Diversity and Inclusion

Quietly Disadvantaged Talent

In conversations with quieter professionals, I hear examples of how they have felt disadvantaged in the workplace. It is surprisingly common place and yet often not seen as a problem. It is more often seen as the problem for the quieter professionals to fix and fit in. While I have the view that the individuals can develop to overcome some of the disadvantages, I also believe that organisations are wasting talent by not being aware of or addressing these disadvantages.

Read more “Quietly Disadvantaged Talent” →
Confidence

Have your inner voices taken over the driver’s seat?

And where are they taking you? To dark places you don’t want to be, where you feel anxious, afraid and small? Or to places where there seems to be big thick walls and ceilings to keep you locked up? Or to places where you feel frustrated and annoyed with yourself, that you can’t reach your own standards? Or to places where positive voices are drowned, belittled or mocked?

Read more “Have your inner voices taken over the driver’s seat?” →
Diversity and Inclusion

Strong leadership ≠ dominance

Recently I heard two cases where leaders with track records were unsuccessful for roles they applied for, and they were unsuccessful because the hiring manager was looking for a ‘strong leader’.

One of them wrote to me and said:

“I think they were looking for that [a dominating style of leader] because it is their current workplace culture. They fight, they push each other around…”

Read more “Strong leadership ≠ dominance” →
Diversity and Inclusion

War on Wasted Talent

Many have spoken and written about the War for Talent. I wrote an article Let’s stop the war for talent nearly 3 years ago. My thinking has evolved, but my message is largely the same. In fact, I shared at the EEON (Equal Employment Opportunity Network) lunchtime talk on 20th March that if organisations are serious about talent as a key driver of performance and growth, they need to focus on the War on Wasted Talent.

Read more “War on Wasted Talent” →
Confidence

7 ways a manager can crush team members’ confidence…

Speaking to a senior executive recently, he told me about a change he saw in a team member he ‘inherited’. He described how this team member had shifted from being pretty much mute, with no opinions of their own, waiting for instructions and lacking initiative to being quite feisty, unafraid to express their views and showing passion for their work. Discussing what had happened and exploring our own experiences, we saw a few common things managers do which crush team members’ confidence and ability to speak up and contribute.

Read more “7 ways a manager can crush team members’ confidence and ability to speak up and contribute” →
Confidence

The dangers of leaders who appear confident but are…

Lately I have had many coaching sessions and conversations around aspiring leaders who wish to be more confident. Many have been told to ‘be more confident’, which is unhelpful (see Don’t tell me to ‘be more confident’). Others have been told that they appear confident but don’t feel so confident inside. I am excited to be working with these people as they are aware of and open to the need to develop their inner confidence.

Read more “The dangers of leaders who appear confident but are not so confident inside” →