Sarah Gornall is an experienced executive coach and coach supervisor and co-author of books about coaching including “the Art of Coaching: A Handbook of Tips and Tools” and “How to Work with People… and Enjoy It!” She joined the Board of the UK Chapter of the International Coach Federation in 2014 and is the current UK ICF President (2018-19).
As I surfed the net about 10 years ago, preparing for a presentation on managing people, I found a thought-provoking survey that graphically illustrated the different values of managers and employees.[i] Both managers and employees had rated 10 factors influencing motivation, and the rating was vastly different. Managers rated Good wages and Job security as the top two factors. Employees rated Appreciation of work well done and a Feeling of “being in on things” top.
Article by 24 March 2020
Sadly, for some people at work, if hell doesn’t materialise the moment they walk through the door, it may do at some later stage. Practices and policies which seemed a welcome change from their past employment may turn out to be mere words rather than enacted reality; benevolent managers move on elsewhere and untrusting ones take their place; the culture of the organisation changes because of commercial drives or leadership changes.
Article by 20 February 2020
Maybe the place to start is by refreshing how we think about ourselves, and by developing a mindset that is open to new insights into how we operate and how others perceive us. When we bring the same old mindset that served us in 2019 to new resolutions, we may set ourselves up for failure. When we shift towards a mindset of personal growth and choice, we become more open to others as well and are more likely to have a positive impact on the outcomes we desire.
Article by 16 January 2020
Many years ago, someone told me that an interview panel make up their minds about candidates within 3 seconds of their walking into the room. Then everything that candidate says is filtered through the original Yes or No decision. Confirmation bias at work.
Article by 19 December 2019
These the sort of comments that people leave coaching sessions with. An immediate feel good factor, clearing of the way forward and internal resourcefulness to get going on what needs to be done. While we might all think that it’s a good thing to feel clearer headed and bouncy at work and have a gut feeling that this makes us more motivated and effective, it may not be enough to convince hard-pressed finance directors of the longer-term value of investment in coaching across the organisation.
Article by 7 November 2019
With many people staying longer in work either because they like what they’re doing and can’t see any point in retiring, or because they haven’t yet accrued the years to qualify for a big enough pension, managers of today often find themselves leading cross-generational teams and may wonder to themselves whether this calls for different approaches in order to get the best out of people.
Article by 29 October 2019
How many companies today insist that all managers or leaders at a certain level attend an approved training course to ... View Article
Article by 1 August 2019
One thing is sure between birth and death – and that is change. True on the organisational level, as well as the individual one. Every organisation, every business, goes through transformation as it grows, with evolving structure, leadership, personnel, aims, stresses and successes – and will go through different transformations as it downsizes, merges or winds up its business.
Article by 16 July 2019