Giving honest and direct feedback is an essential part of being an effective leader. Honest feedback says that you care about a person's development, you care about the work that they do and you want to help them improve because you value them.

In this week’s episode, I share why feedback is so important, why psychological safety is foundational to a positive and constructive feedback environment, and the five key elements to giving constructive criticism to a team member.

HELPFUL LINKS

• Authority Magazine Article - Giving Feedback; How To Be Honest Without Being Hurtful
• Ep 25: How to disagree with people more senior than you
• Ep 21: Handling negative feedback like a pro

ORDER MY BOOK

“Closing The Influence Gap: A practical guide for women leaders who want to be heard” is now in paperback and on Kindle.

Closing the Influence Gap empowers women leaders to successfully navigate the workplace, leading their way and changing it for the better. It...

More women in senior management and leadership positions is win-win-win. For women, for organisations and for workplace equality. So how do individuals and organisations create more opportunities to get to the top and thrive there?

This week, I’m pleased to be speaking to Jodi Flynn of Women Taking the Lead. Jodi is an executive leadership coach, speaker, host of the critically acclaimed Women Taking the Lead podcast and author of the Amazon bestseller ‘Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing’.

Listen for:

• The four common struggles women experience when promoted to senior leadership
• How empowering team and delegating more makes you more promotable
• What organisations can do to support more women into leadership positions
• A discussion on women’s rights and equality in work and society

MORE ABOUT JODI

Jodi works with organisations to support their women leaders to develop the skills needed to grow into and thrive in senior leadership. She...

First off, a huge thank you to everyone who supported the book launch for Closing the Influence Gap which went straight to the top spot in Leadership and Management on Amazon Kindle.

In this week’s episode, I speak with Felicity Dwyer, an independent facilitator, trainer, coach and speaker who specialises in communication and leadership skills about how we can create connection when we communicate.

We discuss:

• How to stay calm and connected in difficult conversations
• How to truly listen to another person
• Why your body is important in communication

MORE ABOUT FELICITY

Felicity Dwyer helps individuals and teams to connect and communicate, so that people feel heard and understood.

Her clients include charities, small businesses, membership bodies, and public sector health and heritage organisations. She is the author of “Crafting Connection: Transform how you communicate with yourself and others”. The book introduces Felicity’s Connecting in 3D...

Meetings are a part of every job and the higher you progress in your career, the more meetings you need to attend. But are all meetings necessary and are they achieving a specific outcome for your team, project or organisation?

In this week’s episode, I’m joined by Mamie Kanfer Stewart, a coach and consultant who trains teams and organisations to develop a healthy and productive meeting culture.

We discuss:

• How to establish whether you need a meeting and the alternatives to holding one
• Ways that leaders and participants can prepare for meetings effectively
• How to chair meetings inclusively for different personalities and thinking styles 
• Different approaches to running successful hybrid meetings

This episode is packed full of practical tips so make sure you note them down and put them into action in your team!

MORE ABOUT MAMIE

Mamie Kanfer Stewart learned about organizational culture and management from her family business--GOJO Industries, inventors of...

You don't need fixing. You're not broken. And there's nothing wrong with you.

In fact, the thoughts and feelings you're having and the challenges that you're facing at work are completely normal.

Not only do I want you to know that, I also want you to understand why you might be feeling that way.

In this week’s episode, I talk about the systemic gender bias that women face at work and how the daily experiences of being undervalued, unheard and not fitting in causes many women to doubt and criticise themselves, and question their worth.

HELPFUL LINKS

• E 99: The authority gap with Mary Ann Sieghart
• The Authority Gap: Why We Still Take Women Less Seriously Than Men
• Ep 84: Breaking the bias
• Why Men Win At Work – Gill Witty-Collins

JOIN THE BOOK LAUNCH SQUAD

My book - “Closing the Influence Gap: A practical guide for women leaders who want to be heard” – is launching on Monday 19 September. I would love you to be part of my Book Launch Squad,...

Are you an overthinker? Perhaps you ruminate on past situations, worry about future events or are fearful of the judgement of others?

This re-release of one of my most popular podcasts with Tahirih McLaren-Brown is for you.

Overthinking can affect both our work and personal lives as well as how we show up with confidence as a leader. Our thoughts also directly impact the levels of daily stress we experience and how quickly we can recover from it.

We discussed:

• What mindfulness is and how it can benefit you
• How you can have more awareness and control of your thoughts and emotions
• What you can do if you’re feeling worried or anxious about returning to the office
• Ways you can handle uncertainty and even embrace it
• A quick mindfulness exercise you can do anywhere to instantly ease your stress

If you’d like to learn the Four Step Pause that Tahirih shared and get access to seven days of guided meditations for overthinkers, you can find those here.

 ...

If you are more comfortable talking about your team's achievements than your own, then this re-release of episode 28 is a must listen!

I am joined by Stef Sword-Williams, Forbes 30 under 30, TEDx speaker and author of F*ck Being Humble. Stef is on a mission to change the way the world views self-promotion and encourage people to be unapologetically proud of their achievements. 

In this episode, we talk about the fear of sounding stupid, how to get paid what you are worth and how to network in a digital world.

MORE ABOUT STEF

Stef Sword-Williams is an entrepreneur, author, public speaker, community builder and the founder of F*ck Being Humble

Stef is on a mission to change the way the world views self-promotion. Originally started as a side hustle, F*ck Being Humble is now a global consultancy, online community, book and event series that teaches people how to be unapologetically proud of their achievements.

• Read: F*ck Being Humble
• Visit Stef’s Website
  Follow on ...

In this week’s episode, I’m sharing a simple piece of wisdom that’s helped me to shift my mindset and be happier. This has been so valuable for many of my clients and will really help you in your career and life.

JOIN THE BOOK LAUNCH SQUAD

My book - “Closing the Influence Gap: A practical guide for women leaders who want to be heard” – is launching on Monday 19 September. I would love you to be part of my Book Launch Squad, get the book on the Amazon best-sellers list and get free access to my new career development community!

To join the Book Launch Squad, all you need to do is sign up at the link below and then on Monday 19 September, buy the book on Kindle for the special price of 99p and share it with as many people as possible.

Join the Book Launch Squad here

MORE ABOUT THE CAREER DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY

The career development community I'm creating for women is almost ready to pilot. My aim is for it to be an all-in-one...

I love listening to podcasts and find them a source of inspiration for my work and life.

This week, I'm sharing 5 of my favourite non-leadership podcasts, an impactful episode and some of the lessons I've learnt from them.

1. Beyond Busy hosted by Graham Allcott

Episode: How To Stop Trying To Do Everything with Oliver Burkeman (7 January 21)

Listen here

2. Feel Better, Live More hosted by Dr Rangan Chatterjee

Episode 269: How To Eat Your Way To Better Health by Dr Rupy Akjila

Listen here

3. We Can Do Hard Things hosted by Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach and Amanda Doyle

Episode 94 & 95: Elizabeth Gilbert on Grief and loving an addict

Listen here

4. Postcards from Midlife hosted by Lorraine Candy and Trish Halpin

Episode: Your Midlife Brain Explained with Kate Muir

Listen here

5.   The Greg McKeown Podcast

Episode 39: Nir Eyal on How to be Indistractable

Listen here

Other podcasts I recommend:

• Good Life Project
• Ten Percent Happier
• ...

Have you ever experienced workplace bullying or harassment? It happens in many organisations but is all too often ignored, dismissed or swept under the rug, with victims being silenced or leaving when they are brave enough to speak up. 

This week, I speak to Marie Hemingway, the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Speak Out Revolution - a non-profit organisation with a mission to cancel the culture of silence on harassment and bullying in our workplaces.

We discuss: 

• How Speak Out Revolution is bringing transparency and a voice to workplace bullying and harassment
• How leaders can start to address workplace bullying and harassment in their organisation
• Why employee experience data, allyship training and leadership development are essential for building an inclusive working environment

Speak Out Revolution have a global Speak Out Survey where you can document your experience of workplace harassment and bullying. This anonymous data is then used to provide...