I had this amazing commissioned artwork created for me by Hugh McLeod of Gaping Void in 2013, not that long after I’d landed on my personal intent statement of #MakingPotentialPossible thanks to the coaching of the amazing Suki Laniado Smith, and after the landing of the anchor of #BeMoreYou from the great mentor that was Ed Percival. As you can imagine, being anchored on #BeMoreYou, when Hugh creatively came up with the words “Becoming the person you need to be… is an act of love”, I had the strongest feeling of goosebumps.

So, why share this image and those thoughts…

Coaches listen, am sure you know that is part of the role, but how clear are you (are all of us!) on what it really takes to be an effective listener?

Today I am highlighting what it means to listen without judgement, then what can then come after that, depending upon the client, the situation, as well as the role they wish the coach to play. I’ll then finalise by sharing a few thoughts around what it takes to, after listening, “reflect, then clarify” at an advanced level.

The graphic above is from the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) and…

Inspired by a short post from Seth Godin, today a thought.

I give my time to a lot of people, I love to do so. However, in order to be able to do that, I also have to be rigorous about not allowing people to take my time. Oh, and those who read regularly know I do also “take my time” as Seth notes.

My daily posts are often simple, designed to give you something to think about for yourself and the way you lead self and others. I hope this one hits the mark.

“Take your time”

It means…

So this weekend summer finally arrived in the UK. I put a hammock up and deeply enjoyed lying in it for a time to relax.

To me I’ve always loved hammocks, always loved lying in them to celebrate summer weather (or, tbh, “christmas breeze” weather in Cayman when it is cool enough to lie in a hammock!)

This, to me, is a tradition worth keeping. People have lain in hammocks for thousands of years in many cultures and locations. Hammocks are timeless, I see no need to innovate in that area.

However, a tradition can also be something that we…

Slow it down, Angie come back to bed
Rest your arms, and rest your legs

Slow it Down — The Lumineers

A three day weekend here. I’ve chosen to slow it down this weekend, plus to simplify.

No planning, no lists of things to do. Summer has belatedly arrived here in London, so already I’ve taken two random walks, decadently indulged in wine and cheese at lunchtime at a favourite spot, and yesterday strolled to a new coffee shop. Nothing was planned, all of it taken at a decadently slow pace. As I post this on Monday morning, I have…

Nearly three years ago, in “Learning from The Beatles — “Mixing” your Leadership”, I wrote:

In supporting leaders over many years, I love to distil to simplicity, to allow them to focus on their priorities, their message, their context. As Da Vinci said: “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”

At the same time, sometimes we need to consider more than ultimate simplicity, we need to consider several dimensions to give depth to our context. By dimensions, I like to envisage sliders on a studio production mixing desk.

Imagine moving them up and down based on what is appropriate for your leadership…

If you find yourself as a leader seeking to let things go, to delegate to others, yet when it comes to it you still feel the need to “just take a look at it”, to put your stamp on it, to “approve it before it goes out”, then perhaps you are, well, simply human!

I speak from personal experience, and also in hundreds and hundreds of conversations with leaders over the years, that one of the most common issues when seeking to grow as a leader, to help others grow, to grow your business, is to “let go”.

So, for…