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Gosh what a year 2020 has been!? Some of us may well be delighted to see the back of it. But looking forward to 2021 quickly approaching, how can we reset ourselves for 2021? How can we, as leaders, (either in a workplace scenario or leaders within our own families and home front, communities) get into the right mindset so we can help ourselves and those around us feel better, be positive, start to coordinate, look forward to new challenges in 2021, start to innovate and own our futures? How can we make it possible not only to weather the crisis, but to come out of it stronger?

Psychologists describe mindset as “the attitudes, beliefs, and expectations you hold that act as the foundation of who you are, how you lead, and the ways in which you interact with your team or those around you.”  Mindset is so critical because it drives every opinion you have, every decision you make, and every action you take. It influences the culture around you and...

Why do we do things, or not do things, because of how we expect others to react? Why do we care so much about other people’s opinions, even those of total strangers? Or do you feel that discomfort rising inside when someone imparts their clever wit on you. Not just any kind of wisdom, but the one that makes you feel small, in a here-you-go, punch-to-the-stomach kind of way.

A covert little criticism implying that you might not be doing something right or may have the wrong ideas. Your first reaction is disbelief. Followed by denial. How can they be so rude to come out with such a comment? Why can’t they be more tactful or careful with their words? Then your anger takes over, and you want to shout from the top of your voice, “Did I even ask for your opinion?”

Unfortunately, what seemed like shouting was just a thought. That witty response you wanted to scream at them never left your lips. You only disagreed with them in your mind.

And worst...

“Burnout” is a particularly hot topic right that I am constantly being asked about. This state of constant stress where it feels like no matter what you do, you can’t break out of the slump. Or when you’ve been feeling out of sorts at work, and not quite sure why – maybe it’s that you are always tired, feel disengaged and unmotivated most days, or constantly checking how long it is until you can log off. Or maybe you find yourself snapping at colleagues or family or friends (something you never used to do) and feel that there's never enough time to get everything done, feeling perpetually behind and demoralized.

These are classic signs of burnout. During times of crisis, when we are all so hyper-focused on the work at hand (whether professional or otherwise), minimizing exhaustion and the stress that contributes to it needs to be at the forefront of our minds now more than ever to recognize the signs early and take steps to avoid a complete burn...

How do you make good decisions?  We make decisions every single day. These decisions range from the small and seemingly insignificant – what should I have for breakfast? – to potentially life-changing or high impact mind boggling challenging decisions related to work. Decision making may be the toughest part of leadership. You are responsible for crucial choices that affect the livelihood of so many people. Often, each dilemma is packed with conflicting information.

How to make a decision may not seem that important when it comes to the little stuff, but when it comes to how to make a big decision, the consequences are much more impactful.

When it comes to making tough decisions, not making a decision at all is the worst option. Even when you think you’ve made the wrong decision, you’ve learned a valuable lesson that will help you move forward armed with more information. Even if you’re not struggling to learn how to make a life-changing...

Have you every had to have a difficult conversation with somebody that you just really didn’t want to have?

Whether it was like you delivering a hard message of feedback to them about something that they did, that bothered you or it was giving them difficult information about something happened to a family member of theirs or a friend and it was just the conversation you are looking at and you are like, “Uh, I don’t want to do this. I don’t know how to do this.” Or you are just annoyed or angry and you’re like, “How do I do this without exploding and starting World War 3?”

Working with over hundreds of leaders and managers for almost 17 years, has taught me that one the biggest regrets managers and leaders have and express is  around not having difficult conversations sooner. I hear them say “I could have helped team members improve faster, had so many more productive meetings, and really impacted cultural change...

Have you ever felt that you've had a busy day but not so productive? Or maybe you haven't stopped to take a breath all day but still struggle to put your head on the pillow at night satisfied that you got what you needed done? It happens to us all at some stage. I was getting ready to start my day this morning when I got an email with a request for help (NOT URGENT) and I was about to go off down the rabbit hole to find answers and ways to solve and respond to it immediately. This one tiny task was going to hijack and disrupt my morning's planned focus work session.

So, thankfully I caught myself on early enough and went back to my focused planned work. These are the wee things that can take you off track and disrupt your day, hijack your time and get you sidetracked completely.

This story is an example of those “little tasks” that we sometimes pick up  that can end up taking more time than estimated and completely hijack our morning and it’s these...

How do you develop emotional intelligence? How do we gain control over our negative emotions especially those emotions that don’t serve us? Recognising your emotions and learning to manage them is one of the most important skills you can have – especially and even more so during these challenging times. Feelings are powerful and can become overwhelming at times. Both adults and children might struggle to manage their responses to their feelings and act in ways that feel very out of their control. For example, have you ever felt so angry that you said things you didn’t mean to someone? Then once you calmed down, you realised that your emotions got the better of you and you wish you handled it differently? Or someone in work sent an email that triggered you to send a very short and nasty response that later you regretted?

We have all behaved this way and it is important that we learn how to control these emotions so that we can deal with situations better and learn...

Procrastination means that you are not doing what you know you need to do when you know you need to do it. It’s putting things off because in the short term its easier, it's more comfortable, more certain, more pleasureful to be distracted than it is to sit down and do the actual work to create the outputs that matter when they are needed. Procrastination is a self-defeating pattern of behaviour to survive under pressure. Chronic procrastination has productivity and career costs and it leads to negative effects on our mental and physical health. Call it a friend without benefits because it helps you avoid the inability to complete something but in the avoidance, it sabotages your goals. 

Sooner or later, chronic procrastinating can really hold you back and hamper you in every aspect of life. It can affect our mood and state of mind by generating worry, fear, or added stress. Perhaps its most serious for people in a leadership position,...

Do you tend to struggle with low energy levels and the frustration that comes with not being able to achieve everything you would like to in a day? Do you often feel tired and wish you could be more energetic and able to take better advantage of your time? Do you have spells of tiredness or lack of energy, often at the worst possible times, just when you want to get things done?  Two of the biggest complaints I hear these days are

1) I don’t have enough time and 2) I don’t have enough energy.  

Like any feeling, we don’t just wake up one morning and have “energy’ we have to generate energy.  The good news is there are some daily practices within your control that can help improve your mental, physical, emotional and spiritual energy. Studies show that when you feel energetic, you feel much better about yourself. On the other hand, when you feel exhausted, everything feels like a chore and hence you may feel overwhelmed and...

I am getting asked a lot right now about how can we calm the chaos in our minds ?     

We live in a culture that fosters an overactive mind. It creates worry, frustration, dissatisfaction, sleeplessness, and a feeling that no matter what your life is like, something (or many things) about it needs to be different. 

Your mind creates an internal chaotic war, and you think the way to peace is through continuous self-improvement. Or, you fixate on changing something outside of you or improving your other half or kids or others around you.

Here’s the bottom line: You will never feel the contentment, joy, love and satisfaction you want in your life with this inner battle going on. To stop it, you need to STOP listening to the chronic chaos in your mind.

The word of the year for 2020 will undoubtedly be “uncertainty” or "fear". We are living in a time of anxiety; our daily lives are changing from moment to moment.  Never, in 16...