Help other people  to believe in themselves and hold a positive attitude

Notice and recognize the efforts and improvements of others

Acknowledge set backs or mistakes by finding what they have learnt and support in a positive future focused manner

Showing individual as well as team appreciation is essential for all the contributions they make.

Show others at your workplace that you really care! Radiate a positive influence on their busy work lives by giving them encouragement just because…

Show genuine interest

Accept and value your team members

Respond with something unexpected.  Out of the blue. That’s when the maximum impact is delivered. Such acts can reach them at an emotional level and our brains are hard wired to respond to emotional things.

Support your boss by cheerfully assuring team members that his intentions are good

Small ways  to encourage other people are powerful; verbally, notes, or through your behavior towards them.

It is a simple act of support which we all need. “Encouragement” however so often is forgotten about. When I ask  managers what motivates them most– they say that they miss being appreciated and encouraged. They may feel pressurised to measure up to what has been set as their performance target. So very often coaching is used as part of the way managers are encouraged to become more productive. It can be seen as a great investment in an under performing person however why do so many leaders fail to carry out the simplest and easy of acts?

Encouragement could have a great effect and be a  powerful stimulus for creative ideas, novel solutions and a positive workplace.

I remember my Mentor saying that one word of encouragement in the times of challenge or struggle is worth more than one word of praise or appreciation during times of success. Let’s face it we all face times of self- doubt, fear, failure. Hold onto humility.

If we always stick to the acknowledged best practice we may indeed be stagnating in this crucial time. What I refer to is the team leader, middle manager or first level executive who has always followed the organisational protocol and how there is space for initiative and innovation to came into play, in a climate of shifting sands. Remember those on the ground have a lot to offer as they gather the day to day facts of how team morale is fairing. Managers who listen can develop new ideas of how to motivate team members, engage with fresh clients by following the feedback from those out talking to customers. To gain that critical level of collaboration, a company must have developed a broad capacity amongst its leaders to influence across and upwards, usually without direct reporting authority.

Coaching sessions offer a safe place for such new ideas and observations to develop and reflection on influencing strategies can be designed with clear goals. Collaboration between and amongst various levels of management may occur in fresh new ways as long as communication is clear, open and based on trust.

Who do you hold as a role model?

Which of the greatest  global leaders leads from a place of collaboration and transparency?

As a leader are you resilient or resistant?

I send you all an invitation to spend a coaching session looking at who you are as Leader in these turbulent times.

                                           Lucy, CEO, Voluntary Sector

“ Mindfulness In May” 16th –18th May 2012 Wood Fen Lodge near Ely.

This annual retreat is a celebration of Spring in a mindful way. This is a mid-week opportunity to step aside from your daily lives and learn how quietning the mind relaxes the body and refreshes your thinking.

Experience the mindfulness practice in the fresh air whilst walking, eating delicious organic meals, smelling spring flowers and being in a state of quiet awareness.Experience for yourself the deeper connection with self and the world we live in.

This is a Rest of Your Life retreat led by Executive  retreat Coach Dorothy Larios.

£265 for shared ensuite room and full board

£345 for single ensuite room and full board

 Holistic treatments charged separately

Thermae Spa

For more than 50 years, Gallup scientists have been exploring the demands of a life well-lived. More recently, in partnership with leading economists, psychologists, and other acclaimed scientists, Gallup has uncovered the common elements of wellbeing that transcend countries and cultures. This research revealed the universal elements of wellbeing that differentiate a thriving life from one spent suffering. They represent five broad categories that are essential to most people:

• Career Wellbeing: how you occupy your time — or simply liking what you do every day
• Social Wellbeing: having strong relationships and love in your life
• Financial Wellbeing: effectively managing your economic life
• Physical Wellbeing: having good health and enough energy to get things done on a daily basis
• Community Wellbeing: the sense of engagement you have with the area where you live

  While 66% of people are doing well in at least one of these areas, just 7% are thriving in all five. If we’re struggling in any one of these domains, as most of us are, it damages our wellbeing and wears on our daily life. When we strengthen our wellbeing in any of these areas, we will have better days, months, and decades. But we’re not getting the most out of our lives unless we’re living effectively in all five.

  Although these elements are universal across faiths, cultures, and nationalities, people take different paths to increasing their individual wellbeing. For many people, spirituality drives them inall these areas. Their faith is the most important facet of their lives, and it is the foundation of their daily efforts. For others, a deep mission, such as protecting the environment, inspires them each day. While the things that motivate us differ greatly from one person to the next, the outcomes do not.

  What differentiates a thriving life from one spent suffering?

  by Tom Rath and James K. Harter, Ph.D.

  Adapted from Wellbeing: The Five Essential Elements (Gallup Press)

 From an article by Duke Corporate Education – “Leading In Turbulent Times” 2008

“For many organisations, retention of key talent goes
far beyond remuneration packages and perks. Earning
employee loyalty relates directly to the leadership promise.
The leaders at MTN and Ferrari , two companies known for
the commitment of their staff, present great examples”

I spoke earlier about what leaders need to model to their employees. The first measure of the day  is from the sight of your boss walking in to the office. Body language, facial expressions, daily dressing and personal grooming are the first clues as to what the day may bring. Never underestimate the subtle energies that  poor self management gives away!

Will today be the day for redundancies? He didn’t say good morning perhaps he had a sleepless night!

• Leaders need to be aware of self-management;  control showing the signs of anxiety, tension or moodiness.
• Take time to be as natural in your daily process as you usually are and encourage and re-assure those with whom you have contact.
• Communicate regularly, clearly and allow for questions to be asked. Don’t ask someone else to deliver your messages.
• Listen for rumours, heresay and individual concerns in your work force.
• Appreciation, inclusion and collaboration are to be encouraged as the foundations for ongoing commitment.

Managers and leaders at all levels must be able to demonstrate to their teams and to each other the emotional and personal benefits of being a part of the organisation. During turbulent times that is especially important for the high-potential talent who will otherwise be the first with the opportunity to leave when markets improve. It is also even more important that leaders and managers be sufficiently empowered and energized to challenge upwards.  To gain that critical level of collaboration, a company must have developed a broad capacity amongst its leaders to influence across and upwards, usually without direct reporting authority.

Next time -Influence to lead upwards and across.

Why do we associate the colour yellow with Spring?
The colour yellow exudes brightness, light, vitality, energy, optimism, willingness to grow and outshine. Sun, stars, sunflowers and daffodils are the objects that mostly are associated with the colour yellow.

Yellow is considered to be a cheerful colour due to its close colour relationship with the sun. Yet, yellow is a colour that has mixed meanings. Despite the perception of yellow as a happy color, it is the least favorite colour chosen by people to wear. On the positive side, it is the yellow flowers that bloom first in the spring: crocus, daffodils and forsythia.Yellow combines well with nearly every other color.Bright yellow is by far the easiest color to see – just like the sunflower fields of Kansas, yellow symbolizes spring and summer, warmth and vitality.
So is it always so wonderful in nature?
On the down side, yellow can also mean sickness, particularly jaundice. It is the color of the flag used to indicate that a ship at sea is in quarantine due to an epidemic of illness. In nature, yellow is a warning, usually of poison.

So whatever it means to you, welcome yellow into your garden and allow it to cheer the recovering dullness of winter.

Whenever I hear this expression I wonder why we indeed have been given such a diverse range of emotions! If we have a half full cup we are meant to be optimistic. If on the other hand we see that our glass is half empty we are presumably a pessimist with negative thoughts and feelings.

Thank goodness we are blessed with a capacity to experience a whole range of positivity and negativity throughout one whole day. I do believe that it is better to live life with a positive spin: as long as you can cope with the down times in a realistic way and sustain a healthy way of life.

Of course we all know how draining it is to be around a continually negative person or someone who is in a dire situation right now. However the biggest antidote to doom and gloom can be a glimpse of sunshine. Accept it as the reality of now and please believe nothing stays the same for long. Change is the only thing guaranteed and tomorrow can never be the same as today.

Keeping Yourself Strong through Tough Times

• When over –loaded take one action each day. Small steps are better than none.
• Do not cut yourself off. There are groups, clubs and activities to join which can give you a break from your thinking.
• Ask for help. We need to be able to ask others for help. Often family do not want to appear as if they are interfering in your life.
• Eat properly; regular meals are so important when you are feeling pressurised. Fruit pies, vegetable soups, yoghurts and fresh orange juice
• Get out into the fresh air every day; get out of the house, office, college and breathe in, clear your head.
• Let go of the fear of not having money. Enjoy what you do have and buy what you need and practice letting go of the worry as this can make the picture much worse. If worrying about money served us in anyway, there would be no financial difficulties. Worry however feeds a distorted mind. There is help out there for those in debt so research it.
• Read sensible books “Feel the Fear And Do It Anyway: How to Turn Your Fear and Indecision into Confidence and Action” the bestsellers by Susan Jeffers.
• Don’t over believe everything the media tells you.
• Try to find something to laugh about each day and share it with someone less well off than you.
• Count one thing that you are grateful for before you sleep at night.

Remember  “This too will Pass.”