.

Unless you’re an avid follower of European Union politics, you’ve probably never heard of Bernd Posselt. The German politician served as a Member of the European Parliament between 1994 and 2014, representing the Christian Social Union party in Bavaria. Why am I mentioning an obscure German MEP, you are probably thinking?   Well, apart from his fetching bierkeller moustache and physique, there...

There’s an old saying that goes, “If you haven’t got anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” (Remind me to mention this to my parents) It seems obvious doesn’t it; be kind, take time to notice, pay someone a compliment, etc., and yet in the cut and thrust of everyday professional life, it appears that this can be one...

According to Forbes Magazine, ‘few personal brands shine as brightly as Taylor Swift’s’. And as someone with a special interest in personal brand, I’ve been determined to follow her example while she’s been in the UK. The pop singer has been Time Magazine's Person of the Year and CNN’s Businessperson of the Year, after all, and I was The Liverpool Echo’s New Comedian of...

We’ve all heard of misogyny, but do you know what the male equivalent is called?   Misandry – I looked it up.  Why do I ask? Because I’ve been mulling on writing this ‘creating a more positive working culture for women’ blog for some time but didn’t want to be accused of being a misandrist – I don’t dislike or have contempt...

Earlier this month, it was reported that, after years of worrying about oestrogen setting off their fire alarm, the Garrick Club, that bastion of entitled male privilege, has finally voted to allow women members. It has been hailed as a victory for equal opportunities. But is it?   Are we missing the bigger picture here? After all, the whole concept of...

Work is where we spend a large chunk of our time, so it’s inevitable that at some point, the people you work with may experience ups and downs with their mental health. According to Mind, a leading UK Mental Health charity, 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem at some point in their lives. With this in mind,...

Pulling a sickie is part of workplace culture. Who hasn’t psyched themself up for the 9am phone call to the boss and explained in your best deathbed croak that you won’t be in today because you’ve suddenly come down with a ‘nasty bug’, which miraculously clears up the following day? Currently, sick notes, or fit notes, to give them their official...

In today’s high-velocity corporate world, the silent spectre of imposter syndrome looms large, particularly over women who ascend the precarious rungs of the corporate ladder only to find themselves shadowed by self-doubt. This pervasive issue, where capable individuals teeter on the brink of feeling like frauds despite towering achievements, demands more than a cursory nod from leaders. It calls for a...

How do learning & development teams decide what’s on the agenda? Well, from my experience, some teams are brilliant, using trackable metrics to measure what works well, what doesn’t and what else is needed. Other teams, though, aren’t as on the ball. And if that’s you, that’s okay; awareness of much-needed change is always the first step. So, in this post,...