Coaching – it’s a no-brainer!

“Coaching is helping another person reach higher levels of effectiveness by creating a dialogue that leads to awareness and action.” -Brian Emerson and Anne Loehr

“When an employee has the skills and ability to complete the task at hand, but for some reason is struggling with the confidence, focus, motivation, drive, or bandwidth to be at their best, coaching can help.” -Brian Emerson and Anne Loehr

The benefits of being coached are well documented, with individuals reporting increased self-confidence, improved work performance, better relationships, and more effective communication skills. According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the generally agreed characteristics of coaching are:

• a non-directive form of development
• focuses on improving performance and developing individuals’ skills
• emphasises performance at work and/or personal issues may be discussed
• activities have individual goals
• provides people with feedback on both their strengths and their weaknesses

Coaching is not counselling or therapy; it is forward-looking and is about achieving positive results in your life. A coach will show you techniques and simple strategies for helping you to close the gap between where you are now and what you want to achieve.

What are the benefits of coaching?

The great benefit of coaching is that you are very likely to see quick, positive results as an outcome. This is because coaching is participative and people tend to learn and adopt new habits more easily when they are actively engaged in the learning process. As soon as a coaching session ends you can implement a new practice.

Often, there are critical things we simply don’t see our blind spots. We can have blind spots about the way we come across socially, the limiting beliefs we operate on, the real consequences of certain behaviours, etc. Since you cannot change or take into consideration what you don’t see, blind spots typically keep you stuck and become barriers to your improvement.

Once you know what it is that you want to shift or achieve, the key question is: How? It could be from communication to time management. There are many tools and techniques available, unfortunately, the choice can make it confusing. This is where good coaching comes in, as a way to determine the tools and techniques that work best and that work best for your context, your problems and your person.

The process is entirely devoted to you – your issues and the attainment of new behaviour goals. One great point about coaching is that it takes place over an extended period of time. Which means you will be constantly challenged and encouraged to work on issues that need improvement.

By constantly doing better you practice good habits and the more you practice – the more natural it becomes to automatically change and improve your behaviours.

Have you had coaching? Please feel free to share the benefits you have found. Have further questions about coaching? Please feel free to contact me for more information.

In joy and gratitude,

Heddy

 

 

Leadership – what makes a good leader?

The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things. – Ronal Reagan

The term leadership conjures up many different results or meanings. This is by no means a new term  Plato, Confucius and the authors of the Bhagavad Gita also thought about leadership, as of course did Machiavelli. History books have detailed accounts of the lives and decisions of individual leaders. However, there does not appear to be a systematic description to define effective ‘leadership qualities’.

Might this be that different scenarios or organisations require different characteristics or traits? Leaders are people who, regardless of their title or position, take time to influence the thinking, actions and behaviours of others. Leadership is the performance of teams, groups and organisations (Hogan& Kaiser 2005). Daniel Goleman in his book Emotional Intelligence states that leadership is not domination, but the art of persuading people to work toward a common goal.

Research shows that workplaces often function because of unrecognised emergent leaders, many of them women. Being a leader isn’t as simple of identifying a set of actions – it isn’t what you are, it’s what you do. Bad leadership degrades the quality of life for those impacted by that leader.

‘If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.’ John Quincy Adams

There any many different models of leadership style, but perhaps the best-know is Daniel Goleman’s Six Leadership Styles, which he labelled:-

1. Coercive, or commanding – ‘do as I say’
2. Pace-setting – ‘do as I do, right now’
3. Authoritative – ‘come with me’
4. Affiliative – ‘people come first’
5. Democratic – ‘what do you think?’
6. Coaching – ‘try it and see’

We are all leaders, irrespective of our title or position, however we just need to recognise the opportunities to lead others.  This can become tricky when debating the difference between management and leadership, one would appear to manage with the head and the other with the heart. A manager maintains control and solves problems, a leader motivates and inspires those around them. An effective leader should produce the potential for dramatic change, but an ineffective leader can also create chaos and even failure (Kotterman, 2006).

The best leaders know that they still have much to learn and continue to develop a wide range of skills. We admire leaders who radiate authenticity and authority; we respect and enjoy real leaders.

How do you lead those around you, please reach for further information on coaching.

Joy and gratitude,

Heddy

 

Resources

Hogan, R., & Kaiser, R. B. (2005). What we know about leadership. Review of General Psychology, 9(2), 169–180.

Kotterman, J. (2006). Leadership versus management: What’s the difference? The Journal for Quality & Participation, 29(2), 13–17.

 

 

Learning isn’t a spectator sport

We learn by doing. However this may be news to some learners…. during my 20 years in education there have been numerous times that I have had to explain to students that learning does not happen by osmosis. Research shows that active learning is much better recalled, enjoyed and understood. Active methods require learners to ‘make their own meaning’, by developing their own concepts of what they are learning.

Michael Prince explains, ‘active learning is generally defined as any instructional method that engages students in the learning process. In short, active learning requires students to do meaningful learning activities and think about what they are doing’. During this active process we physically make neural connections in our brain, the process we call learning. Passive methods such as listening do not require us to make these neural connections or conceptualisations. Active methods also:-

• Allow the learner to receive feedback on their incomplete understandings and encourage them to fix this, by receiving help from either the teacher or a peer.
• Give the trainer / facilitator / teacher feedback on the progress of the learners understanding, and easily identifying who needs help
• Develop thinking skills such as analysis, problem solving and evaluation.
• Help learners to use their learning in realistic and useful ways, and see its importance and relevance

In my experience the good students may create meaning from passive methods, however the weaker students will not. Both types of students improve their learning enormously when they are required to use it.

Active learning can essentially be defined as “students doing things and thinking about what they are doing” (Bonwell and Eison, 1991)

When active methods are compared with traditional methods, active learning produces better achievement results – research shows that this is true at every academic level. Therefore it is important to design activities that promote higher order thinking skills such as collaboration, critical thinking and problem-solving.

How do you engage students, please reach out for further information to engage learners.

Joy and gratitude,

Heddy

What does wellness mean to you?

It seems that wellness means something different to everyone. To some wellness might mean giving up sugar, going on a diet, a new gym membership or doing yoga. But what does wellness really mean to you?

When people think wellness, they might picture their ideal self – perfection of balance including physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. However, this image is usually conjured up with image of comparisons (that’s a whole blog in itself…) making it feel intangible, that coupled with the reality of busy lives and suddenly wellness gets booted to the bottom of our list of priorities. Wellness is the active process of becoming aware of and making choices towards a healthy and fulfilling life. Surely that is something everyone should be investing in?

‘a conscious, self-directed and evolving process of achieving full potential.’ – The National Wellness Institute

Wellness occurs by living lives we truly love – by reconnecting with nature, nurturing our body through nutrition and fitness, and practicing daily mindfulness. Wellness happens by making incremental changes that add up over time. Some maybe small – swapping tea for coffee, while others maybe significant – letting go of feelings of guilt perhaps. Wellness matters because everything we do and every emotion we feel relates to our well-being. In turn our well-being directly affects our actions and emotions – and so the cycle continues whether it be good or bad. Therefore, it is vitally important for everyone to achieve optimum wellness in order to reduce stress, the risk of illness and support positive interactions.

‘All paths are the same leading nowhere. Therefore, pick a path that has heart!‘ – Carlos Castaneda.

Wellness is broad – covering different facets of our lives. Consider these 8 dimensions that support wellness, they weave together holistically; emotional, environmental, financial, intellectual, occupational, physical, social and spiritual. There is no magic to your wellness, no prescription or check list. However, the magic lies within all of us, it is down to you and your experience. You are the key to realising your happiness, and living a life that fills you with joy and contentment.

The road to wellness may not be perfect, there maybe humps and holes along the way – and that’s ok. What is important are the little wins, and being open to what you might be able to do in order to start feeling happier and healthier, or choosing your path with heart. If you can make a small difference every day, then each day will be better than the last.

In joy and gratitude,

Heddy

 

 

 

Networking – the architecture to success

I remember my Mum telling me ‘its not what you know but who you know that counts’ – turns out my old Mum knew a thing or two about business networking. The fact is that whenever people gather together, ask for introductions or recommendations – they are already networking.

Networking should not be limited to getting a sales, but can help your find work, change careers, find good employees, improve your business practices and help you achieve business goals. In this day and age it’s only as good as you make it. Perhaps schmoozing over a wine is your thing, or keeping up with contacts via LinkedIn, if done incorrectly can be a complete waste of time. Dishing out business cards, sending out mass e-mails, and gathering a huge audience on Facebook may not accomplish anything.

The purpose of a network is to build a relationship with people who may be-able to help you, and with whom you can help in return. Just remember that everyone is part of your network, including family and neighbours – everyone you meet from the gym to the school gate.

Do any of these sound familiar? I don’t want to ask for a favour? I don’t want to be rejected? How effective can a network be? I can’t ask someone I don’t know….

There are many groups specifically for networking to share contact information. Meeting face to face is very important, but social networking has allowed us to expand beyond geographical barriers. They help us reach out to people without having to attend events, and can certainly be a good way to get the word out about business developments.

However, networking should not begin and end with social networking. These site only enhance but do not replace face-to-face networking. Follow up is important, and relationships must be nurtured.

To be worth the time and effort, networking must produce results and achieve goals. If nothing else remember that networking is a two way street – an exchange of ideas, referrals and information. Ultimately effective networking builds relationships and improves our chances of success. Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence, describes that improving the way we work together will be a major way to leverage intellectual capital and giving us a critical competitive difference.

Networking is about building and nurturing relationships, sharing information, learning about career opportunities, pooling resources and expanding your contacts.  Networking is about connecting with people, not collecting people.  It is truly a life skill allowing you to be the architect to build, nurture, and maintain quality mutually-beneficial relationships over your career and your lifetime.

Happy networking!

Heddy

 

The power of touch

I have long been an advocate of massage, its benefits are huge and so in demand as people are looking for ways to pay for relaxation. Additionally as the status ‘single’ grows it is not hard to understand why so many people enjoy the power of touch. However I am now a convert from the ‘someone loves me’ style of massage that I have experienced for years. This year I was introduced to Yoga Massage – its roots come from Thai and Ayurvedic medicine – this style of massage is like no other.

It certainly delivers relaxation but additionally it stretches and flexes the client – some call it the ‘lazy mans yoga’. This beautiful dance of moves, incorporating yoga asanas, allows the client to feel seamlessly weightless as anti-gravity poses go beyond the barriers of a salon massage.

The Yoga Massage focuses on an infinite set of variables at a time, performing gentle, dynamic movements with the receiver while attending to their breath, energy lines, pressure points and Ayurvedic doshas.

I had the greatest privilege to study this modality under the careful eye of Heather Agnew, from Yoga Trinity. My mentor threw my 3 decades of massage beliefs up in the air and taught me a beautiful flow which now truly has me hooked.

If you would like more information about this modality please comment to this blog, or private message me via Facebook.

See you on the mat,

Heddy

Stop and smell the roses

How many times do you ask someone how they are only to hear them tell about their stress? It seems that stress is everywhere – is it the lives we lead or our inability to cope?

I am frequently reminded by my older siblings that when I was a mere toddler how I made reference to my ‘tensions’ being too much – a 1960’s issue also. My life has certainly tested my ‘tensions’ and has caused me to be stressed but I now work hard at keeping things in my control. I practice yoga, mindfulness, look after my nutrition and get outside as much as possible.

However I think the scariest thing about stress, is the way is has become part of our daily lives. It is the ‘daily stress’ in life: getting caught in traffic when you have an appointment, trying to do too many things in not enough time,  constantly comparing ourselves or financial juggling, and the foods we are eating – particularly if they are highly processed foods causing inflammation, can be a damaging form of daily stress.

Things that drain our energy take up a lot of time and leave us feeling frustrated, annoyed or angry. Often by attempting to do too much and not get things finished we are left feeling dissatisfied and unfulfilled, eating on the run with fast foods or nutrient deficient foods can cause major problems. This ‘time stress’ or, as the Japanese call it, ‘hurry sickness’ can create all kinds of stress-related problems including premature aging, eczema, dermatitis and acne, irritable bowel, digestive issues, weight gain or loss, muscular aches and pains, chronic fatigue and migraines. If our stresses are repetitive and we constantly feel that we are always on the go – then chances are its already starting to affect our health, how we look, how we are feeling and……. how we are ageing…..

With stress come a whole load of naturally produced hormones from our adrenal glands to give us increased energy to meet the ‘challenge’. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this – it is our fight or flight response. However when we constantly live in that ‘fight or flight’ mode, we will start to see premature aging; muscle loss and saggy skin; fatty accumulation contributing to cellulite; belly fat and other health problems.

Learning how to cope properly can go a long way to our everyday health, managing stress is all about taking charge of our thoughts, emotions and the way to deal with problems. Don’t try to control the uncontrollable, but do take control of your health.

The way it is,

Heddy

What are you wrapped up in?

Your skin is the largest organ of your body, made up of water, protein, lipids, minerals and chemicals. On average, your skin weighs about 2.75 kilos, can span 2 square metres and contains 17 kilometres of blood vessels. It acts as our protector, helps us regulator temperature, rids our body of toxins, absorbs chemicals, its  receptors respond to pain and touch, and lastly the skin plays a role in producing Vitamin D from sunlight. This living defence system changes throughout our lives – sometimes for better, some for the worse dependent on our internal and external environment.

Up until a few decades ago, the skin was thought to be almost impermeable but modern research has changed all that.  We now know that a lot of what we put on the skin enters the body system, many into the blood stream. My own penny drop moment was on the launch of the Nicotine patches – since then we have seen the release of patches for HRT and opioids for severe pain, as well as certain antidepressants and medicines for Alzheimer’s disease. These products work really well to deliver a slow continuous dose of medicine directly through the skin. Irrefutable studies show how components of essential oils can be detected in exhaled breath 20-60 minutes after their application to the skin.

This should make you think more carefully about the ingredients in the many products you put on your skin. Not just make up, moisturisers, and shower gels but also your deodorant, fragrance and conditioner.

I recommend to read the ingredients choose natural and organic to avoid harmful chemicals that might be absorbed. If you want to be truly comfortable in your own skin consider that its entire surface offers a pretty big area for exposure to potential toxins.

The way it is,

Heddy

Keeping skin care simple

For many years I have been a huge fan of rose hip oil. I am also a great fan of keeping my skincare really simple, after 3 decades of being in the skincare industry I have seen many crazy products and tried quite a number. I confess to being the woman who had to install more shelving in her bathroom to accommodate extra products…But now things are very different – now I keep things to a minimum, why didn’t anyone introduce me to rose hip oil before? Rose hip oil is a multivitamin for you skin – it is jam packed with essential fatty acids, vitamins and antioxidants that are crucial to having a glowing skin. This gorgeous oil contains the powerful antioxidant lycopene, which can also be found in tomatoes and watermelon – this helps to protect the skin from premature aging and gives the oil its beautiful amber colour. The fatty acids help to regenerate and repair skin cells and damaged tissue. They hydrate dry skin and can actually improve the appearance of scars and wrinkles – particularly good for sun damage. Additionally rose hip oil is a natural source of vitamin A, research has shown that applying trans-retinoic acid (vitamin A) to the skin helps to prevent premature aging caused by sun damage. My rose hip oil has now taken the place of a daily moisturiser, night cream, eye-cream and a serum. I gently massage 2-3 drops directly onto my face and neck, ensuring the drier areas are taken care of and even taking it up to my eyes morning and night. I love that idea that at night rose hip oil helps your skin to repair, rejuvenate and BREATHE whilst you sleep. There are many different products out there, so I recommend reading the label – buy pure rose hip and organic whenever possible. For value for money I love Organic Spa’s rose hip oil RRP $42.95 www.organicspa.com a bottle usually lasts me 3 months – a huge saving of a variety of products.

Magic in a bottle

For many years I have been fascinated by the range of ingredients used in skincare products. Personally, I cannot imagine opting for a synthetic promise in a bottle over a natural, organic alternative offering a gentler and harmonious effect.   However imagine my surprise when recently I attended a skin care product function I observed a group of ladies opting for the ‘magic in a bottle’ scenario. Having been introduced to a skin care representative I watched these ladies drool and enthuse over the promises being made, pupils dilating at the thought of the time being turned back, and yet not once did they inquire as to what was in the product? The glamour and hype intoxicated theses ladies, conscientiousness and intelligence evaporated.
As we make choices with the food we eat, the water we drink, the fuel we put in our car and even the energy we use at home should we not also be intelligent choices about the products we use on our skin?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts,

Heddy