling the gap in leadership skills.  The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) has launched CMI Women with the aim of achieving gender equality and to help employers to unlock more value in the UK’s workforce.

In many organisations women outnumber the men at junior levels yet the CMI’s 2016 National Management Salary survey shows just 43% of management roles are held by women.  1.5 million new female managers are needed by 2024 to achieve a 50/50 split between men and women. read more

By Alison Wem, ago

Why gender equity is good

Great article from Judy Marks, CEO Siemens US about strengthening the workplace culture through gender equality.  Companies with 30% or more women in their teams are 6% more profitable.  Diversity of thought, perspectives, talent, and backgrounds that women bring is a competitive asset.  To achieve greater gender equity mentoring is important plus learning the key skill of being a great negotiator.

Read the full article for yourself at;

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-gender-equity-good-business-judy-marks read more

By Alison Wem, ago

Soul development

Great article by Richard Barrett on how humans go through various stages of flourishing their soul.

Richard Barrett FRSA. Richard is an author, speaker and internationally recognised thought leader on the evolution of human values in business and society. He is the founder and chairman of the Barrett Values Centre. He is also a Fellow of the World Business Academy, Member of the Council of the Centre for Integral Wisdom, Honorary Board Member of the Spirit of Humanity Forum, and Former Values Coordinator at the World Bank. read more

By Alison Wem, ago

Changing face of leadership

Changing Face of Leadership

Our world is changing as witnessed by the Brexit vote, the election of Donald Trump in the U.S. and Italy’s decision not to accept the proposal for reform to governance leading to Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s resignation.

Mark Carney speaking in Liverpool’s John Moore University warned that people will reject free and open markets unless something is done to help those left behind by the financial crisis and globalisation.

“Globalisation is associated with low wages, insecure employment, stateless corporations and striking inequalities.” read more

By Alison Wem, ago

Unilever Wellbeing Zones

Gone are the days when resting on the job was considered lazy and unproductive. Recent Psychological and scientific studies say sleep health leads to greater employee innovation, productivity, job satisfaction and quality of life.

Well done Unilever for launching a Wellbeing Zone at your corporate offices – a space for mindfulness, meditation, rest, and recovery. Read more in the article below.

https://journal.thriveglobal.com/the-importance-of-rest-for-sustained-high-performance-37addbe1883f#.bm7pr1cfk read more

By Alison Wem, ago