Sunday 29 July 2012

Do you want to gain Insight?

If you are interested in improving your well-being and achieving inner peace then this blog is for you.

The key to your experiencing true joy I think is to step out of your brain's mental chatter and thinking.

Your circuitry is still there even if you feel that you have lost the ability to experience joy.

The following three tips can help you to develop your insight and your joy again.

1. Use your senses whenever you think of this blog to bring yourself into the present moment - what can I see? what can I hear? what do I feel? how do I feel to be here doing this? Notice smells and tastes to ground yourself in the now. How do you feel now? You can heighten this experience by noticing and paying attention to the gentle rise and fall of your breaths.

2. Drop your ego by focusing out on what is going on around you rather than introspecting and a shift in your perspective will occur. When we feel low we are often negatively introspecting about the past or negatively forecasting the future.

3. Know that your brain is elastic and malleable so when you do positive activities such as helping someone out you can expand the positive part of your mind.

Once you have practised these three tips for a fortnight let me know how you get on.

If you would like help and support in your life, your work, please get in touch with me through www.westofenglandcoachingandcounselling.co.uk

Thursday 19 July 2012

Do you have a big decision to make?

 If you have a big decision to make and would like some guidance or validation then this blog is for you.

I am finding in my practice that this is a key area of need for my clients on personal and professional levels.

Do you have a big decision to make that you have been putting off leaving you feeling that you are not being honest with yourself/others about what you want, who you are now.

Perhaps this is a career decision or a relationship decision.

Applying multiple perspectives to a decision will help you to make better decisions.

In my experience we tend to apply one or two perspectives and often neglect other angles and ways of looking at an issue.

Take the issue that you need to decide on, I think, and pay attention to each of the following perspectives:

1. Your experience of how you have handled similar issues previously - what can you learn from this?
2. The experience of others whom you trust in handling similar issues - what did they learn that they can share with you for you to consider and take into account?
3. Considering all of the options - brainstorm openly - what could you do? What are the pros and cons of each option?
4. Consider the wider implications of each option? Play each option through - what would be the likely result in each case? What would you gain? What would you lose?
5. What are the realities of your resources available to you? For example, financial considerations?
6. What are the facts? What do you actually know?
7. What is the logical solution and consequences of this hard though necessary decision?
8. What is the likely impact on individual people that will be impacted by the decision that you take?
9. Assess the issue in terms of your values [what is important to you?] and others values that you care about and are impacted?
10. What does your gut feel tell you to do?

Please let me know how you get on.

If you would like support to make your potentially life changing decision please do get in touch via www.westofenglandcoachingandcounselling.co.uk

Sunday 15 July 2012

Happiness Makeover?

Are you in need of a happiness makeover?

I am compelled to write this blog because whether your current priority is a business or personal imperative or both , how you feel inside will determine your results.

Of course, happiness is a nominalisation in that what makes one person happy is different to the next.

This blog is a short set of suggestions of how you can lift your happiness up a notch.

Start by thinking about your best day - what would you be doing?

When I did this exercise for myself recently I came up with - coaching clients, giving hypnotherapy, walking my dogs, spending time with my partner and friends, doing yoga, reading, meditating and sleeping.

What's yours?

Then you can scale where you are now 1-10 where 1 is low and 10 is your best hopes day.

Say you scored a 4 - what are you already doing that makes you happy and that you will want to keep doing?

What is one small thing that you can do today to move up to a 5 based on your best day list?

Perhaps set yourself an action step each week or month that will move you one point up the scale each time.

Happiness comes from how we react to events out of our control as well as how we spend our time.

Notice what you do when you behave in an angry, fearful, sad or guilty way.

Can you forgive, led go of grudges, smile, act calmly and keep the spring in your step?

Can you learn to accept yourself exactly as you are? Starting at this point will help you to move forward from solid foundations.

If you have found this blog to be useful to where you are in your life right now please leave a comment.

If you require support then please get in touch via www.westofenglandcoachingandcounselling.co.uk


Can you lead your business like the British Army?

What can you learn from the ways of working in the British Army that will help you to improve the way you lead your business?

Why take advice on leadership from the British Army? Because for the British Army leadership is about success or failure - life or death.

Operational day to day leadership success is predicated, according to Major General Gerry Berragan CB [Director General for Personnel] speaking at HRD 2012 on 'How to develop great leaders', on well trained and highly motivated individuals operating as empowered teams, along with a lot of other teams to achieve a common purpose.

The British Army must grow their own leaders - they cannot go to the marketplace to buy in junior commanders - so developing leaders is core business.

The Director General went on to say that teams are their most cohesive where values are shared and trust is implicit. Leadership will thrive under these conditions.

The army's six core values are courage, discipline, respect for others, integrity, loyalty and selfless commitment.

How do these values apply in your own business?

For example, do you have the courage to believe in yourself, develop new ideas and go out and get work?

Do you have the discipline to motivate yourself and structure each day so that you are spending your time doing what matters most?

Do you show respect for your customers and staff, communicating professionally and courteously at all times?

Do you have integrity to do what you say you will do?

Are you loyal to your customers?

Do you focus on the greater good through your business?

I hope that answering these questions helps you to think differently about what to do to move forwards with your business.

Please leave a response to this blog if helpful to you.

For all of your leadership and business coaching needs please visit us at www.westofenglandcoachingandcounselling.co.uk

Friday 6 July 2012

Do you want to improve your Leadership?

If you want to embark on a journey to develop your leadership style and skills or it has been suggested that you work on areas of your leadership approach then this blog is for you.

I think that the starting point is for you to do a good assessment of what specifically it is that you need to develop in terms of your leadership.

Leadership comprises many skills, several styles and approaches and you will want to hone in on and prioritise what it is that, realised, will have the biggest single positive impact on your performance.

For example, leadership skills include communicating an inspiring vision, influencing key stakeholders and building a high performing team.

Leadership styles are broadly either directive or participative ie you make the decisions or you allow others to make decisions with varying degrees of input from you. For example, if an individual has proven ability ie knowledge and successful completion of the task previously you can adopt a participative style to motivate the individual.

Four leadership approaches are directing, coaching, consulting and empowering.

Directing is clear instructions, specific what when and how with close follow up and you make the decisions.

Coaching is supportive, two-way, confidence building and you still make the decisions.

Consulting is discussing, with the individual making the decision and taking action.

Empowering is minimal follow up, the individual deciding and taking action.

Where are you already strong?

What are your leadership gaps?

Let me know how you get on.

If you would like support and or direction in addressing your leadership challenges please get in touch via www.westofenglandcoachingandcounselling.co.uk

Wednesday 4 July 2012

Do you want to improve your business?

If you want to improve your business results then this blog is for you.

How your customers perceive you impacts your reputation, whether your customers continue to use you and whether they refer you also.

What are you doing to enhance your professional reputation?

For example do you have customer driven values that you and your staff live to each day, such as having a twenty four hour turnaround time for all service enquiries?

Your reputation is part of your unique selling point, what differentiates you from your competitors.

If you have a good reputation and this is something that you continue to build with your customers and other stakeholders such as your staff then your business will improve.

If you are not sure what to do to improve your reputation you may be at risk of damaging your business in the short and longer term.

To start with you can get some advice from an experienced consultant or business coach who can help you to develop in writing your business goals and objectives and help you to get a good return on your investment in business coaching.

This blog is an invitation to you to review your professional reputation by asking your customers and staff for their views.

Some of the feedback will be positive in response to 'what so we do well?' and if you have worded the feedback request well you will also invite views on 'what could we do better?'

Providing a response to the feedback providers is essential - what action are you taking as a result of their feedback?

For many of the issues you will be able to make the required actions happen.

There may be some areas where you would like the support and/or direction of an experienced business coach.

Please do let me know how you go and for all of your business coaching needs please visit www.westofenglandcoachingandcounselling.co.uk