The private sector is lagging behind the public sector in addressing employee well-being. According to the CIPD ‘Absence Management’ annual survey report 2011 only 1/3 of private sector companies have employee well-being strategies in place compared to 2/3 of public sector organisations. Yet with an average absence of 7.7 days per employee per year, a rise in ‘presenteeism’ and stress related absence increasing over the past year, isn’t it time to start taking a pro-active preventative approach to employee health and well-being? Surely it makes business sense? http://www.cipd.co.uk/binaries/5632%20Annual%20AbMan%20SR%20(WEB).pdf
Kate Gare
Tuesday, 31 January 2012
Friday, 27 January 2012
From Calamity to Calm in 60 Seconds
- Stop what your doing
- Become aware of heart rate, breathing rate, fast movements
- Calm everything down by slowing down your movements and your breathing
- Relax your muscles
- Focus on something in the present moment; what do you see or hear? what's the temperature like?
- Think about a person, place or memory that reminds you of calm
- Then go about your business feeling refreshed and ready
For more tips on how to find calm, come along to one of our free lunchtime sessions:
Claire Brooker
Wednesday, 25 January 2012
Got to be Perfect
Perfectionism is a trait that can actually get in the way of us achieving our full potential. We use up so much time and energy on trying to achieve the unattainable that we lose sight of what is important.
There is a story which illustrates this perfectly – in some countries, there are master weavers who produce the most amazing carpets and rugs you can imagine. They take years of working hard as apprentices before they are skilled enough to become master weavers. Once they have reached that level, each carpet or rug they produce, however intricate and beautiful has a fault purposely woven into it. This is because according to the weavers, only Allah is perfect and if you try and achieve perfection, you are trying to achieve the status of a god.
Next time you are striving for perfection, stop and review what you are doing - does it do the job? Is it good enough? Take some time to recognise what you have achieved and congratulate yourself for it, instead of focusing on what you haven’t done. You will find you have more energy and time to be creative and productive throughout your day.
Helen Harding
Monday, 23 January 2012
Coaching for Performance
In his brilliant book, 'Coaching for Performance', John Whitmore tells a story that powerfully illustrates how Coaching can enhance Performance. The Royal Tournament was a military show that used to be held annually in London. One of the events was called the Field Gun Race, in which teams from different branches of the Royal Navy competed to carry a gun and carriage over an assault course. It required great strength, and injuries were often sustained during training.
Joe Gough, trainer for The Fleet Air Arm Team, participated in a two day Performance Coaching course run by David Hemery, former winner of a gold medal at the Olympics, and John Whitmore. Consequently Joe Gough decided to alter his style of training incorporating coaching principles he had learnt, which differed from the traditional autocratic approach. The result was that the Fleet Air Arm Team won all five major event trophies; a result that had not been achieved before. They repeated this achievement for the next two years! The team practised less and received fewer injuries, putting their success down to Joe Gough’s approach, feeling they were treated as equals, as he was asking their opinions and actually listening and taking on board their comments. For instance when they were tired and felt that they could not practise any more that day, they said so, and were told to put the equipment away, feeling motivated to give their all the next day. Coaching for Performance is powerful!
Simon Pimenta
Joe Gough, trainer for The Fleet Air Arm Team, participated in a two day Performance Coaching course run by David Hemery, former winner of a gold medal at the Olympics, and John Whitmore. Consequently Joe Gough decided to alter his style of training incorporating coaching principles he had learnt, which differed from the traditional autocratic approach. The result was that the Fleet Air Arm Team won all five major event trophies; a result that had not been achieved before. They repeated this achievement for the next two years! The team practised less and received fewer injuries, putting their success down to Joe Gough’s approach, feeling they were treated as equals, as he was asking their opinions and actually listening and taking on board their comments. For instance when they were tired and felt that they could not practise any more that day, they said so, and were told to put the equipment away, feeling motivated to give their all the next day. Coaching for Performance is powerful!
Simon Pimenta
Friday, 20 January 2012
Management for Peak Performance
Approaches to Management include:
1 Micro Managing
2 Hands off
3 Managing for Performance
Micro managing: being a control freak who enjoys exerting and abusing power, has a detrimental effect on staff morale. In a study 33% of those interviewed left their job because their boss was a micro-manager.
Taking a hands off approach can be at best well intentioned, at worst lazy. It can demotivate staff, leaving them feeling that the boss doesn’t really care or isn’t that interested in their team.
Managing for Performance is about building a genuine trusting relationship with employees, and creating a positive working environment. This often results in improved performance of employees and satisfied customers!
Simon Pimenta
Wednesday, 18 January 2012
Sorry isn't the hardest word!
‘Sorry’ will be said 368 million times today and mainly by women reported Stylist Magazine at the end of last year:
But does it really matter that women are more apologetic than men? And surely it’s a sign of good manners? According to research this one little word can have a huge impact on women in the boardroom and how they are perceived by male colleagues. Sometimes ‘sorry’ is the only word to say, but often there are many other words that are more conducive to success and happiness!
Kate Gare
Monday, 16 January 2012
Six Ways to Take Charge of 2012
Check out this blog post by Stephen Covey from http://www.successmagazine.com - i hope it inspires you too!
New year, new outlook. Stephen Covey, one of the most prolific leadership authors of our time, says there are six things you can do right now to make 2012 your best year ever:
- Be proactive.
It's more than just taking initiative. It means being responsible for your own life. Empower yourself to lead and spread your influence no matter what position you hold. - Sharpen the saw.
Decide what's truly important. Sharpen your saw early in the day by learning to say no to the unimportant and yes to the highly important. - Seek to understand before seeking to be understood.
It's human nature to want to be understood, but when both parties are trying to be understood, neither party is listening. By making the investment to understand the other party, you can magically transform the course of your conversations. - Begin with the end in mind.
Start today with an image of the end of your life as the frame of reference by which everything else is examined. With a clear idea of where you are going, examine everything in the context of what matters to you most. - Develop a vision mission statement.
Get a deep sense of your life's mission, purpose and value system, then establish your goals and a system of accountability that keeps you on track. - Think win-win.
There is enough success for everyone, so don't view another person's success as success achieved at your expense or exclusion.
Claire Brooker
Thursday, 12 January 2012
John Garnett - Peak Performing Teams
Many years ago, I had a number of meetings with the late John Garnett (CBE), ICI’s first Head of Communications and former Director of what was the Industrial Society, now called the Work Foundation.
He told the story of a Technical Manager at ICI called McCloud who was able to achieve great performance with whatever department he ran, whether it was Research and Development, Marketing or Sales. He got results in each of these departments where others had failed. Staff were working evenings and weekends. John Garnett was expecting to receive requests from employees requesting to be moved out of his department, but instead people were requesting to be transferred into the department! People said that they enjoyed working for McCloud, he trusted and developed his staff, delegated to them and they achieved things that they didn’t think that they could. John Garnett set out to discover how this Manager achieved these results and his work at the Industrial Society included showing organisations how to replicate peak performance.
In future blogs, I will share some of the strategies that John Garnett believed were essential strategies for developing peak performing teams.
Simon Pimenta
He told the story of a Technical Manager at ICI called McCloud who was able to achieve great performance with whatever department he ran, whether it was Research and Development, Marketing or Sales. He got results in each of these departments where others had failed. Staff were working evenings and weekends. John Garnett was expecting to receive requests from employees requesting to be moved out of his department, but instead people were requesting to be transferred into the department! People said that they enjoyed working for McCloud, he trusted and developed his staff, delegated to them and they achieved things that they didn’t think that they could. John Garnett set out to discover how this Manager achieved these results and his work at the Industrial Society included showing organisations how to replicate peak performance.
In future blogs, I will share some of the strategies that John Garnett believed were essential strategies for developing peak performing teams.
Simon Pimenta
Wednesday, 11 January 2012
Banish stress from your work this year!
Stress is a common feature of most people's working lives at the moment whereas easy access to effective solutions is rarer.
Use these top tips from the UK's leading personal development expert Phil Parker to banish stress from your work this year. You can reduce stresses by a combination of identifying what the problems are, avoiding getting stressed about things as much of as possible in the first place and reducing and releasing any stress that you pick up through the day.
Identify what things are stressing you
Start by making a list and then prioritise. If changing one thing would massively reduce the stress load then focus on that to start with.
The only exception to this rule is if the major stress is something that is difficult to change so for instance if you wish to change a job but it's not quite the right time of year to do that then you will have to accept that you will have to stay in your current employment for while. In this case simply making a commitment to make the change and putting a plan in place will often feel like enough of the change to reduce how stressed you feel about it. Stress is maximised by not knowing what to do about a situation.
Reduce stress
If you are getting stressed about something at work like a project or a deadline try this simple technique:
Picture the stressful thing in your mind and as soon as you do that have it speed off into the distant horizon; see it getting smaller, shrinking, becoming paler, blurred and more indistinct. Notice how that changes how you feel about it now.
If you have work colleagues that you get stressed about try this simple technique:
The Fish head; picture a colleague that annoys you or upsets you, but additionally imagine they have a large flatfish perched on top of their head! It gently flops about whilst they talk, although they are completely unaware of it. Notice as you see this in your mind how that changes how you feel about them now.
Release stress
Spend some time every day just breathing and focusing on relaxing thoughts, and above all remember to focus on the things that are really important. Many of the things that you're stressing about at the moment will just disappear and no longer seem hugely relevant in just a few weeks or months, and in a few years time you're barely remember them at all.
Phil Parker
Use these top tips from the UK's leading personal development expert Phil Parker to banish stress from your work this year. You can reduce stresses by a combination of identifying what the problems are, avoiding getting stressed about things as much of as possible in the first place and reducing and releasing any stress that you pick up through the day.
Identify what things are stressing you
Start by making a list and then prioritise. If changing one thing would massively reduce the stress load then focus on that to start with.
The only exception to this rule is if the major stress is something that is difficult to change so for instance if you wish to change a job but it's not quite the right time of year to do that then you will have to accept that you will have to stay in your current employment for while. In this case simply making a commitment to make the change and putting a plan in place will often feel like enough of the change to reduce how stressed you feel about it. Stress is maximised by not knowing what to do about a situation.
Reduce stress
If you are getting stressed about something at work like a project or a deadline try this simple technique:
Picture the stressful thing in your mind and as soon as you do that have it speed off into the distant horizon; see it getting smaller, shrinking, becoming paler, blurred and more indistinct. Notice how that changes how you feel about it now.
If you have work colleagues that you get stressed about try this simple technique:
The Fish head; picture a colleague that annoys you or upsets you, but additionally imagine they have a large flatfish perched on top of their head! It gently flops about whilst they talk, although they are completely unaware of it. Notice as you see this in your mind how that changes how you feel about them now.
Release stress
Spend some time every day just breathing and focusing on relaxing thoughts, and above all remember to focus on the things that are really important. Many of the things that you're stressing about at the moment will just disappear and no longer seem hugely relevant in just a few weeks or months, and in a few years time you're barely remember them at all.
Phil Parker
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
Bulletproof Yourself
Self management is not always the easiest thing to maintain when it comes to our demons – the concerns, phobias, stresses etc. that plague our lives. Some of these things can hold us back and keep us from achieving our potential as well as at times making our lives a misery. Start the new year by challenging these. By learning new strategies that will allow you to thrive and master your fears in all situations. Start the New Year with P4 training and unleash your potential.
Bulletproof yourself and do a brilliant New Year with the revolutionary self coaching strategy.
Helen Harding
Bulletproof yourself and do a brilliant New Year with the revolutionary self coaching strategy.
Helen Harding
Friday, 6 January 2012
INVITATION - Relaxation Sessions
Hi Ladies and Gents,
Happy New Year to you! 2012 is going to be a great year - I can feel it in my bones! And to make it even better Simon and I are offering FREE 30min Lunchtime Relaxation Sessions every Monday. We know the start to the year can be stressful and we'd like to help. You'll leave the session feeling calm, energised, focused and ready to take on the rest of your afternoon.
Our first one is on Monday 9th January and we would love to see you there. Alternatively, if you know a friend or colleague who would be interested, please invite them too. Remember if you can't make next Monday, these sessions will be available every Monday lunchtime.
Practical details:
Time: Every Monday, 1.00-1.30pm
Location: The Phil Parker Group Head Office, River Plate House, 7-11 Finsbury Circus, London EC2M 7DH
Any questions?
Please get in touch and I will be happy to answer them.
Places are limited to 12 guests each week so booking in advance is recommended. To book, please email me (claire@philparker.org) or give me a call/ text (07809 615395).
Let's keep calm and carry on and make 2012 an amazing year for us all!
Warmest Wishes,
Claire Brooker
Wednesday, 4 January 2012
Peak Performance Strategies
Research by IBM shows that we remember things best when we are involved in the learning process and that the least effective way is just being told.
Told Told & Shown Told, Shown & Experienced
Recall after 3 weeks 70% 72% 85%
Recall after 3 months 10% 32% 65%
So what are the implications of this?
Getting the most out of your staff means developing them, which involves developing their belief in themselves. Being a great manager means being a great coach. Simply telling people what to do doesn’t develop the skills of the employee. It may take longer to take the time to show them how to do something, or get them to do it for themselves and learn by trial and error, but this research shows that this is more effective longterm as more people retain what they have learnt for longer.
Being the all-powerful dictator and just telling people what to do may give the impression that you are in control, but the result of this approach is reduced performance from staff and this might lead to stress, resentment and reduced self-confidence which won't enhance performance!
Simon Pimenta
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
1 minute to… Increase your happiness
These tips are taken from my research into happiness. I’ve spent time talking in depth to thousands of deeply depressed and unhappy people and also to thousands of happy people. It probably comes as no surprise to find they look at life quite differently. Here are the top tips from the happy folk (mostly, the deeply unhappy people did the opposite!):
1) The more present we are to being in ‘this moment’ the more we move away from the distractions of the past or future that stop us experiencing happiness.
2) Ask yourself “What’s really important in my life right now?” Think big, less of ‘the washing up has to be done’ and more of ‘spending time with those I really care about’.
3) Focus up on the good. Make a scrapbook of your happy times; look through it and add to it everyday.
4) Hang around happy people and limit your exposure to ‘happiness vampires’.
5) Plan to have fun, and seize the opportunities that spontaneously arise.
How many of these do you currently practice? How much do you recognise these in others who have the happiness you want? Do you have any other tips? Please let me know!
Happy New Year!
Phil Parker
1) The more present we are to being in ‘this moment’ the more we move away from the distractions of the past or future that stop us experiencing happiness.
2) Ask yourself “What’s really important in my life right now?” Think big, less of ‘the washing up has to be done’ and more of ‘spending time with those I really care about’.
3) Focus up on the good. Make a scrapbook of your happy times; look through it and add to it everyday.
4) Hang around happy people and limit your exposure to ‘happiness vampires’.
5) Plan to have fun, and seize the opportunities that spontaneously arise.
How many of these do you currently practice? How much do you recognise these in others who have the happiness you want? Do you have any other tips? Please let me know!
Happy New Year!
Phil Parker
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