• ARE YOU TAKING HOSTAGES?

    ARE YOU TAKING HOSTAGES?

    Do you know where Stockholm Syndrome comes from?  In August 1973 a bank robbery at the Sveriges Kreditbank in Stockholm didn’t go as planned. The bank robbers held four employees hostage in the bank’s vault for six days. A weird thing happened over those six days.  The hostages began to form a bond with their… Read more

  • WHAT GOT YOU HERE…

    WHAT GOT YOU HERE…

    A few years ago I was working with a CFO who had come to me for advice on how to deal with her direct reports.  She felt that they were not meeting her expectations, that she had to closely monitor them and their work, that she couldn’t trust them to do it her way, that… Read more

  • THE ART OF THE ‘DIFFICULT CONVERSATION’

    THE ART OF THE ‘DIFFICULT CONVERSATION’

    As a manager you will have had occasions I’m sure where you knew you needed to have a chat with someone in your team but you just didn’t do it.  These situations can pop up at any time and often we might let the opportunity to address the issue slide right by.  Why do we… Read more

  • HOW DO YOU MAKE YOUR COFFEE?

    HOW DO YOU MAKE YOUR COFFEE?

    The office has a coffee machine for anyone to use, its one of the perks (pun intended) of the workplace.  We want everyone to be on their A game, and a caffeinated team is a productive team right? That’s a theory anyway. The coffee machine is one of those that has the water reservoir at… Read more

  • HOW LONG IS TOO LONG IN THE ONE JOB?

    HOW LONG IS TOO LONG IN THE ONE JOB?

    One of the biggest issues for employees is “lack of career advancement” opportunities in their organisation.  Almost every employee engagement survey will score poorly on this metric.  Most people want to be able to progress and advance within their own organisation. It’s understandable, this is the place where they are building their expertise and technical… Read more

  • BECOME MORE PRODUCTIVE BY DOING LESS…

    BECOME MORE PRODUCTIVE BY DOING LESS…

    Do you ever feel like you have just got too much on your plate?  Every time the phone rings, or you check your emails, or someone from your team walks into your office, you end up with more things to do.  You find yourself working back late or taking work home.  Your sleep starts to… Read more