25th Sep-24

How Many Executive Coaches Does I Take to Change a Lightbulb?

One, but the light bulb must want to change!

Whatever your desired outcomes, Executive Coaching can be truly transformational and in order to reap the benefits you need to ask yourself whether you’re ready to do the work. Executive Coaching requires a clients active participation, commitment and a openness to growth.

Here are some tips on how to get the most from Executive Coaching:

18th July '24

Knowledge versus Wisdom

"Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad"

This delightful quote perfectly encapsulates the difference between knowledge and wisdom. Knowing a tomato is a fruit is a fun fact, but wisdom is about understanding the bigger picture. In this case, the bigger picture involves its taste and texture and knowing that the tomato's savoury sweetness might overpower the delicate flavours in a fruit salad.

So, the next time you find yourself at a botanical brag-fest, feel free to drop your tomato knowledge bomb. But remember, true wisdom lies in knowing when to keep that juicy morsel on the savoury side.

Theres no "I " in Team

On July 3rd 2024 Sir Mark Cavendish became the Tour de France’s most successful rider by notching up a 35th stage win surpassing the 34 stage wins by the great Eddie Mercx.

What really struck me in Cav’s interview immediately after winning, whilst the raw emotion of the achievement were foremost in his mind, were the words he kept using “We did it! We did it!”.

Whilst on the face of it this looks like an incredible individual achievement Cav never once used the word "I" in his interview recognising that none of this would have been possible without the support of his team, his family, his friends and a whole host of others that have worked with him and believed in him through his career.

What makes this all the more remarkable is that Cav was told very early in his career that he would never make it as a professional cyclist as ‘he had the wrong body shape’ but he never gave up. There were also countless hurdles to overcome throughout his career with injuries, illness and mental health all providing challenges that would cause most people to just quit, but again he never gave up and never stopped believing that he could, with the help of others, be the greatest of all time.

Whether it’s in sport, business or life this is a real lesson in the power of teamwork, commitment, persistence and belief.

Chapeau Cav!

4th July '24

3rd July '24

Beyond the Crumbling Cookie...
A lesson in perception

Have you ever jumped to a conclusion, only to discover later you were entirely wrong? We've all been there. The classic poem, "The Cookie Thief," captures this perfectly.

The Cookie Thief - By Valerie Cox

A woman was waiting at an airport one night, with several long hours before her flight.

She hunted for a book in the airport shops, bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop.

She was engrossed in her book but happened to see, that the man sitting beside her, as bold as could be

. . .grabbed a cookie or two from the bag in between, which she tried to ignore to avoid a scene.

So she munched the cookies and watched the clock, as the gutsy cookie thief diminished her stock.

She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by, thinking, “If I wasn’t so nice, I would blacken his eye.”

With each cookie she took, he took one too, when only one was left, she wondered what he would do.

With a smile on his face, and a nervous laugh, he took the last cookie and broke it in half.

He offered her half, as he ate the other, she snatched it from him and thought… oooh, brother.

This guy has some nerve and he’s also rude, why he didn’t even show any gratitude!

She had never known when she had been so galled, and sighed with relief when her flight was called.

She gathered her belongings and headed to the gate, refusing to look back at the thieving ingrate.

She boarded the plane, and sank in her seat, then she sought her book, which was almost complete.

As she reached in her baggage, she gasped with surprise, there was her bag of cookies, in front of her eyes.

If mine are here, she moaned in despair, the others were his, and he tried to share.

Too late to apologize, she realized with grief, that she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief.

This poem isn't just about stolen cookies; it's a powerful reminder about perception. Our perspective shapes how we see the world. Our experiences, biases, and even our mood can colour our perception.

So, how can we bridge this gap? Here are some tips:

Consider multiple viewpoints: Don't jump to conclusions. Ask questions and try to see things from another perspective.

Practice empathy: Put yourself in someone else's shoes. What might be causing their behaviour?

Embrace open-mindedness: Be willing to adjust your viewpoint based on new information.

By being mindful of our own perception, we can build stronger relationships, avoid unnecessary conflict, and gain a richer understanding of the world around us.

After all, who wants to be left with egg on their face (or crumbs on their lap) because of a misunderstanding?

Remember, the next time you're ready to judge a situation, take a breath and consider the bigger picture.

You might be surprised by what you discover!

23rd May '24

Strong Connections, Strong Business:

Why Human Connection Matters

In today's world, business success goes beyond just products and services. It's about creating strong human connections at every level.

Here's why developing these connections is critical:

Employee Engagement and Retention: Employees who feel connected to colleagues are more productive, satisfied, and less likely to leave. Strong bonds create a sense of belonging and purpose, leading to a more motivated and loyal workforce.
Effective Teamwork and Collaboration: Successful teams rely on effective communication, trust, and the ability to work together towards a common goal. When team members have strong connections, they feel comfortable sharing ideas, offering support, and resolving conflicts constructively thereby creating a collaborative and innovative environment.
Enhances Customer Relationships: Building genuine connections with customers builds trust and loyalty. When employees feel connected to the company they naturally translate that passion into positive customer interactions.
Attract & Retain Talent: Companies with a strong culture of connection stand out. People are drawn to work environments where they feel valued, respected, and part of a team allowing companies to attract and retain top talent.

Human connection isn't about social media interactions, it's about creating genuine interactions and building trust.

Companies can achieve this through:

Encouraging open communication and feedback.
Creating opportunities for team building and social interaction.
Initiatives that promote employee well-being and work-life balance.
Recognising and rewarding contributions that go beyond just individual performance.

By prioritising human connection, businesses create a thriving environment where people feel valued, motivated, and empowered to contribute their best, which in turn, translates into long-term and sustainable business success.

21st May '24

Learning & Development - "nice to have" or business critical ?

Unfortunately, in many profit-driven organisations L&D is often seen as a ‘nice to have’ and a discretionary spend that is the first one to be cut when financial targets are under pressure. As a former Finance Director, I know only too well how important it is to ensure value for money and deliver a payback on any investment and investment in L&D is no different.

The immense value of Learning and Development may not be immediately obvious to those responsible for committing the necessary funds and resources so here are my top 3 tips (in order of importance in my opinion!) for delivering that compelling business case:

1. Align to L&D Initiatives to Organisational Goals

Whether formalised or not every organisation has a purpose or goal(s), understanding these should always be the start point when developing an L&D programme. Meet with your key stakeholders, understand their objectives and priorities and demonstrate how L&D can support these to increase the likelihood of success.

Understanding critical success factors and identifying potential skills or knowledge gaps will provide valuable insights into the specific L&D needs, from which you can develop an L&D strategy.

2. Measure Impact of L&D Initiatives

Having a framework of measurement to assess the impact of L&D initiatives is essential when trying to demonstrate their benefits.

L&D KPIs will be highly dependent on the specific initiative and its desired outcomes, they can be qualitative (e.g. gathering feedback from participants - did they value the training, what did they learn, what have they applied) or quantitative (e.g. employee engagement, productivity measures, staff retention) and should measure the difference before and after training so it is important to understand and be clear on what the start point is.

3. Quantify Impact on Financial Performance

Don't ignore the intangible benefits that you cannot put a financial value on but whether explicitly stated or not, most businesses exist to make money either to re-invest back into the business or return to shareholders, so where you can monetise the benefits of L&D initiatives to demonstrate the value to the 'bottom line'.

A good place to start is by looking at your quantitative L&D KPIs to see whether you can put a financial number to it.

If we take employee retention as an example we could put a financial value to the cost of recruiting, training and getting to required productivity level (perhaps use your Finance team to do or validate this), so if a business with 100 employees increased their employee retention rate by 10% (10 employees) and the cost to recruit, train and on-board was £6,000 then the financial benefit over the period would be £60,000.

Do get in touch if you want to discuss or need any guidance on this. geoffg@nenegate.com

16 May '24

What Kind of Leader are You ?

Whilst we may have a preference for one or possibly two of these leadership styles, the truth is we need to be able to draw on, and be effective in, all 4 styles to be a truly inspiring leader. Good leadership is more than just mastering a set of management skills, leaders must create a compelling vision, deliver results and maximise the effectiveness of those they lead through shared goals and values.

Our Discovering Leadership Programme will help you be the best leader you can be.

Results Driven Leader

Has a strong task focus and superior prioritisation skills, enabling them to be objective and rigorous in rationalising problems and challenges

Centred Leader

Inwardly focused, reflecting on their thoughts, feelings, values and motivations. Living in the moment and focused on the task in hand

Visionary Leader

Looks outward to the environment, using intuition to make connections and see possibilities others miss

Relationship Leader

Focused on nurturing relationships, building mutual respect and collaboration, and ensuring that consideration is central to all interactions

12 May '24

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom” - Aristotle

There’s no doubt that having a deep understanding of your unique gifts, talent, strengths and weaknesses provides a foundation for success, but the real key to success is choosing to adapt and change them to achieve your desired outcomes.

Often we default to type, using those behaviours we are most comfortable with, which may not always be appropriate for the situation at hand.

Recognising this and knowing how to adapt our approach in any given situation enables us to better navigate challenges, seize opportunity and improve the chances of reaching our goals.

Embracing change is essential for us to learn, evolve and enhance our effectiveness.

25th Sep-24How Many Executive Coaches Does I Take to Change a Lightbulb?