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1, 2, 3, 4, 5

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...
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#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...

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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...
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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...
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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...

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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...

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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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Perseverance

Uncategorized Dec 17, 2019
Back in 2009 when it came to replacing the annual performance review process with something more engaging, it took me three attempts to get the Board on board despite it being welcomed by a number of managers - 10 years later the new process has contributed to increased engagement, improved customer service and greatly improved productivity.
 
In 2011 it took me four months to get the Board to see that some of the projects being led by a top four consultancy were not aligned with our values or culture or right for our people - four months later the projects were realigned to our vision.
 
It took me six months to get all members of the crew on side with the design and delivery of our Coaching Cards and H.O.T (Honest, Open and Transparent) Conversation Cards - not because they didn't think they would work, but because they didn't believe anyone would actually buy them, we've now sold hundreds of both.
 
I have lots more examples of where I've had to...
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Simplicity

Uncategorized Dec 11, 2019
The very first client I worked with when I started @TheChrysalisCrew was a leading Housing Association in London. They were struggling with gaining buy-in with their People Strategy and asked me if I could help. At first glance the strategy was long, complicated and not easy to see how it would be delivered or what the outcomes would be. I worked with them, I spoke to different people from across the business and the replacement strategy was approved first time.
 
The feedback was "simple, effective and actionable", music to my ears. The outcomes of which were people who were much more engaged and recognised for their efforts. They went on to win several awards and accreditations the year after and we worked with them on a few more projects.
 
A few years ago we worked with an NHS Trust on simplifying and redefining their behaviours. What was seven pages of words in tables stuck on walls in training rooms became a diagram of three circles with more detail if you...
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I Didn't Want To Be A 'Coach'

Uncategorized Oct 03, 2019
To be clear, it's not that I don't love to coach, I do. It drives me, it gets me out of bed in the morning, it gives me purpose and I absolutely LOVE seeing the value that my clients get and the changes that they are able to make. So I love TO coach. I just didn't like the name.
 
I'm a Coach.
 
The world and his/her wife are coaches. Everyone you speak to seems to be coach at the moment, and yet not a lot can differentiate what makes them different, how they actually help the growth of they clients or what their USP is.
 
I've met property coaches, social media coaches, beauty coaches, lifestyle coaches, life coaches, nutrition coaches, knitting coaches (yes really) and relationship coaches. Then you have professional coaches, executive coaches, business coaches, sport coaches, personal coaches, running coaches and empowerment coaches. You have speaking coaches, music coaches, voice coaches, management coaches, team coaches, leadership coaches and board...
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