Coaching matters

Over the years, I’ve given a lot of thought to language and communication including how our early experiences and cultural differences impact on language style and approach. Growing up in South Africa and a family dynamic that encouraged challenge of the status quo (or, to put it a different way, didn't let sleeping dogs lie!) is one influence on my coaching approach and encourages me to encourage coaches to notice the difference between being direct and being directive. In this post, I explore this idea and why it is so important for leaders to not put too much of themselves in the water.

Do you dread review season? Is the panic to gather feedback, searching through emails and calendars to piece together a picture of past performance a familiar scene? I share my ideas on how to get the most out of the process.

This past year has been a year of digging deep and going the extra mile for others. This month we’re reminded of the need to demonstrate our love for others. In this post, I’ll share my observations and tips for how you might show yourself some self-compassion too. Not only will it improve your mental health, it’ll make you a stronger leader too.

This past year has been a year of huge change, challenge and transition for all of us. So much feels out of control, but there are so many ways in which we can support ourselves.

This year reminds me an awful lot about the film Groundhog Day. The movie is billed as a fantasy comedy. 'Fantasy' and 'comedy' would not be the words I'd use to describe this year (!). It did, however, prompt me to think about how we break free of the monotony and take steps towards a unique, fulfilling live that we love.

I am a professor of existential therapy. Over the years, I have published several books and numerous papers on the subject. Not many people know that I have been engaged in a different sort of writing for pretty much my whole of my adult life - mainly (unpublishable) novels.

My parents always encouraged my sister and I to experience the world. They wanted us to be open-minded, to understand that the way we lived wasn’t the only way to live.

Many of us experience life as a spinning wheel. Inevitably, and more than once, the wheel slows, and we gain a different perspective on life.