The People Mentor Podcast

Welcome to my podcast, your go-to guide for leading with heart and results in high-pressure times.  Today I am chatting about all things burnout prevention, handling tough conversations, and boosting team well-being.  Peppered with actionable advice, expert insights, and a hearty dose of empathy, this is your essential toolkit to navigate leadership in burnout-intense times. 

Are you struggling to manage long-term employees who have become challenging in your business?  In my latest podcast, I provide you with valuable strategies and insights on effectively navigating this situation.  Discover how to unlock the potential of these employees, foster a positive work environment, and drive the continued success of your team.  Don't miss out on this opportunity to transform...

Looking to boost productivity in your SME team?   Look no further! My podcast, "How to Increase Productivity in Your SME Team to Achieve the Results You Want," is packed with actionable strategies to optimise your team's efficiency.  Join me as I explore time management, effective delegation, and productivity that will help you achieve outstanding results in your business.  Tune in and unlock the...

Today I’m sharing some insights today about building a powerful culture in your SME business.   A strong company culture is the secret sauce that can take your business to new heights.  It's not just about having a cool office or fancy perks; it's about creating an environment where your employees can thrive, be engaged, and deliver their best work.  And trust me, that's the kind of culture that a...

Can leadership skills be learned or are they innate?  In this episode of The People Mentor podcast, I talk about whether leadership is in our nature or whether leadership skills can be nurtured.  Here’s my take on it. 

What impact do your leadership skills have on the performance of your team? In leadership, how you speak, how you act, and the decisions you make can have a direct effect on your employees, in positive and negative ways.  In this podcast, we’ll be looking at the leadership skills to develop for high-performing teams and the leadership behaviours you need to leave behind. 

Do you enter into a difficult conversation with the intention of ‘winning?’  If you want a positive outcome, that’s not the best way to go about it.  The art of having successful difficult conversations is in finding common ground and a way forward that’s acceptable to all parties.  Here are my tips on how to get the best out of tough conversations. 

The benefits of having neurodiverse people on your team are increasingly being recognised.  However, along with these benefits, there are challenges, one of which is communication.  In this podcast, I’m looking at how to have a successful and productive conversation with a neurodiverse employee.   

Does your confidence as a manager of people need work? Behind every confident team is a confident manager. In this podcast, I’ll be sharing tips on how to increase your confidence so that in turn, your team becomes happier, more innovative, and more productive. 

As a new manager, it's crucial you understand how to lead your team to success.  Effective leadership has a far-reaching impact, not just on the immediate team, but on the overall business and its success. That's why I have pulled together in this podcast, 10 tips for new managers to help you get started on the right foot

Difficult conversations are challenging enough and holding them remotely adds another layer of difficulty.  There’s more room for misunderstanding and feelings getting hurt, not to mention the difficulties that trying to read body language when you’re not in the same room can bring.  Here’s why I think holding difficult conversations virtually is never a good idea. 

Managers in SME businesses tend to wear a lot of hats. In the space of a day, they deal with daily trivia as well as the higher-level strategic stuff and coordinating all the different parts of the business.  All of that against a backdrop of constant and sometimes seismic change.  It’s a balancing act that requires the right leadership skills. But what leadership skills are most important in SMEs...

Nobody likes delivering bad news.  But how do you deliver bad news without upsetting the whole team?  In this podcast, I look at how delivering bad news successfully is all in your approach and give you some examples of scenarios and how to deal with them. 

How meaningful are the conversations you have at work?  How can you go from superficial small talk and dancing around the real issues to talking about what matters the most at work?  In this podcast, I look at how to make your conversations more meaningful, and how you can use them to create that welcoming and productive culture in your team. 

What is your worst fear about difficult conversations?  For many people, it’s the fear that they’ll lose control of their emotions.  They worry they’ll storm out, get angry, or start crying.  While it can be tough to keep your cool during an intense conversation, it is possible to have difficult conversations at work without crying. Here’s how. 

What is the key to handling those crucial conversations better?  Is radical candour the way forward?  In this podcast, I look at some approaches to dealing with difficult conversations to get the best outcome for you and for the other person. 

Managing relationships with team members can be tricky at the best of times, but what about when you add managing people you consider as friends to the mix?  This podcast looks at how to navigate the difficult conversations and situations that can arise. 

The state of your working relationships can be an important factor in whether you are happy and productive at work, or not.  When a co-worker undermines you it can make you feel isolated and excluded at best.  At worst, it can affect your mental health and even make you want to leave your role.  So what should you do when a co-worker undermines you? 

Have you ever had a personal relationship at work?  We all spend a lot of time at work so it’s inevitable that relationships will happen.  Today’s podcast looks at whether managers need to get involved in such a private thing and what to do when relationships at work become a problem. 

The death of someone close is always painful and can spill over into the workplace.  As a manager and leader knowing how to support your team member can seem hard and often the person's grief is acknowledged when they return to the office and then a few days later forgotten. This podcast looks at what we need to do to support our team members in the workplace 

Whatever team you have there will be a point when a team member has personal problems.   How to support the team member is a key question for managers and leaders. 

Want to grow the business?   Then you need your team behind you and fully engaged?  Are you seeing signs that indicate that you may have a problem?   This podcast looks at what signs need taking noticing of and then some ideas to help you re-energise your team. 

It can be hard to have a tough conversation.  You want to be direct, but you don't want to seem disrespectful.   You want to get your point across, but you don't want to offend the other person.  Today's podcast talks about maintaining respect in the workplace when having a tough conversation. 

We’ve all been there.  We’ve all had a difficult conversation at work with employees or our boss.  That feeling that your stomach is in knots and of not being in control of your emotions can be awful.  Even though you feel relieved when the conversation is over, it’s important to check in with yourself and with the other person; to debrief and decompress.  Here’s how to recover after a difficult c...

Being observant is one of the most important skills that a manager and leader can have. But do we really know what this involves?   Listen to the podcast to gain more insight.