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Not surprisingly in the current climate there are a lot of posts about leadership on LinkedIn at the moment. Many outline the ‘normal’ traits and behaviours of a leader, things like vision, integrity, empathy, nous, decisiveness. We can all trot them out and they are important traits, don’t get me

“You’re communicating with me way too much,” said no employee to their manager ever. No successful business has ever become successful without great people managers. But how many businesses have lost great people due to a bad one? There are many skills needed by a manager but if you want

One of the biggest lessons learned by many business owners during lockdown, was either that they had too many individuals who were indispensable, or that there were too many tasks that could only be done by one individual – often the business owner themselves. What resulted was at worst, a

Managers – do you listen to audiobooks? Well it’s taken some time, but I’m delighted to tell you that… drum roll… Mission: To Manage is finally available as an audiobook on both Audible UK and Audible US.   I know parents aren’t meant to boast about their children, but I

When systemising and creating ‘one right way’ to do everything in your business, things can start to feel a little repetitive. It’s all very well the idea of having one right way to do everything in your business, but in reality, training the team and new hires in each and

Consistency is a key word in our business, and the achievement of consistency is key to everything we do.   The desire for a consistent operation is the whole reason our clients come to us – the goal of having a consistent operation that runs like clockwork whether they are

Are you proud of your team? Whatever your industry, business or team size, I bet you wouldn’t be where you are now without your wonderful team! Let’s take this opportunity to celebrate and appreciate your people, and in particular our LGBTQ+ team members in honour of Pride month this June.

I may be showing my age here, but back in the day it was a real thing to ‘do a spring clean’.  Some say that it originated in Iran where local people celebrated the new year with a cleaning frenzy known (roughly translated) as ‘shaking the house’!  Others say it

I’m a firm believer in that phrase and it was well illustrated a couple of weeks ago. If you’re not a rugby or football fan please bear with me 🙂 It was watching the Liverpool v Atalanta Champions League game. An Atalanta player fouled an opponent and was being booked

‘5.7 million SMEs generate £2 trillion for the UK economy;  33,860 scaleups contribute £1 trillion of this total!’’ ONS 2020 Staying in startup mode As a small business grows, and employees increase, it’s just not possible for the business owner to sort out all of the problems they face, as

“So your secret weapon when it comes to creating How Tos will be…” If the mention of the word systems has brought you out in hives, fear not!  By the time you’ve read this post you’ll be seeing systems in a different, brighter, much friendlier light. And seeing the creation

I talk a LOT about the need for effective systems in your business. About the benefit of developing them and improving them in collaboration with the people who are going to work with them – and about how McDonald’s have used systems to become one of the most consistent and

Over the last few weeks I’ve been sharing specifics of how to systemise different areas of your business. So this week I thought it may be worth reminding you why you should bother, with my top ten (of the many) benefits of a systemised business! Increased customer loyalty and retention.

The first crucial step of your new team member’s journey through your business “A small company depends on great people much more than a big company does.” – Steve Jobs So! You’re happy that you’ve made a good fist of your hiring. You took your time. You’ve not settled. You’ve

“If you could re-hire all of your team members tomorrow, would you?” That’s a question you’ll have heard me refer to many times, and it’s a question I always put to my clients to get an immediate insight into the effectiveness of their hiring system. It’s occasionally met with a

Fourteen inspiring businesswomen from across the globe come together to inspire women to create the next chapter of their lives. It’s been an extraordinary couple of years, during which time countless women around the world have gone that extra mile to inspire and support each other, to help one another

I learned a lot during my time with McDonald’s, a scaling giant, but there are 3 key lessons that stick with me. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but along with spring, there’s a real sense of renewed optimism in the air.  Home-schooling parents are soon to be released from

‘A vampire is a creature from folklore that subsists by feeding on the vital essence of the living.’ – Wikipedia We all have vampires in our lives. Time vampires! And the biggest vampire of all is your inbox.  You know what I’m talking about – you plan your day, have it all

Tip 1 Work in sync with your ‘productivity clock’. Growing up I remember that everyone was expected to be productive at the same times during the day. And we just aren’t. There are early birds and night owls, and every shade of grey in between. Everyone has a natural rhythm so

‘Too many people let the day happen to them, and then get to the end of it feeling frustrated because another day has passed them by without them achieving anything.’ So many people are feeling overwhelmed at the moment. You may be one of them. Between working from home, running

If you want to be there for your team and your family, you have to protect your own time and energy. Protecting our own time and energy, is one of the biggest challenges we face as a leader. Protecting it so we can be our capable, calm and compassionate selves, enabling

“If you could re-hire all of your team members tomorrow, would you?” That’s a question you’ll have heard me refer to many times, and it’s a question I always put to my clients to get an immediate insight into the effectiveness of their hiring system. It’s occasionally met with a

‘94% of all failure is a result of the system, not the people.’ That’s quite a statement from W Edwards Deming – a pretty revolutionary thought-leader on management and productivity back in the day. So is he right? How easy is it for your people to get it right, first

Are you easy to do business with? ‘How do you sell in your business?’.  ‘Err, well it’s sort of like this.’ ‘What is the buying process for a potential customer as the first stage of their journey through your business?’  ‘Hmmm, well we don’t have a process as such but

One of my guilty pleasures at the moment is catching up with The Great British Bake Off. With everything that’s going on around us this year, it’s a proper slice of comfort telly. Happily, the only tiers you’ll hear talk of are the tiers of the show-stopping gateaux or the

In dealing with clients over the years I’ve found that pIanning is a bit like marmite. You either love it and see the benefit of it, or you hate it, and think it’s a complete waste of time. Certainly, not everyone is a fan.  “It takes way too long to pull a

So many people are terrified of presenting – more afraid of presenting than dying, if you believe that mythical stat. But the ability to present is a great tool to add to your communication toolbox, and a skill that’s well worth mastering for anyone in a leadership role. Presenting is a

‘Leaders who don’t listen will eventually be surrounded by people who have nothing to say.’ – Andy Stanley. I have to admit that listening wasn’t something I was great as a young manager. Having grown up with four older sisters I had to work hard to get a word in

‘The only constant in life is change’ – Heraclitus. In every business, things change, stuff happens and all too often s**t happens too – there isn’t a business out there that hasn’t been affected by covid, for good or bad. It’s never been more important to keep your team up

Communication is the golden thread that runs through every element of our business and every aspect of our role as the leader of the team. It’s fundamental to our success. And good communication will always be aligned with our values – reflecting who we are as a person. Reflecting what’s important