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Where Are You?

Uncategorized May 23, 2020

We are in a time of the unknown, a time of change, a time of unrest and a time of opportunity, we know this.

But one thing is for sure, whilst we can all say 'we are in this together', and we are, the reality is that we will be having different experiences and different feelings.

I shared on my LinkedIn feed a couple of weeks ago some questions to help your team open up more about how they are feeling and where they may be on the change curve, and today, I wanted to bring you back to this.

Without a shadow of a doubt, we are in a time of change, forced change, and isolation.

Some of us are doing this surrounded by kids and family, some of us are doing this in total isolation. Some of us are doing this in the sun, some of us in the rain. Some of us are doing this in large houses with gardens, some of us in small flats or bedsits. Some of us are doing this with money in the bank, some of us are losing everything we have worked for. Some of us...

When/Then

Uncategorized May 23, 2020

Over the last week I’ve seen an increase in posts about ‘when this is all over, then …’, and I’ve added a few of these myself, like the first people I’ll see, the trips I’ll take, even what I’m looking forward to on my first visit back at the gym. And whilst it’s lovely to think of all the things that we can do when lockdown finishes, we should let this stop us from focusing on what we can do now to make a difference.

Now this isn’t a post about how you should be writing a novel, losing half of your body weight, learning to play an instrument, learn a language or paint a masterpiece, unless of course any of those things are what you want to do rather than feeling you have to do them. I think the most important thing we can do at the moment is just to be kind to ourselves.

But, for the HR Community, there are things we can start doing and conversations that we can start having now, so...

Anxious

Uncategorized May 23, 2020

Some of you will know that I live with Bipolar, anxiety and depression and that I can feel up and down, anxious and depressed, calm and manic simultaneously. My head is not always a nice place to be. But within all of this is where I can harness my creativity and my passion and live a lovely life and lead a great team and work with incredible clients. But it's not always pretty inside of my head or in the feelings that can at times take over my body.

I have a routine, daily actions and practices that for the most part allow me to function fully, yet like many of you, my routine over recent weeks has been thrown in the air and so to it have my moments of calm.

For most of the last three weeks I have woken with overwhelming anxiety, and I've breathed through it, and I've made a plan and I've allowed myself to feel what I need to feel and take actions to help myself and others.

Add to my mental state the fact that I'm an empath and an introvert, the...

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Uncategorized Mar 19, 2020

We may have all seen the five ways to wellbeing on paper, on posters or on intranets in our offices or in workshops. We refer to them in our Mental Wellbeing for HR workshop and I talked about them on Tuesday in a webinar for the PWN where I shared my experiences with burnout.

I'm used to working from home, but I'm rubbish at following 'orders'. At the minute I can still go the gym - social distancing at it's best and as much hand sanitiser as you want. But when I'm told that I need to stay home, my anxiety will rise. I know this, and so I'm trying o mitigate it as much as possible, and you can too.

Now, probably more than ever, the 5 ways to wellbeing can help us with our mental, emotional and physical wellbeing. So what are the five ways and how can we bring them to life?

1. Connect

We may need to be more creative in how we are connecting, but we can still connect. At The Chrysalis Crew we are continuing with our weekly Zoom's, we are meeting regularly...

#MindfulAtMidday

wellbeing Mar 15, 2020

With more countries restricting residents to their homes and the UK Government saying that very soon they will be asking those over the age of 70 to self-isolate, I'd love us all to be more mindful and kind.

Us Brits love a moan at the best of times, from traffic, to travel and everything in between. As we move into a new working week, we're already seeing those still at work not happy to be there, those being forced to work from home mixed about how they feel - some love it some loathe it and as the next few weeks and months are expected to bring more upheaval, can we all please be more mindful and kind. We're moaning about schools being closed or not being closed. We're moaning about the shops, the NHS, the government, the news and on and on it goes.

And I don't know about you, but I need something positive in my life. Not to escape what's going on in the world right now, but to lift my spirits and give me energy so that I can keep going and keep doing what I need to do.

I woke...

Are You Hiding?

Uncategorized Feb 29, 2020

In my teens I could hide behind my clothes, my teenage attitude as I got a bit older cigarettes and alcohol.

As I progressed in my career I could at time hide behind my job title, my 'status' and my salary.

As I started Chrysalis I could hide behind the brand of the Chrysalis Crew.

Now I don't mean hidden as in hiding away, but it took me many years before I got comfortable being seen as me. No job title, no status, no cigarettes and alcohol just me.

Inexcusably, unapologetically me.

I remember one night in my late teens, I was out with a group of friends, some of whom had gone to the bar, some were playing pool and the group at the bar had asked if I'd look afer the table as was their round. It was busy Friday night, the table surrounded by coats and chairs, but there I sat. On my own. And by the time it took anyone to come back to the table, I'd smoked three cigarettes. Because behind the smoke I was 'invisible'. Just the...

Can You Put A Price On Wellbeing? (and what's the cost if you do?)

Uncategorized Feb 13, 2020

Today I’m back in the office after two days of workshops for two different clients in London. My energy needed to be high to ensure I held the space and asked the right questions to help the groups reach their outcomes. I needed to be rested and I needed to ensure I was in the right headspace.

I commuted to London daily for years, and travel a lot for work, but as I learn more about my personal energy, wellbeing and effectiveness, I made the choice to stay in London overnight.

On Tuesday I was up at 5:30 to be on the 7am train. I booked a first class ticket to ensure firstly that I got a seat, and secondly to make sure I was in a quiet carriage.

On Tuesday night I stayed at a hotel a stone’s throw away from Wednesday’s venue, and paid more for the privilege.

And on Wednesday evening I travelled home first class, again to ensure a seat and some quiet reflection time so that I could be present with my family...

How To Bin Annual Appraisals

hr leadership Jan 28, 2020

Or, how to have better ongoing conversations with your people.

Appraisals have always been an issue and for many, they are never something to look forward to. Stuff is stored in folders or on email and presented to people in this once a year meeting and can come as a shock. Despite annual reviews taking place at the same time each year, many managers still ask for extensions to the process because they don’t have time to arrange the meetings and to fill in the forms. HR are bombarded with requests of copies of last year’s appraisals, sickness absence data, any training that may have been completed. And the value of the conversation is lost.

The whole process becomes a tick box exercise and if it’s related to a bonus then it’s rare that real conversations take place as grades are upped for the ‘favourite’ person and downgraded for others. Plus, actually being able to remember what someone did...

The First How To Of 52

hr leadership Jan 21, 2020

I’ve been slow off the mark with the People Perspective so far in 2020, work has been non-stop, which is fabulous and great to be working with so many new and perspective clients, but it has meant that headspace and time to write have been limited. And for those of you that saw my post on Sunday evening about our new addition to the family, you’ll understand that family life has also not slowed down this year.

This year, in addition to my usual brain-dumps, I’ve been asked to create a suite of ‘How To’s” for the People Perspective and I have a list to get through, a list of 52 to be exact. I’ll stick to these as much as I can, but as I get bored with lists and feeling boxed in, I may deviate from these from time to time, but I promise to try.

I was also asked to give a view on what HR may look like this year, I didn’t get chance to get my thoughts down, but I have recorded a podcast if you’d like...

A Decade Of Change

hr leadership wellbeing Dec 20, 2019

At the end of each year I like to look back and reflect on the year that's passed and consider what I've done, what I've learned and how I feel before putting together an action plan for the year ahead, and this year is no different, except I've reflected not only on the last year, but on the last 10.

At the end of 2009 I was wondering what would be in store when I turned 30 the following September. I already had children, the house, the job, the holidays and the money, what would be next? Would my life just continue in the same way?

I made a decision to hit 30 with something big on the horizon, and I signed up for a charity cycle across Kenya. Since then I've upped my charity support considerably and now support in schools as a mentor, sleep in a cardboard box each year to raise funds and awareness for the YMCA and have been part of an incredible group of HR Professionals supporting staff and children for Hope For Justice.

10 years again I was in a different house, a different...

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