Category Archives for "presence"

How to cope better with disappointment

It happens to us all. The news you didn’t want, the job offer that didn’t come through. Being side-lined or overlooked when the value you give is so patently obvious. When something disappointing happens, it’s hard not to take it deeply personally. To want to make it about ourselves. To fall into a pit of introspection about what did […]

What if your greatest challenge is your greatest gift?

Mother’s Day was a challenge this year. My eldest son has been struggling with some big emotions and on the day, our best laid plans lay tattered on the floor. There were tears, sadness, dismay, frustration (and I’m not saying from whom!) I felt bad for my wife, concerned for my sons and I’ll admit it, feeling somewhat […]

Is this the cost of success?

I’m curious, is success secretly killing your relationship? So many people that I work with speak about this. They are often driven leaders in tech, who are crushing their results, see their careers go from strength to strength. But those steps often come with a hidden cost, often showing up in their relationships with family and loved ones. How will […]

4 ways to take your team (and your relationships) to the next level

He held his head in his hands in frustration. The level of effort and commitment to move this organisation forward was immense. And yet Charlie felt so let down by his partners who seemed to drop the ball all the time. He struggled to stay calm and maintain his composure. Inside he was boiling with anger, wanting to call […]

When I get confident, I’ll do the thing

Dan was desperate. He stared into his coffee feeling tears of frustration prickle behind his eyes. The warmth of the cup was little comfort.   The thought of another frustrating conversation with his boss where nothing ever changed filled him with despondency. His energy felt sapped. This wasn’t his idea of fun anymore. He knew a change was needed but with […]

How to cure the curse of ‘do do do’

I found myself rushing again. I could feel the heat growing in my chest. The tension building in  my forehead. My mental to do list had taken on Sisyphian proportions (you know the endless pushing of the boulder to the top, just to have it roll down to the bottom again.) In that rushing, I wasn’t paying attention. To what […]

Is this the simplest route to success in any field?

I was very much into cycling in my teens and twenties. I wasn’t the fastest or the fittest, but I was always pretty good at climbing hills. It was the same for running. I wasn’t much of a sprinter but I could go long distances. For a long time I didn’t make much of this capacity but recently I […]

Are you ignoring the Check Engine light?

Imagine if you were wrongly accused of fiddling the books. That your life and livelihood were put into serious question. Your reputation trashed. Your standing and wellbeing undermined, without just cause. How would you feel? What would you do? How would you cope with having your truth ignored, challenged, dismissed? If you’re in the UK and you’ve been following the Post Office […]

It’s like eating junk food

This week one of my clients was sharing how they had spent some time on a shared business trip with another colleague in discussion about a leader in their business. The conversation, and I’m sure you’ll recognise the type, because we all have them from time to time, focused on what was wrong or challenging in […]

Your message is dumb, he said

This was the conclusion to a terse exchange between me and someone I’d reached out to on a social media platform. It was the end of a pithy back and forth after their first reply to me had seemed to be derogatory both to me and a particular profession. Of course there are so many potential responses […]