What I’ve learned in the last 12 months
On the 27th October 2019, I’ll be celebrating Ad Florem’s 4th birthday. I can hardly believe it was a whole 4 years ago when I started my business. It’s been…
The Time I Was Brave
Bravery and fear Fear is a funny thing. On the one hand, it keeps us safe by ensuring that we avoid dangerous situations. On the other hand, the things we…
Is it time to discover yourself?
Self-discovery The leadership clients I work with are often surprised when I suggest the first step to being a great leader is self-discovery. Aren’t they already themselves? What is there…
It’s Taken Me A Long Time To Learn It’s OK To Be Me!
I’m always encouraging my clients to relax and allow their personalities to shine through at work. But it took me a long time to reach that realisation for myself …and…
Time to Focus on You Using the 4 Pillars of Self-Leadership
What is Self-Leadership? Leaders spend a lot of time focusing on external factors. Processes, people, targets. We’re constantly trying to shape and influence these external factors to bring us closer…
Do Leaders Need To Look After Their Wellbeing?
A Centre for Mental Health study found that presenteeism from mental ill health alone costs the UK economy £15.1 billion per year, and absenteeism costs £8.4 billion. To combat this,…
Time to Think – Is It Worth It?
How often do you take the time to just think? I don’t mean a momentary pause before you make a big decision. How often do you take the time to…
How to Rediscover the Passion for your Leadership Role
As leaders, we’re always busy. Always on the go, juggling goals and priorities on a daily basis. In the early days of your leadership role, the motivation and passion for…
Habits are the key to great leadership
One of the books I frequently recommend to my executive coaching clients is Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It’s as relevant now as it was on publication…
Handling anxiety and overwhelm in leadership
One of the most common issues I help my leadership clients with is anxiety. They often link this with a sense of feeling overwhelmed. Anxiety and overwhelm is something that…
5 Ways to Start Feeling More Confident as a Leader
When I look at great leaders across various industries, one thing stands out. Confidence. It’s easy to look at leaders who seem confident and assume that they never experienced the…
How to Manage Stress at Work
Stress. It’s a word we hear a lot these days, and for good reason. We live and work in a fast-paced society where we’re constantly connected and constantly contactable. In…
Want to be a great leader? Try reflecting, recharging, and refocusing
It’s that time of year again where the sun starts to make a more regular appearance. It’s also when we start to spring clean our homes and plant seeds in…
Why is Self-Awareness Important in Leadership?
Over 20 years ago, my eldest son was born, and I remember my Grandma saying to me “you can’t be a great mum, wife, daughter, friend, neighbour, boss etc; if…
A Time for Leadership Reflection
As 2018 comes to a close, it’s that time where we begin to reflect on the past year and our achievements. In between the many Christmas lunches and parties, that…
My Significant Emotional Event
In 2018 I experienced a Significant Emotional Event. It shook me to the core. It disrupted my emotional, mental and physical wellbeing; making me think and behave differently. I know…
Are you bringing the ‘real you’ to your leadership?
Ad Florem means “to flower”, which reflects my aspiration to help senior leaders grow and flourish in their roles. But an unexpected bonus of having this business has been how…
A simple reflective practice for busy leaders
With the high pressures of modern leadership, it’s easy to believe there’s no time to reflect on your practice, even though great leaders know it helps them improve. During my…
Are you avoiding something by closing your heart?
Some time ago, I noticed I’d filled my life up with ‘stuff.’ My diary was full of client appointments, CPD workshops, concerts, DIY, time with family and friends. There was…
You’re developing as a leader, so why aren’t your team engaged?
Have you ever tried to introduce a new way of working, only to experience a strong resistance from your team? During the last few leadership development programmes I’ve facilitated, this…