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How to know if your presentation sucks—while giving it.
Okay, so if you’ve just finished speaking, and no one meets your eye or comes to talk to you… *brutal news incoming* you blew it.
If some people chat and follow up—you did OK.
Putin isn’t the only one with insurgency problems
A senior guy at a large management consultancy spent some time last week rambling me through the inane complexities of their annual appraisal system. The ins and outs are far too boring to report, but headlines: Massive time suck. Damages morale (oh the irony). Blunt, old fashioned rankings.
What people REALLY want from bosses will surprise you
The power to make work better is ours.
The big question this week is: why aren’t we stepping up?
Especially when the Gallup data we touched on last week shows that, globally, 65% of us experienced a lot of stress (44%) or anger (21%) just yesterday.
Disengagement: new data sparks urgent call for action (and new ideas)
Gallup’s Global Employee Engagement data released this week says that 77% of employees are disengaged. That is 3 out of 4 people! Most of them are ‘filling a seat and watching the clock’. But 18% are actively disruptive.
The data is new but the trend isn’t.
The most shameful decision of my career
There have been a few (!) but the one I‘m referring to feels as raw and nauseating today as when it happened.
Is hybrid actually the WORST way to work?
Except, of course, as Churchill might have said, for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time…
Hybrid is so wildly popular that even leaders who hate it have mostly conceded defeat and are sticking with it. So much so, that many tell me it’s sorted, done, old news.
Next level of performance management—or the ick?
Your performance review is coming up and you’re nervous.
You’re feeling quite disconnected: you’ve not seen a lot of your manager aside from in Teams calls, you keep missing them in the office, and they’re super busy. (Plus, you’re pretty sure they don’t quite know what it is that you do, or how painful that client is.)
Vital: 5 Game-Changing Leadership Insights!
Last week‘s HR Technologies Conference at ExCel was like HR Disneyland—a rollercoaster of information that it took me two days to come down from.
One thing you MUST know about your colleagues
Knowing it will reduce your stress, their stress and enable you to manage teams and clients a whole lot better… Also, it’s excellent for your sleep patterns.
But even talking about it may make you anxious.
How to handle bullies & blunderers
Dominic Raab (Deputy Prime Minister) and Tony Danker (Director-General of the CBI) have both left their jobs, furiously refuting allegations of bullying and harassment.
I, like most of you I reckon, recognise the pattern.
How to manage stress like the top 10%
This week on the vlog, we have Rob Cross on his new book The Microstress Effect: How Little Things Pile Up and Create Big Problems—and What to Do about It (gosh Americans Love Capital Letters!). Co-written with Karen Dillon and published by Harvard Business Review Press.
How to x100 your hybrid productivity
The question I’m always asked is whether home or office work is more productive. And for all the data reports on this, there isn’t a conclusive pattern (despite what the Daily Mail shouts).
But I have a hypothesis...
5 best team tips to boost productivity 💥
The LinkedIn Forward conference that I MCed last week was about putting people at the centre of business growth—deep diving into productivity in the new world of work.
Two words = Productivity unlocked 🔓
This week I am totally wired. Fresh (not!) off the stage from two days of hosting LinkedIn Forward‘s first London event; it was a whirl of trends, ideas, people, data…
How I overcame the fear of presenting
When I come off stage, people so often ask me how I do it—because they would ’RATHER DIE’ than talk on a stage.
I get it. I used to sweat, my mouth would go dry, I would talk far too fast (yes, I know I’m still too fast sometimes), and my voice would get very high. But I broke it down and figured it out. And you can too.
WHAT MAKES YOU ANGRY hotdesking rage is real
As humans, we’re inclined to be territorial…..And sociable. But only with the people we like of course! And then along came the hotdesk.
5 productivity tips to avoid burnout (+3 to AVOID)
My main learning from the past few weeks, is that taking productivity advice from a man who doesn’t have—or doesn’t care for—his kids is (for me) like taking driving lessons my 9-year-old because she’s great at Mario Kart.
What price face-to-face?
Last week, I was invited to a 90 minute meeting at someone’s office that turned out to be entirely in their interest.
Pre-Covid, I’d barely have noticed.
On Zoom, I’d have let it slide.
But using up one of my precious slots in town without seeking mutual benefit?
Secret manoeuvres: return to office
You know bosses are desperate to get people back when an accountant from 22 Bishopsgate calls to tell you that they are hosting puppy play dates to tempt you into the office. Only it doesn’t work because the puppies are so booked up that the waiting lists are endless (note: anyone who can blag me in to film a vlog smooching cutie pups will be due a fine lunch).
Quit it like Jacinda (not Boris)
Jacinda knew it. Boris didn’t, This week, Rachel Schofield’s back to share: ⏰ When it’s time to quit your job 🎯 And what to do when it is