Emotionally Intelligent Leadership

This blog highlights the importance of emotional intelligence [EI] within your leadership styles.

If effective relationships are key to business success then emotional intelligence is key to effective relationships.

Strong leaders are assertive, with self-awareness, self-empathy and self-control as well as others aware able to detect and respond to the emotions of others. This is the essence of what emotional intelligence is about.

EI is developed through coaching to become a better leader, a more versatile leader and to develop a high performing team.

EI gives you awareness of your leadership style and helps you to develop new leadership styles.

EI helps you to get the best from your people and helps you to be more successful, achieving better outcomes.

EI helps you to motivate and inspire your people through the toughest changes and challenges.

In business as in sport strong performance and results is largely down to leadership.

If you are serious about becoming a better leader then getting to grips with your emotional intelligence is key.

If this blog has given you a useful steer then please leave a comment.

For help and support in developing your emotional intelligence please get in touch via www.westofenglandcoachingandcounselling.co.uk

Public Speaking - Fear to Confidence

If you are about to take on a role that will involve more public speaking or you have ongoing issues in this area, you are not alone.

Public speaking is growing and yet it is the work area that we fear the most.

This blog aims to help you to improve how you feel when preparing for and in delivery of your presentation.

The imagination is the rehearsal room for reality.

With this in mind, start by familiarising yourself with where you will be speaking.

See yourself in this environment standing in front of the audience and looking confident. For you this might be standing tall whilst tightening your solar plexus and with a slight smile. Experiment with different looks and how they make you feel in rehearsal.

Next picture yourself gaining eye contact with some of your audience as you deliver your introduction. Look one person in the eye and move on to the next. The awkward feeling of being watched stops when you are watching back.

Now picture individuals in the audience smiling and nodding in an encouraging way remembering all the time that they want you to be interesting, engaging and stimulating.

See yourself being yourself being authentic which will help you to gain your audience's trust quickly.

Whilst you are rehearsing and visualising you may notice that your heart beats faster, you may sweat or shake which means that adrenalin is being produced.

A way of fighting high adrenalin is movement so taking a brisk walk, clenching and unclenching your fists and stretching your facial muscles will help.

I think that some nerves are good - for your energy and the fact that you care which will come across.

Let me know how you get on by leaving a comment.

For all of your business and life coaching support needs please contact us via www.westofenglandcoachingandcounselling.co.uk

Happiness For Pessimists

If you regard yourself as more pessimistic than optimistic and have felt that trying to be more cheerful rarely works then read on.

This short blog includes three key tips that will help you to move forward feeling acknowledged despite not being the naturally cheerful one.

Some studies have shown that self help affirmations involving the repetition of short phrases such as 'I am loveable' actually made the participants with low self-esteem feel worse.

The challenge for the more pessimistic person is to avoid negatively introspecting about the past and negatively forecasting the future.

Tip 1: Aim to focus more on today and enjoy what you are doing now whatever that is.

Tip 2: The other key behaviour is to put things in perspective. Will what is upsetting you now matter in a year's time?

Tip 3: Perhaps you could also tell yourself that when things don't always turn out well [which we can guarantee will happen sometimes] that you will have the resources to cope.

Perhaps you will start to work on your self-esteem or confidence so that you feel armed for difficulties.

No one experiences happiness all of the time as there are always downs as well as ups in life.

If you have found this blog to be useful then please leave a comment.

For all of your personal development coaching and counselling needs please get in touch via www.westofenglandcoachingandcounselling.co.uk

Making Your New Start

If there is something acting as a wall stopping you from moving to a new phase in your life, please read on.

If you feel like you have failed in the past for any reason and are finding yourself stuck in a negative cycle then try a small step like saying yes to something you would normally say no to  such as a social event or project.

You can also try out other new things such as wearing or making something out of your usual way of being.

Perhaps travel somewhere new or have a new experience that will help you to gain a new reference point.

If you are stuck in the past and lamenting a lost past such as fulfilment at work or in a personal relationship, then you feel quite sad.

Symptoms may be over consuming such as shopping or drinking, dwelling on the past in conversation with yourself and others.

You may feel stalled with no new projects or no sense of growing in your significant relatonships.

You will benefit from focusing on today and being mindful could be your new habit something to investigate and become good at. Not only will this help free you from the past it will help you to feel what you want right now.

If you feel that life has dealt you a bad set of cards you may experience rage, mistrust and turning over events in your mind over and over again. This may be causing you to negatively forecast your future.

The next time you feel this way try distancing yourself somewhat from the past by imagining it were someone else's life, what they could learn from the past and what advice you might give them as a friend.

If you have found this blog to be useful please leave a comment.

If you would like help and support in making a change in your life whether personal or professional or both [yes this can happen simultaneously!] then please get in touch via www.westofenglandcoachingandcounselling.co.uk

You'll Love Being Coached

I was reminded of the fantastic space that coaching affords us yesterday by one of my clients.

She was recalling her story before she started her coaching journey.

She said that she had felt so busy so and overwhelmed that she just wanted someone to offload onto.

She also said that she had been using her husband and friend and recognised that this was not ideal due to judgements being made, their inclination to advise/or the matters being too personal and private.

When I asked her what was the best benefit of being coached she surprised me.

She said that it was being exclusively listened to without agenda, judgement, own views, advise and in confidence.

I pressed for 'what else?'

She said that having someone who believes in me, that I can do what I want and be totally herself with all of the real emotions that a human being has.

Where else is that kind of resource available, she asked me?

Not often stuck for words, I was.

My own mother who I love dearly frequently interrupts me; my partner wants to help to problem solve and my friend will often make suggestions based on her own experience and preferences.

What about you?

Do you have someone who listens to you without agenda, judgement, without advising you that you trust not to disclose? Do they also ask you really good questions that help you to think differently? Do they seek to understand you by asking clarifying questions?

We want you to be coached so that you can live your best life.

Please leave a comment if you have found this blog to be useful.

For a business or personal coach please get in touch via www.westofenglandcoachingandcounselling.co.uk