Most organisations of any size provide opportunities for their managers to build and develop their skills through training of some description. This is often a challenge for smaller businesses and even more so for the many solo enterprises where time, money and options are far more limited. Still, the fact is that we cannot develop our business if we do not develop ourselves and it goes beyond physical skills and strategies. Those skills and strategies will bring a limited return on investment if we do not develop at a mental, emotional and even spiritual level. Aptitude will never increase whilst attitudes remain the same So, what can be done about this? My answer is to approach it in two p

Over the past 18 years, I have delivered talks and trainings in over 20 countries and to more than 40 nationalities. In that time, I’ve made my fair share of mistakes and some of them I made more than once in the early days. I’ve also had opportunities to see a great many speakers and presenters in action. It’s been my privilege to witness, the great, the good, the bad and the just plain awful. Now that I spend some of my time training, coaching and mentoring speakers – both professional and aspiring – I have compiled my list of the Seven Deadly Sins. I made them all in the early days and I routinely see them being made, sometimes by so-called “top Speakers.” Here’s my list and please feel f

Have you noticed how many people write, post and talk about how to set amazingly smart, huge, incredible goals? Yes, I hold my hand up because I do it too. And why not? After all, too many of the amazing people I meet in my business as a Coach are going in circles because they don’t have a focus point; a goal. But I’m not here to talk about goals today. If you want that, you can find it in one of my social media posts – or you can read somebody else’s for that matter. No, I’m here to say “So, you’ve gone to the trouble of sitting down and creating a really amazing goal. So what?” That’s only the beginning of the journey and, as important as the beginning is, the rest of the journey is equal

I have ceased to be amazed at the number of times I get asked, “but why do I need a supervisor? I’m a certified coach. Don’t you trust me?” So I decided to sit down and share my thoughts on the subject. Let me start by saying that I don’t view supervision as nice to have but as a MUST have for any professional coach who holds his/her clients’ best interests at heart. What is “supervision”? In essence, it’s a peer to peer relationship intended to help the development and wellbeing of the coach. It can work in a number of ways: One-to-one supervisor to coach where the supervisor is generally a more experienced coach and this adds a mentoring element to the dynamic Co-coaching – peer to peer Gr

Not long ago, I spent an excellent few days working with some Managers at a refinery in Sohar, Oman. If you ever get a chance to visit the country, please take it as the scenery is breathtaking, the people are wonderful and the air is about as clean as you’ll ever get, being right between the mountains and the sea on the Gulf of Oman. While I was there, one of the participants offered, very kindly, to take me on a tour of the city of Sohar and so we spent a delightful few hours whilst he showed me his city and told me something of the colourful history and, of course, the fascinating culture. One element of that tour struck me deeply and I’d like to share it with you here. As we were driving

Bring any group of people together to achieve a common goal and you face immediate challenges. These can range from personal agendas to prejudices, old rivalries or just plain inability to trust. And this doesn’t have to be restricted the workplace either. In my experience, social clubs, sports teams – amateur and professional – council groups of all kinds. It almost seems to be human nature. So, what’s the answer? The clear winner is to ensure that every single person involved buys into having a unified purpose. This has been the watchword of successful Leaders from Alexander the Great to Nelson Mandela, bringing people together and uniting them through a determined dedication to achieving