About
Are leaders born or shaped? Around here, they’re both.
The world needs great leaders.
Businesses need great leaders.
Teams need great leaders.
The good news? You’re on track to become one of those great leaders.
The bad news? Leadership development tends to focus more on what makes a great leader than how to actually become it.
Recent Blog Posts
A reflective look at senior leadership wellbeing—what happens when pressure pushes you from your centre, and how to return to steadier ground with humanity and clarity.
A practical look at how executive presence and physiological coherence strengthen clarity, influence, and resilience. Learn how senior leaders can show up with steadiness and strategic focus in high‑pressure environments.
Executives don’t avoid coaching because they lack time — they avoid it because pressure narrows their thinking and compresses their capacity. Coaching creates the space leaders need to regain clarity and strengthen the psychological resources that drive effectiveness. External coaches add unique value: they sit outside organisational politics and assumptions, offering the distance needed to challenge patterns and expand perspective. The problem doesn’t shrink — the leader expands. And the real question becomes: What is the cost of continuing to lead without this support?
Adaptation vs. Transformation: Why It Matters for Small Business Leaders Ever feel like you’re “everything for everyone” in your business? Adaptation keeps the ship afloat — but true transformation means evolving with intention. In this post, we explore why survival mode can quietly reshape your identity, how personality shifts under leadership demands, and why executive coaching helps you lead from choice, not obligation. Discover practical insights, research-backed strategies, and timeless wisdom from thinkers like Carl Jung and Peter Drucker. Adaptation is the engine. Transformation is the compass.
Resilience has quietly become the defining currency of modern leadership. In a world where pressure is constant and complexity is rising, it’s not strength or speed that separates effective leaders, it’s their ability to stay grounded, think clearly, and recover quickly. Neuroscience shows that stress can narrow our thinking, push us into reactive patterns, and blunt our ability to make good decisions. Resilience does the opposite: it widens perspective, protects cognitive capacity, and keeps leaders curious rather than defensive. In that space, better choices, and better leadership, become possible.
Metacognition — the ability to think about how we think — is a powerful skill for better decision-making and emotional regulation. But true reflection isn’t just in the head; it’s embodied. mBraining expands metacognition by integrating three intelligences: head (analysis), heart (values), and gut (instinct). This whole-person approach helps us pause, notice patterns, and choose responses that are creative, compassionate, and courageous. In a fast-paced world, learning to align these intelligences can transform how we lead, learn, and live.
The first snowflakes drift past your window, and the world feels hushed—like a page waiting to be written. Amid the sparkle of fairy lights, expectations and family pressures can weigh heavy. What if this season wasn’t about perfection, but presence? Imagine your life as a Christmas tree, each ornament a choice, a moment, a feeling. You decide what shines. With loving curiosity, as Grant Soosalu teaches, and a heart anchored in grace, you can let go of comparison and embrace peace—the most precious gift under the tree.
When it comes to decision-making, we often find ourselves torn between what our head tells us and what our gut feels. In this post, I explore how mBraining—a powerful approach that integrates neuroscience and coaching—can help align our head, heart, and gut for wiser, more coherent choices. Drawing from a real-world infrastructure project where team cohesion was critical, I share insights on how tuning into whole-body intelligence can transform leadership and collaboration. Read on to discover practical tools and a fresh perspective on leading with clarity, compassion, and courage.
In fast-paced project environments, reflection isn’t just a personal habit—it’s a strategic tool. One effective way to embed it into team culture is through SOFT reporting. This format—Success, Opportunity, Failure, and Threat—helps teams capture insights, assess risks, and drive accountability. With a focus on both achievements and challenges, SOFT reports support timely decisions and continuous improvement. They’re especially useful in complex, goal-driven organizations where collaboration and progress tracking are key.
Discovering the wonder of loving ‘wondrously’ “Without wonder and insight, acting is just a trade. With it, it becomes creation.” (Bette Davis) “The whole Earth is full of awe at your wonders” (The Bible, Psalm 65) “I think to myself: what a wonderful world!” (Louis Armstrong) These three quotes, taken from very different sources, all [...]
In a world filled with distractions and pressures from work, relationships and societal expectations, it’s easy to lose touch with what it truly means to love our life. We often view love as something we either have or lack, something given to us or withheld. But what if love isn’t a thing at all? What if love is something we actively do? This insight has been central to my journey through Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), mBraining and Positive Psychology, which together offer a powerful roadmap to a more fulfilling life.
Remember the tension of waiting for your school report card? Just like those evaluations, setting and assessing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in project management is essential for tracking progress and achieving success. KPIs help you determine if your project is on track, ahead, or needs adjustment. Effective KPIs are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timebound (SMART), providing clear guidance for your team. Regular evaluation ensures that you can address issues early, make necessary adjustments, and drive continuous improvement. Dive into this blog to discover how to set meaningful KPIs and evaluate performance effectively, ensuring your project hits its targets and thrives.
People pleasing might seem like a strategy for smooth sailing in team dynamics, but it often masks deeper issues and unresolved conflicts. While trying to accommodate everyone can appear noble, it can lead to personal stress and unspoken resentment, ultimately undermining project success. Conflict, though uncomfortable, is a natural part of teamwork and can actually drive progress when handled constructively. By embracing conflict as an opportunity for growth and using effective resolution strategies, teams can enhance collaboration and find innovative solutions. It’s time to rethink the role of people pleasing and focus on mastering conflict management to build stronger, more resilient teams.
Building trust, respect, and rapport is essential for any successful project team. Rapport goes beyond just getting along—it’s about creating a deeper connection that fosters understanding and cooperation. When team members respect each other’s contributions and trust is established, collaboration becomes seamless and productivity thrives. Simple actions like active listening, open communication, and valuing individual strengths can transform team dynamics. As Steve Jobs once said, “Great things are never done by one person; they’re done by a team of people.” This holds true in every project, large or small.
When setting goals for any project, success begins by defining clear, actionable objectives that everyone can follow. Stephen Covey’s advice of "starting with the end in mind" reminds us to visualise the outcome first, then map out the steps to achieve it. The SMART framework — Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely — helps avoid vague goals and keeps teams aligned and accountable. Combining this with insights from head, heart, and gut thinking can create objectives that are logical, inspiring, and grounded in real-world experience, ensuring both individual and collective progress.
Inspiring Growth: Mastering Feedback in Project Management Ever heard the phrase ‘there is no failure, only feedback’? This perspective encourages us to see setbacks as opportunities for learning. Icons like Michael Jordan and Oprah Winfrey faced early failures but used feedback to fuel their success. By embracing this mindset, we can transform feedback into a tool for growth rather than a source of fear. The GROW model, developed by Sir John Whitmore, offers a structured approach to feedback, focusing on Goals, Reality, Options, and Will. This method promotes constructive performance discussions, fostering improvement and motivation. Whether giving or receiving feedback, maintaining a growth-oriented perspective and ensuring psychological safety are key to turning challenges into opportunities for success.
Unlock the power of asking "why" to elevate your project management skills and stimulate critical thinking. Discover how open-ended questions can inspire deeper insights, foster collaboration, and drive success in your projects. Explore Simon Sinek's "Golden Circle" and learn how to effectively integrate "why" into your leadership approach for transformative results.
How often do you find yourself drifting away while someone is speaking, only to realize you missed crucial information? This can be annoying in casual settings but devastating in project management. Discover how active listening can enhance your professional interactions and boost your team's performance.
In the fast-paced world of project management, the skills of a coach can make all the difference. Coaching in project management is not just about providing guidance—it's about fostering growth, enhancing team dynamics, and ensuring clear communication. By integrating coaching techniques, project managers can elevate their leadership, improve team performance, and navigate complex challenges with ease. Discover how the roles of project managers and coaches overlap and complement each other, transforming projects and driving success.
In today's fast-paced world of project management, success is not merely about ticking off tasks from a to-do list; it's about fostering a culture of growth, collaboration, and innovation. At the heart of this evolution lies the transformative power of coaching. Picture a project environment where every team member is not just a cog in the machine but a thriving individual empowered to reach their full potential. This excerpt explores how coaching, with its blend of guidance, support, and empowerment, is revolutionizing project management practices, propelling teams towards unprecedented levels of success. Join us on a journey where projects are not just completed—they're empowered
In trauma-informed coaching, where the delicate balance of trust and boundaries shapes the landscape of every session, coaches must navigate with both sensitivity and clarity. As we explore the intricate dance between building rapport and maintaining professional distance, it becomes evident that these two elements are not opposing forces but rather complementary pillars supporting the coaching journey. Trust, the cornerstone of any fruitful coaching relationship, permeates every interaction, infusing it with authenticity and vulnerability. It is the bedrock upon which clients feel safe to explore their deepest fears, confront their insecurities, and embark on the journey of self-discovery. Yet, alongside trust, boundaries stand sentinel, delineating the space within which this exploration occurs, safeguarding both coach and client from potential harm. Let us delve into the intricacies of fostering trust and establishing boundaries, essential components of trauma-informed coaching that pave the way for transformative growth and healing.
Explore the profound influence of adverse childhood experiences on adult coaching outcomes. Discover how early life events shape personalities and resilience levels, impacting emotional wellbeing and interpersonal connections. Delve into effective strategies for navigating trauma-informed coaching, including insights from the polyvagal theory. Contact us to learn more about empowering coaching approaches tailored to individual needs.
Are you GROUNDED in your coaching? How to look after yourself and build emotional resilience Often during coaching, a simple question to a client can produce the most unexpected reply. This can be while introducing a whole new topic, or following up on a previous answer. This development can take the conversation along a new [...]
How to help people stop unhealthy habits from getting in the way of healthy change “There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't [...]
The most wonderful time of the year? Trauma, triggers and resources at Christmas and New Year In the run-up to Christmas, the bustling streets, colourful TV adverts and office chatter about who’s doing what for the ‘big day’ can all imply that the festive season is unremittingly happy and exciting for everyone. However, this is, [...]
What is trauma, and why is trauma-informed coaching so important? Trauma is a word that has gained traction in recent years. It describes a lasting emotional response that can often result from experiencing a distressing event[1]. Trauma can go on to affect a person’s sense of self, feelings of safety, ability to regulate emotions and [...]
Not what it seems? How to reframe thoughts, turn negatives into positives and change your beliefs through NLP “I started dating a zookeeper – but it turned out he was a cheetah[1].” This quip from comedian Lorna Rose Treen was voted Dave’s Funniest Joke of the Fringe 2023 in Edinburgh earlier this year. Funny and [...]
Body talk: how to use body language and rapport to build effective relationships It can hardly have escaped your attention that many of the messages we communicate to others are non-verbal. There have been many studies carried out on the subject, including an often-cited model from Dr Albert Mehrabian. He postulated that communications can be [...]
Harness your self-confidence with NLP for better performance at work and greater happiness at home Self-confidence is strongly connected to self-esteem and the way that we view and think about ourselves. Low self-confidence can stop us from enjoying life to the full, or trusting that we can overcome challenges and take on exciting new opportunities. [...]
Getting the message across: how NLP models can help strengthen presentation skills When it comes to working on presentation skills, there are many useful tools out there. From clever tactics to calm nerves ahead of standing up to speak in public to theories that lay out the different ways that people take in information, would-be [...]
The power of negotiation – how to get what you want while remaining friends with the other side The delicate art of negotiation is about more than just getting your way. However, it is also not about rolling over and acquiescing to every demand in pursuit of a quiet life. When it comes to working [...]
Using NLP techniques to boost sales skills in the field NLP in the workplace is a concept that is growing in popularity. Its focus on improving communications, replicating excellence and changing thinking, behaviours and attitudes[1] make it a clear partner for business success. One area in which NLP can make a particular difference is sales [...]
Modelling and Mentoring – and why they matter Is ignorance bliss? Are we better off not knowing some things? Or is openness, honesty and the quest for knowledge more important for our personal wellbeing and growth? In Grant Soosalu’s book about positive psychology, mBIT and NLP, Avoiding the Enemies to Happiness, he tells us that [...]
It takes two (or more): Why it’s worth listening to other people The author, Mark Twain once said: “When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old [...]
What is a growth mindset? Why do we want one? You will probably have heard the term ‘growth mindset’ and have been told that it is something that you ought to be aspiring to. Certainly, it is gaining traction in the business world. However, like so many buzzwords, not everyone knows exactly what a growth [...]
How to set realistic goals and stick to them even when it’s tough! Another exam season is upon us and teenagers across the country are studying in preparation. Elsewhere, many hundreds, if not thousands of people are gearing up for their part in what will be the first Coronation of a British monarch for seven [...]
Mightier than the sword? The power of the written word The power of language and words cannot be disputed. The things that we write about ourselves and other people have the potential to shape and affect many lives. At any one time, there will be several stories in the media about arguments over what one [...]
How to talk to others about the difficult stuff and remain on good terms Our voices have always been incredibly effective communication tools, right from our prehistoric days when stories were told around the fire about hunting trips and warnings were shared about woolly mammoths approaching the cave. When we talk, we gain a sense [...]
Blue Monday: is it time to ditch the New Year Resolutions? How have you welcomed in 2023? Have you started the year off with some pretty big goals and new years resolutions? Many of us spend some time at Christmas and New Year reflecting on the year that has passed and the year that lies [...]
Mental health and seasonal stress in the run-up to Christmas Have you done your Christmas shopping yet? How many people have you got coming for Christmas lunch? What’s your favourite Christmas advert on TV? So many questions at this time of year, but how often do we stop and ask people how they are feeling [...]
Getting the Balance right Over the last few years, we have had to navigate many different things. From economic volatility to climate change; armed conflict to COVID-19, uncertainty has plagued the world. In fact, it continues to do so as we work through the reality of these global issues in our own working and [...]
Reading between the lines Do you remember when you were at school and the teachers kept on talking about reading and how important it was? Reading seemed to be a huge part of our schooldays, from learning our letters and sounding out words through to reading longer and longer books as we progressed through the [...]
Supporting family and loved ones through their mental health challenges It is estimated that around one in four people experience mental health challenges every year.[1] While we can all experience times when we feel down, worried or upset, if these types of feelings continue for a long time, or get worse, this can seriously affect [...]
How to protect your mental health when faced with new beginnings Despite arriving well into the second half of the calendar year, autumn is a season closely connected with new beginnings for many of us. The most obvious link is the start of a new academic year, as schools, colleges and universities start back again [...]
The role of sleep in mental health It’s hardly headline-grabbing news that sleep is essential for the human body to recharge, stay healthy and fight off diseases. If we don’t get enough sleep, our brains cannot function properly and our concentration, memory and focus all suffer as a result[1]. Adults need around seven to nine [...]
FOMO, photos and followers: how to use social media without harming your mental health During the pandemic, we turned to technology to help us maintain our connections with the outside world. From Zoom meetings to Houseparty quizzes, we became used to seeing colleagues, friends and family pop up in little boxes on our screens. A [...]
Protecting your mental health while living with grief There is a somewhat glib saying, attributed to Benjamin Franklin in 1789, that nothing is certain in life except death and taxes. However, there is another very important inevitability to mention, which is that we will all experience the loss of a friend or loved one through [...]
Money makes the world go around… but what happens when it all goes wrong? According to an article in the Independent last month, the Royal College of Psychiatrists is calling for a £300m investment to fund an ‘unprecedented challenge’ around growing mental health concerns amongst the country’s population[1]. A ‘perfect storm’ of the fall-out of [...]
Are you mentally ill or very unhappy? Back in February 2022, Sophie McBain – associate editor at the New Statesman – courted controversy by writing an article exploring whether the current rise in people seeking professional help with their mental health is a result of a rapidly unfolding healthcare crisis. Or whether it is simply [...]
Young and carefree? Not necessarily so… It is estimated that around one in ten young people between the ages of five and sixteen are diagnosed with some form of mental health concern every year[1]. Seventy-five per cent of mental illnesses are thought to manifest themselves before the age of 25[2]. The Covid-19 lockdowns exacerbated the [...]
The lonely planet? When loneliness tips over into social isolation Earlier in May, I wrote about Mental Health Week and its central theme of loneliness. I explored how loneliness can exist in many different forms and locations, including at work, out in the community, and online. Just because we are surrounded by people, that doesn’t [...]
Protect and Connect to Combat Loneliness Organised by Mental Health UK, this annual initiative throws a much-needed spotlight on the challenges that many people face with mental health and wellbeing. Awareness events such as this are powerful weapons in the fight to destigmatise talking about mental health and asking for help when it is needed. [...]
Suicide First Aid: caring for the carer, understanding the issues and looking after your needs “ ‘Begin at the beginning’, said the King, gravely, ‘and go on till you come to the end: then stop.[1]’ ” We move, in the final article in our series about Suicide First Aid, away from William Shakespeare and towards [...]
Suicide First Aid: supporting older people through loneliness, bereavement and physical health concerns “The sixth age shiftsInto the lean and slippered pantaloonWith spectacles on nose and pouch on side;His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wideFor his shrunk shank; and his big manly voiceTurning again towards childish treble, pipesAnd whistles in his sound[1].” So, [...]
Suicide First Aid: juggling the challenges of adulthood “…and then the lover,Sighing like a furnace, with a woeful balladMade to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier,Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pardJealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,Seeking the bubble reputationEven in the canon’s mouth[1].” As we continue down the soliloquy given [...]
Suicide First Aid: supporting young people with their mental health “One man in his time plays many parts, His act being seven ages. At first the infant, Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms; And then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel And shining morning face, creeping like snail Unwillingly to school.” So says the [...]
Suicide First Aid: mental health, trauma-led care and what to say Making connections between suicide and mental health issues may not be as straightforward as one might initially imagine. It is not always the case that, in order to contemplate suicide, you must be experiencing fragile or negative mental health. In fact, fewer than 5% [...]
Suicide First Aid: separating the facts from the myths and media misrepresentations It is a fairly well-known fact that men are statistically more likely than women to die by suicide in England – three times more likely, in fact – according to UK charity, Samaritans.[1] Males aged between 45 and 49 years have the highest [...]
Nature’s guide to post-lockdown life As the UK is emerging from the lockdowns and starting to venture out into a more social way of being again, it is my hope that some of the changes to our lifestyles won’t fade with the excitement of getting back to some semblance of normality. Over the last couple [...]
Embracing the joy Last Spring, I wrote about the COVID-19 pandemic, and the importance of protecting our mental health during a period of uncertainty. The drastic change to our lifestyles brought multiple challenges to us all, whatever stage of life we are at. Twelve months on, however, we have also had time to reflect on [...]
And they all lived happily ever after When I was six or seven years old, if someone had asked me what my favourite fairy tales were all about, I’d have said princes and princesses, magic spells, enchanted kingdoms and wicked witches. The stuff that little girls’ dreams are made of (perhaps with the exception of [...]
Go with the flow ‘Free as a bird’ by The Beatles; ‘Born free’ by Matt Monro; ‘I want to break free’ by Queen; ‘Freedom’ by Pharrell Williams... There are so many songs with ‘free’ or freedom’ in the title – there was even an English rock band called ‘Free’ in the late 1960s, early 1970s [...]
Nobody’s Perfect – but you can come pretty close! I was browsing in a charity shop on holiday a few years ago when I came across a rather quirky ornament. It depicted three owls sitting in a tree. Two were sitting upright on the branch, while the third one was hanging upside down next to [...]
Connecting the dots “Your toe bone’s connected to your foot bone Your foot bone’s connected to your heel bone Your heel bone’s connected to your ankle bone… … Now hear the word of the Lord” So the lyrics of the catchy spiritual song, ‘Dem Dry Bones’ tell us.[1] Our bones are all connected to each [...]
The art of excellence-ing Kintsugi is an ancient Japanese art that involves repairing cracked and broken pottery with seams of precious gold.[1] The gold accentuates the appearance of the pot at the same time as bringing the broken pieces back together, making it while again. Although the pot will never look the same, its gilded [...]
As the pandemic has continued, discussion around domestic violence has increased. Awareness of the risks associated with people having to stay at home more, being away from their usual support services and networks and experiencing higher levels of pressure and anxiety is rising. This week (1-7 February 2021) is Sexual Abuse and Sexual Violence Awareness [...]
They say that you cannot pour from an empty glass, so any leader seeking to support their team’s mental health must first pay attention to their own feelings and state of mind to ensure that they are strong enough to take on the role of supporting other people
Stay home. Protect the NHS. Save lives. These three short instructions have appeared everywhere in the UK over the past few months as the ‘powers that be’ figure out how we can all work together to fight the Coronavirus. The phrases have not been thrown together randomly. The aims have been kept simple and compelling [...]
2020 has been a year like no other, with its rollercoaster of lockdowns, tier restrictions and vaccines appearing on every news cycle, alongside infection rates and number of deaths. Businesses have been tested and stretched, having to reinvent themselves, change processes, source new PPE and implement redundancy processes. All that on top of preparing for [...]
Rudyard Kipling’s iconic poem, If was written in 1895 and has been quoted countless times ever since as an example of what strong character looks like. He penned the famous lines when he was just 30 years old, a year after completing another famous work, The Jungle Book, and several years following a difficult childhood [...]
At the start of this month, legendary American singer-songwriter, Johnny Nash passed away at the grand old age of 80. Arguably his most famous song was the 1972 reggae hit, I can See Clearly Now. The lyrics included the assertion that ‘I can see all obstacles in my way…” It’s a lucky leader who can [...]
Authentic leadership is something that the vast majority of people would agree is a desirable thing. To be authentic is to be open, ‘real’ and guileless. People should be able to know where they stand with someone who is considered ‘authentic’. However, how many of those people who admire authentic leadership would be able to [...]
There are many people out there who subscribe to the ‘passionate leadership’ school of management – that having a strong zeal for what you do is crucial if you want to be successful. While passion is certainly a key component for anyone seeking satisfaction at work, when it comes to leadership, it is also beneficial [...]
Back in early 2017, the then Prime Minister, Theresa May commissioned an independent review into how employers can support people with poor mental health or well-being to remain in work and to thrive and grow as part of their team. The result was a detailed study of the situation around mental health and employees across [...]
Last month saw Mental Health Awareness Week take place with several organisations producing helpful resources, news stories and social media content, all designed to shine a spotlight on what has become a serious issue facing workplaces around the world. From occasional feelings of ill ease and lack of confidence to more long-term issues such as [...]
Would you be shocked if I referred to loneliness as a pandemic? In fact, research shows that loneliness is killing more people than we as a society dare to admit. We are living in a world that has never been more connected. We have access to social media, email, Zoom, networking groups and masterminds. We [...]
The coronavirus pandemic has shone a light on not only the importance of protecting our physical health, but messages about preserving our mental health are now gaining traction on social media, news outlets and in general conversation. Prince William has thrown his weight behind the subject too, working on various mental health awareness campaigns, video [...]
It is key for Leaders to know about the impact of maternal mental health on the workplace. To put it into context, here are some staggering statistics: One in five women reportedly develop mental health issues during pregnancy or within the first year of parenting[i]It is estimated that maternal mental health problems cost the UK [...]
In just a few short weeks, UK life as we know it has changed beyond recognition. Schools, shops and workplaces have shut down. People are told to stay at home unless they need to go out for one of a set of very specific reasons and students and workers across the land are finding out [...]
‘To Your Own Self Be True’ Many of today’s social media trends are turning towards being more compassionate towards each other. It’s no coincidence that the term #bekind started circulating so widely after news broke of a popular TV presenter taking her own life in early 2020. Suddenly, our minds were sharply turned towards how [...]
How can we be confident of making the right decision in this rapidly accelerating world?
