Say the words “positive psychology” in a group situation and it’s likely to garner mixed reactions. The words, first coined in the 1980s, were the foundation of the “new age”, self-help movement and as such has accrued its fair share of cynicism. Historically, up until the 1980s, psychology was mostly concerned with curing illness. So, it was a revolutionary time in the field of psychology, a time where it shifted it’s focus towards the pursuit of fulfilment and happiness and the movement has exploded ever since.  ..

Most leaders usually have a preference for being either supportive of their team, or challenging them. Some of us are naturally more nurturing in our leadership roles, whereas some of us are more in favour of pushing the people who report in to us to achieve their personal best, often at the expense of being supportive.  ..

Have you ever experienced a situation whilst in a management position where you have avoided a behaviour of one of your team members, only to have the problem come back and bite you later? In hindsight we often wish we had addressed these niggling unacceptable behaviours earlier and ‘nipped them in the bud’ before they grew and resulted in something bigger and uglier than they needed to be. It’s human nature to avoid conflict and as managers we are constantly coming across issues and challenges and are weighing up which battles to fight, and which to ignore, in the hope they will go away or not happen again. ..

Confidence in leadership is an important, if not essential ingredient to effectively lead others. It has a trickle-down effect, inspiring confidence in staff and allows staff to build trust in their leaders and their convictions. In fact, a business without a confident leader, would fail. Employees would lose faith, lack confidence themselves and become de-motivated. However, there’s a growing acceptance of the fact that leaders also need to be seen to be open-hearted, honest and up-front in times of uncertainty and not just run with the façade of unwavering confidence at all times. ..

We all have different learning styles. This is good to know as a manager especially when you are managing people who are in the process of learning new skills and roles. As a manager you will be forgiven for not having the time or the inclination to learn about your staffs’ preferred learning methods and changing your coaching or training to suit them individually, by luckily, there is a system that works for all people.  ..

If you have ever been responsible for hiring staff, it’s more than likely you would have experienced the stress, frustration and costs associated with poor recruitment decisions. Over the years, I have helped my clients fine-tune their recruitment skills, increasing the likelihood of recruiting the right person for the job, the first time, saving them time, money and energy.  ..

Having a culture where negative language is rife amongst leadership can quickly spell disaster for a business. It is demotivating and disengaging. On the other hand, having a culture whereby positive language is used allows businesses to grow and remain optimistic even in times of hardship. It encourages, acknowledges and motivates.  ..

Experience, rank and title doesn’t automatically grant you the trust and respect required to effectively manage your colleagues and staff. The most successful leaders have learned that leadership requires a softly-softly phased approach, where connections, trust and credibility need to be established first. Leaders need to earn the right to lead. This pre-leading process is called pacing and in this article, I’ll break it down and outline how you can start to apply this essential skill to your management style right now. ..

Building and maintaining good working relationships with your colleagues and stakeholders is essential for anyone in a leadership position. An effective leader will look to continuously build good connections and open flowing channels of communication with the people he/she leads, knowing this is key to everyone working well together to achieve common goals.  ..

Picture a memorable concert you have been to. Can you remember the musicians performing with unsurpassed enjoyment, passion and skill and seemingly completely lost in their own world for the duration of the performance? Now think back, when the last time you, like your favourite musicians, were so engrossed in the work you were doing you lost track of time, forgot all about lunch, and could zone out while the hours flew by. Redounded psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi refers to this state of being as ‘flow’, the optimum mental state. When you are in ‘flow’ you experience the following seven conditions;  ..