The riskiest behaviour I’ve engaged in – and I bet you have too
I don't think of myself as much of a risk taker. I'm generally fairly cautious - no high risk investments, Vegas holidays or adventure sports for me. But recently I've noticed just how risky some of my behaviour can be. I guarantee some of yours is too. To illustrate, let me tell you about my garden. When we moved into our house 20 years ago, the small garden was very basic - a scrappy lawn with some flower beds round the edges. Despite being a novice gardener, I wanted something grander. I wanted a stately home garden in a matchbox. ...
How should we address climate change at work? Part 2 – let’s talk about it
In November I wrote the first of a two-part series looking at the climate crisis in a work context. It explored the psychological barriers that stop us even thinking about the subject and ended with a promise that next time I'd explore what we should actually do. It's taken me four months to reach the conclusion that I don't know. And actually, that's ok. Why would I know when everyone's situation is so different? But what I have realised is that we need to normalise talking about the climate at work. Having spoken to a lot of people who have ...
How should we address climate change at work? Part 1 – thinking about it.
This is the first of a two part series on the key topic of our age, the climate crisis. Specifically, looking at it in the context of work. Your immediate reaction might be "Really, do I have to? It's bad enough when it's on the news and I have got quite a lot on right now". I get it. I feel similar. But here are two reasons why I think it's worth looking at the subject: It will affect you Over the next decade or so, maybe sooner, climate change is going to affect everything - geopolitics, the global and ...
What do we mean by resilience? A conversation with a CEO
Resilience. There's a topic that's had loads of airtime over the last year. How resilient are you? How do you improve your resilience? I wrote about it myself just a few months ago. But what do we really mean by resilience – and might some definitions actually be unhelpful? This month's blog was inspired by a conversation with an experienced CEO and non-exec director, Andrew Manning, who contacted me as he has a particular interest in resilience. It's a little different from my usual posts in that it takes the form of a conversation where we explore the topic. Caroline ...
Do we need more blitz spirit?
Blitz spirit. There's a topic I doubt people expected me to write about. But it's been gnawing at me, ever since Maureen from Barnsley was hailed as the Voice of the Nation for saying that we needed to show more blitz spirit during the pandemic. As a concept, I find it both psychologically fascinating and rather irritating. My guess is that responses to the question fall into two* camps: Yes, of course we do. End of story. Oh please, please can we stop banging on about the war? *I guess there could be a third camp of "What's blitz spirit?" ...
Should work be fun?
I nearly made this the last of my workplace myths series but couldn't decide which was the more prevailing myth. On the one hand, the prevalence of ping pong tables in office foyers suggests a contemporary expectation that work should be fun. On the other hand, I've met many a manager (often in finance, interestingly) who believes that, unless people are staring at a spreadsheet in total silence, they're not really working. So who's right? Well let's start at the beginning: What do we mean by 'fun'? I think what people are generally referring to is enjoying themselves at work ...
Myth #6: EQ is more important than IQ
In the latest in my series on workplace myths, I'm turning my attention to emotional intelligence. There are numerous articles out there claiming that, not only is emotional intelligence important, but that, for career success, it's more important than intelligence. But is it? Let's go back to basics: What is emotional intelligence? Emotional intelligence is the ability to: a) recognise and appropriately handle your own emotions and b) tune into others' emotions and respond with sensitivity. These are clearly important attributes, but how do they compare with intelligence in predicting career success? To answer that, you'd have to be able ...
Myth #5: Perfectionism is an allowable weakness
In the fifth of my series on workplace myths, I'm turning my attention to perfectionism. I'm sure you're all familiar with this hackneyed exchange: Interviewer: "What are your weaknesses?" Candidate: "Well sometimes I can get a bit perfectionist about my work". Job done. The candidate smiles inwardly knowing that a) what they really meant was "sometimes I'm just too damn good at my job" and b) it's definitely seen as an allowable weakness. In reality, that response deserves a follow up question, which rarely gets asked - "What strategies do you have in place to manage your perfectionism?" Because perfectionism ...
Myth #4: Female leaders are more nurturing
This is the fourth in a series on workplace myths, those pervasive beliefs that hold a grain of truth but might not be as widely applicable as we think. This one feels very 21st century to me. We've got used to seeing more women in leadership roles (until you get to the very top) and there's a feeling that they bring something different to leadership, something perhaps more suited to the 21st century workplace. But is it true? What do we mean by 'nurturing'? I think a lot of things get wrapped up in the idea of the nurturing leader: ...
Myth #3: Experienced professionals don’t need managing
This is the third in my series on workplace myths - those pervasive beliefs that contain a grain of truth but may not be as applicable as you think. Some of you may be wondering why I'm considering this one as a myth at all. If you've suffered the horrors of a control freak micro-manager, you may long to be left alone to get on with the job. But for how long? When does that absence of management become a problem? Research from a recent conference suggests that, eventually, Absent Leadership really gets people down. Absent leadership is where someone occupies a ...
The riskiest behaviour I’ve engaged in – and I bet you have too
I don't think of myself as much of a risk taker. I'm generally fairly cautious - no high risk investments, Vegas holidays or adventure sports for me. But recently I've noticed just how risky some of my behaviour can be. I guarantee some of yours is too. To illustrate, let me tell you about my garden. When we moved into our house 20 years ago, the small garden was very basic - a scrappy lawn with some flower beds round the edges. Despite being a novice gardener, I wanted something grander. I wanted a stately home garden in a matchbox. ...
How should we address climate change at work? Part 2 – let’s talk about it
In November I wrote the first of a two-part series looking at the climate crisis in a work context. It explored the psychological barriers that stop us even thinking about the subject and ended with a promise that next time I'd explore what we should actually do. It's taken me four months to reach the conclusion that I don't know. And actually, that's ok. Why would I know when everyone's situation is so different? But what I have realised is that we need to normalise talking about the climate at work. Having spoken to a lot of people who have ...
How should we address climate change at work? Part 1 – thinking about it.
This is the first of a two part series on the key topic of our age, the climate crisis. Specifically, looking at it in the context of work. Your immediate reaction might be "Really, do I have to? It's bad enough when it's on the news and I have got quite a lot on right now". I get it. I feel similar. But here are two reasons why I think it's worth looking at the subject: It will affect you Over the next decade or so, maybe sooner, climate change is going to affect everything - geopolitics, the global and ...
What do we mean by resilience? A conversation with a CEO
Resilience. There's a topic that's had loads of airtime over the last year. How resilient are you? How do you improve your resilience? I wrote about it myself just a few months ago. But what do we really mean by resilience – and might some definitions actually be unhelpful? This month's blog was inspired by a conversation with an experienced CEO and non-exec director, Andrew Manning, who contacted me as he has a particular interest in resilience. It's a little different from my usual posts in that it takes the form of a conversation where we explore the topic. Caroline ...
Do we need more blitz spirit?
Blitz spirit. There's a topic I doubt people expected me to write about. But it's been gnawing at me, ever since Maureen from Barnsley was hailed as the Voice of the Nation for saying that we needed to show more blitz spirit during the pandemic. As a concept, I find it both psychologically fascinating and rather irritating. My guess is that responses to the question fall into two* camps: Yes, of course we do. End of story. Oh please, please can we stop banging on about the war? *I guess there could be a third camp of "What's blitz spirit?" ...
Should work be fun?
I nearly made this the last of my workplace myths series but couldn't decide which was the more prevailing myth. On the one hand, the prevalence of ping pong tables in office foyers suggests a contemporary expectation that work should be fun. On the other hand, I've met many a manager (often in finance, interestingly) who believes that, unless people are staring at a spreadsheet in total silence, they're not really working. So who's right? Well let's start at the beginning: What do we mean by 'fun'? I think what people are generally referring to is enjoying themselves at work ...
Myth #6: EQ is more important than IQ
In the latest in my series on workplace myths, I'm turning my attention to emotional intelligence. There are numerous articles out there claiming that, not only is emotional intelligence important, but that, for career success, it's more important than intelligence. But is it? Let's go back to basics: What is emotional intelligence? Emotional intelligence is the ability to: a) recognise and appropriately handle your own emotions and b) tune into others' emotions and respond with sensitivity. These are clearly important attributes, but how do they compare with intelligence in predicting career success? To answer that, you'd have to be able ...
Myth #5: Perfectionism is an allowable weakness
In the fifth of my series on workplace myths, I'm turning my attention to perfectionism. I'm sure you're all familiar with this hackneyed exchange: Interviewer: "What are your weaknesses?" Candidate: "Well sometimes I can get a bit perfectionist about my work". Job done. The candidate smiles inwardly knowing that a) what they really meant was "sometimes I'm just too damn good at my job" and b) it's definitely seen as an allowable weakness. In reality, that response deserves a follow up question, which rarely gets asked - "What strategies do you have in place to manage your perfectionism?" Because perfectionism ...
Myth #4: Female leaders are more nurturing
This is the fourth in a series on workplace myths, those pervasive beliefs that hold a grain of truth but might not be as widely applicable as we think. This one feels very 21st century to me. We've got used to seeing more women in leadership roles (until you get to the very top) and there's a feeling that they bring something different to leadership, something perhaps more suited to the 21st century workplace. But is it true? What do we mean by 'nurturing'? I think a lot of things get wrapped up in the idea of the nurturing leader: ...
Myth #3: Experienced professionals don’t need managing
This is the third in my series on workplace myths - those pervasive beliefs that contain a grain of truth but may not be as applicable as you think. Some of you may be wondering why I'm considering this one as a myth at all. If you've suffered the horrors of a control freak micro-manager, you may long to be left alone to get on with the job. But for how long? When does that absence of management become a problem? Research from a recent conference suggests that, eventually, Absent Leadership really gets people down. Absent leadership is where someone occupies a ...
