Really Useful Conversations

As UK sickness absence rates are reported to be at a 10 year high and poor mental health being the second biggest reason for workplace absence, it's important that organisations take a more strategic approach to protecting the mental health of their employees. Simply signing up to wellbeing initiatives and appointing mental health first aiders is not the end of it - in fact the Society for Occupat...

In the most recent CIPD report it shares that sickness absence levels in the UK are currently at a 10 year high, and this is despite the number of organisations who now have appointed Wellbeing Managers and subscribe to various initiatives. Surely if all the employers who talk about the importance of wellbeing are doing these things, consistently and well, we should be seeing sickness absence figu...

The plane crashed into the 14th Street Bridge, killing 78 people. If only the flight crew had been communicating better. Flight AF90 never made it to it's destination on 13th January 1982, and the need for better equipment when dealing with disasters underground meant the rescues from the July 7th bombings in London were hampered. Communication is simply giving information, direction or guidance -...

This week I get to chat with the woman on a mission to rid the world of rubbish managers - and with the launch of her new book, Jo Wright is passionate about the importance of transformational coaching conversations in organisations as the way forward. Speaker, author, coach and all round fab person with a framework to offer any business who is committed to creating a culture where people and perf...

Movember is an annual global campaign that encourages men to grow those mustaches and participate in various activities to raise awareness about men's health issues. This has included addressing issues such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health challenges, and suicide prevention and is intended as a platform for men to discuss their health openly, seek support, and take proactive st...

Certified coach Dr Jo Baldwin is on a mission to help women aged 40-plus bring oomph and sparkle back into their lives. Jo empowers women who have lost their 'mojo' to rediscover it and reach their full potential. Her own lived experience of both perimenopause and empty nest syndrome, combined with a 10-year career in obs and gynae medicine, inform her compassionate and holistic coaching style. In...

It's all very well and good to encourage Really Useful Conversations about all manner of topics in the workplace but if we don't have the right culture, then people will not feel comfortable to have conversations at all. Organisational climate needs to feel safe, positive and inclusive, and as a leader, you can make a massive difference. In this solo episode I'm going to share some specific points...

For Stress Awareness Day who better to talk to than the Founder of The Happiness Club, the marvellous Jo Howarth. Jo is an advanced hypnotherapist and mindfulness practitioner who helps people look after their mental and emotional health on a daily basis. She works in person with schools, organisations and individuals and offers an online resource that supports your mental wellbeing 24 hours a day...

It is said that 62% of divorces are instigated by menopausal women, and 73% of women blamed the breakdown of their relationship on their menopausal symptoms. That's one reason why my new book "Could it be your hormones love? And other questions not to ask a menopausal woman" is an absolute essential for all MEN who need to better understand what is happening during the perimenopause years! However...

As we approach Menopause Awareness Day here in the UK, it is ironic to note THREE recent employment tribunal cases with menopause symptoms at the root. The cost of NOT training managers is obvious, and not only is the compensation and legal costs significant, but also the potential damage to your reputation as a business and an employer. In this week's episode I share details of these cases, along...

It can come as a surprise for many previously confident midlife, menopausal women to find themselves doubting, questioning, over-thinking and even shrinking into the shadows. Perhaps body image isn't as good as it once was, self talk feels more negative, looking in the mirror leaves us feeling disappointed or even finding clothes no longer fit nor flatter! Siân Fisher is on a mission to help women...

This month is both World Mental Health Day and Menopause Awareness Month so the perfect time for me to share with you a really useful conversation about a time when both of these issues collided and had me looking for a way out, permanently. I made a promise to the Universe that if I survived, I would use my experience to help others navigate the abyss that I had peered into, and so the work that...

Are you a Good Girl? Are you happy being a Good Girl, if so? This week I am chatting with the always wonderful Michelle Minnikin who specialises in empowering her clients to embrace their power and personal agency. With over 20 years of experience as an Organisational Psychologist, her coaching approach blends positive psychology, personal development, and her own journey with ADHD, fostering self...

Talking today to Sara Hope, whose passion for conversations is as strong as mine, and over the years she has helped leaders to gain clarity, awareness of self, and overcome challenges. She has worked with thousands of leaders across multiple organisations to bring more candour and a human touch to their interactions, be it with clients, customers, colleagues, or their teams. She passionately belie...

European research tells us that women of the perimenopausal age are as much as 7 times more likely to have thoughts of suicide than women pre or post menopause. Why is this? In this episode I explain why the fluctuation in hormones during this period of our lives can impact both our mental health and brain health, and how those two factors can lead on to an increase in diagnosis of anxiety, depres...

Conversations can change and even save lives. They can inspire, enthuse, educate and motivate and as we launch Season 3, I hope you'll find a golden nugget within each episode. Whether Confident Conversations or Crucial Conversations or simply a Caring Conversation, they can make or break relationships, improve standards, increase performance and instigate change. What really useful conversations...

What is it they say about the best laid plans of mice and men? Unless it is the Three Blind Mice or the Three Wise Men and I have missed a chapter, it is something to do with however carefully you plan, things can still go wrong, right? And things did, which led me to being AWOL - so no talk of conversations of any kind, useful or otherwise! Give me just 5 minutes of your time and let me explain ....

Mental Health Awareness Week this year is focussing on the theme of anxiety - especially relevant at the moment as the UK population is currently said to be experiencing widespread levels of stress, anxiety and hopelessness in response to financial concerns, according to a new survey commissioned by the Mental Health Foundation. Mental Health Awareness Week runs from 15th to 21st May and various i...

If you are a leader responsible for managing a team, and you are keen to do a good job of that, then this week's episode will be useful for you and offer a fantastic mirror moment to consider your own leadership style too. Using the recent news reports of Dominic Raab, our now ex deputy Prime Minister, we can see how one person's perception is definitely not the other person's experience. Mr Raab...

This year the Stress Management Society are asking us to step beyond simple awareness and take deliberate action to change things. They have been using #ACT to encourage people to act - reminding us that awareness only goes so far and ACTION is where it is at. But what action can you take? Why does it matter? In this week's episode we briefly explore why stress is an issue but more importantly we...

We are often told that sleep is such an important thing, which sometimes is much easier said than done! If you are feeling stressed, anxious, even menopausal, sleep can be the much desired state that frustratingly we can't seem to achieve. What is it about sleep that makes it so important and how do we get a good quantity and quality of it so that we wake feel refreshed? This week's episode is a R...

April is Stress Awareness Month – and that's not just younger folk climbing the career ladder, or working parents with childcare demands and lots to juggle BUT stress is also something that can affect us at all times in our working lives. I want to focus specifically on the impact that stress can have on the menopause AND vice versa and am presenting TWO free online webinars this month as my contr...

Following the tragic story of the death by suicide of a 56 year old lady which reported how menopause is not routinely considered a contributing factor among women with low mood who need help, this week's episode is recorded to raise awareness about such risks and encourage everyone, whether employer, HR Manager, mate, partner or spouse, male or female, to better understand the significant impact...

In the month of International Women's Day and Mothering Sunday here in the UK, I read some shocking statistics suggesting that women are more at risk of burnout than men, more likely to step down, go part time or leave jobs completely, and are STILL more often the primary carers for families. So it was a real opportunity to speak to Vicky Harrison this week as to why that might be AND more importa...

If you have been rewriting policies, updating procedures, rolling out communications but STILL not getting the conversations happening that NEED to be happening in your business, this week's podcast episode might help you to understand why. Many clients come to me after they have invested effort and energy into educating and teaching their management population around matters such as managing atte...