leadership coaching

Here’s to 2024

A big thanks to everyone who’s connected, engaged, messaged and networked with me in 2023; it’s been a fascinating year. Have a great and relaxing break. See you round the corner in 2024.

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Growing Success for Startups

Growing success for startups Starting and growing your business can be exhilarating and fun. It can also be scary and very hard work. This can take a toll and unfortunately in the UK around 60% will fail in the first three years. How can we make it easier for these budding organisations to succeed? We need to understand why they fail. There’s an HBR article that lists common reasons which Read More

Good Governance is Foundational, not Optional

A post by Executive Coaching Associates: In ESG, a lot seems to be said about the E, some about the S and little about the G. But all are equally vital: Within the broader environmental, social and governance (ESG) debate, governance often lands as the poor relation. It is seen as the dull end of the stick and too much about control, paperwork and saying ‘no’. There is no getting Read More

Breaking Through

There are days everything seems to be going well in a business. Other days, well… Running a business of any size is complex and often difficult. It’s no surprise that sometimes the challenges can seem huge and possibly insurmountable. By continuously worrying at the challenge, we can get stuck in our approach, even blinkered and often we don’t realise it. This is the bit to address. Here’s a suggestion or Read More

Changing Perspective

A Change of Perspective can often help… These days, challenges can come thick and fast in business and that can be a real positive. A challenge can make us think in different ways and try different approaches. And we learn and grow from that. Sometimes though, the challenge right in front of us can seem really hard to address. So here’s a couple of mental approaches to help. • Take Read More

group coaching for startups, scaleups and microbusinesses

Startups and micro businesses form the vast majority of UK companies and they are essential for all our futures as many aim to break the mould, innovate and create. Running a company is another matter. Until you really experience it it’s a closed book, regardless of any previous training. To be able to share questions and ideas with people in similar positions can help. If this is done in a Read More

You’ve been looking at coaching and have decided to give it a try. Question is, how do you choose a coach? Here’s four tips to help.

Many coaches are excellent but as in any profession, not all of them. It helps to have a few basic areas covered first. References Ask colleagues who have had coaching about their coach. Ask a prospective coach if they can provide a reference. If these are good these move to the next step. Membership of a relevant professional body Coaching is unregulated and anyone can wake up in the morning Read More

Is it beneficial if your business coach has both strong creative and business sides?

I would say ‘definitely’ but perhaps from a slightly unusual angle. I’m a chartered engineer and engineering is a massively creative profession. At the core of engineering is design and turning that design into reality. The results are often stunning and endure. Just look at the three Forth Bridges as examples. Engineering is also about problem solving, managing projects, running teams, working with budgets. Areas that every organisation has to Read More

The Art and Science of Thinking Sideways

I’m sure you’ve read Edward de Bono. The originator of the concept of Lateral Thinking. He developed Six Thinking Hats – a way of looking into issues from a range of perspectives in a clear and conflict-free way. It can be used by teams, groups and individuals to move outwith our usual ways of thinking. Of trying out different approaches. Of thinking sideways to move forward. At Lateral Coaching we Read More

The Brick Wall

Trying to break through a brick wall can be hard. There are always challenges in business but sometimes they can feel like a brick wall. However, we don’t always need to smash the wall down to progress. We can become blinkered in these circumstances – snag is, we may not realise it. To get past the wall we can take off the blinkers by mentally taking a deep breath and: Read More