I struggle with gathering and using client feedback. Even though I know that it is one of the most effective ways of giving people confidence to work with someone like me. The main reason for this is that, for me the sanctity (I choose that word carefully) of the coaching relationship is my priority. I want my clients to know and to feel that, once they have bought my services, I am literally at their service. I am there to serve them, using my skills, time, attention and presence. If I was...
1 day ago • 1 min read
Hello Friends, I just had a thought. Most days when I write to you I share tips about the things I find helpful or that might help other people. But I do that assuming you have a clear idea who I am, and what I do. So, I thought I'd remove the assumption and tell you. My Background Before becoming a coach, I spent 30+ years in leadership positions. First in the software industry, then in health research. I've held team, site, regional and national management positions. Along the way I also...
2 days ago • 2 min read
We had an interesting discussion in one of my group sessions yesterday. The peerless Katie, who is no stranger to smashing big goals (or wearing fancy dress), chose not to share her annual goals with the group. Manuel, who is one of Europe's up-and-coming uber entrepreneurs was happy to share his. And they are both right. You see, some of us thrive on external motivational cues. If other people are watching us work towards a goal, we find extra effort to prove ourselves to them. Others, like...
3 days ago • 1 min read
I have twice in my life come face to face with a majestic cat. Both times it was in a zoo, but, because of that, I got closer than I ever could have in the wild. The first time was a lion. He was in London zoo and pacing up and down his enclosure angrily. One of the female lions was in heat and they were being kept separate, but he could smell her. The pent up animal desire was something you could actually sense in the air. At one point he paced right up to the glass where I was standing and...
4 days ago • 1 min read
Most organisations today care deeply about wellbeing. They all invest in programmes, training, mental first aiders, and support services. And yet absence rises, managers feel a bit lost, and good people still leave. In my experience, the problem isn’t a lack of care or commitment from managers. It’s a failure of capability at the point of contact. It goes wrong the moment a manager sits down with someone who is struggling. Senior leaders will recognise the pattern. I hear about it all the...
7 days ago • 1 min read
We rarely talk about goal capacity, but it’s real. There’s a limit to how many open intentions the mind and nervous system can carry without straining. When we exceed that limit, we don't unlock capacity, we burnout and achieve nothing. Letting go of goals that no longer serve us is not a loss. It’s optimisation. So what do you need to stop? Or not start ... yet? -- 🚀 Become a founder member of the Daily Coach community NEW 🚀
8 days ago • 1 min read
Good morning! Happy Monday. Wait, what...? Some of you noticed that something went wrong. I wrote an email for Monday, and Tuesday, and today, but somehow none of them got sent. We'll get to that in a minute. But first, I started my car in the gym car park this morning only for it to go all "flashy flashy beepy, beepy" which is how I described it to the mechanic at my local garage. Turns out that's not a helpful description for car fault diagnostics 🤷🏻♂️ But saying there's a fault on the...
9 days ago • 1 min read
Before I studied this professionally, I thought goals were about getting somewhere. Hitting a target. Closing a gap. What I’ve come to understand, from working with lots of clients, is that the deeper purpose of our goals is identity. A good goal answers the question: who am I becoming? When a goal aligns with identity, action feels easier. When it doesn’t, even “good” goals drain energy. Stephen The subject of today's HeRO Hour is Goal Setting: Scientific & Psychological Foundations Expect...
14 days ago • 1 min read
For all I know this phrase is a cheesy meme that's reached 100 trillion views on Tickstogram, but I don't care. I love it. If you don't like how things are for you right now, remember this: The mirror doesn't smile first. You smile and the mirror follows in a little while. Or to look at it another way, you act, and the consequences of that action are reflected back to you. So stop waiting for a sign. Stop waiting for a gift. Do something. You may not see the results right away. But if you...
15 days ago • 1 min read