We talk about networking as though it is something which comes naturally to some people. Are you a good networker, is a question people often ask. But like many things it is a skill which can be developed. Often people think of networking as being all about how we build up contacts and make best use … Read more
I found a completely new idea, startling me as I considered it, and it appeared in a fascinating conversation with a colleague. We had co-created it. I am looking for the point of balance between head and heart. It’s the dance between the known and the unknown. I have written before about the way in … Read more
I was asked recently how it is possible to create real impact. How does anyone create a larger than life presence so that they can truly make a difference? There is a huge literature on the idea of the charismatic leader. Some argue that this charismatic nature is born into the person and manifests as … Read more
Spinoza said, “Nature abhors a vacuum”, by which he meant that empty or unfilled spaces are unnatural as they go against the laws of nature and physics. If we create a vacuum, nature will conspire to fill it. What does this have to do with coaching? There are many ways in which we can use … Read more
If you have encountered pay scales in the NHS, you will be aware that they were overhauled a few years ago. This was done using something called the Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF) which was the basis on which comparative grades were built up in the service. The theory was that skills could be compared … Read more
The model which follows was developed in a coaching session with a client who was experiencing a process of massive change for the organisation that she was leading. At these times it is often difficult to see ‘the wood for the trees’. One can easily feel overwhelmed with the volume of work that needs … Read more
I am in the middle of a few hours working on the ‘Archetypes at Work’ manuscript. I have pushed the word count up to 18,000 words which is really encouraging. I have just used a quote from Bartok: “What is new and significant must always be connected with old roots, the truly vital roots that … Read more
The brain works best when it has a pattern to recognise. When we are young this is how we multiply the capacity to learn. Rather than seeing everything as fresh and having to decode it, we search through our neurone connections for something that resembles what we are seeing. So, when we see a dog, … Read more
There are two principles which have helped me to increase my productivity recently. They occurred to me during a coaching session. The inbox isn’t our work For those of us who spend a lot of time working with email it is easy to become caught up in the illusion that the inbox is the workplace. … Read more
This post describes a technique which I developed a few years ago as part of my PhD thesis: The work of the Archetypal Psychologists was grounded heavily in the culture and ethos of the renaissance, particularly the Italian Renaissance. For example, James Hillman and Thomas Moore both make frequent references to the work of Marcilio … Read more