As a secondary school teacher of English for a decade, having a growth mindset and expecting the same of others has always been central to my approach to business and leadership. Now entering my eighth year of entrepreneurship and reflecting upon what those years have taught me, I can see how many of my skillsContinue reading “From the classroom to the boardroom: 5 transferable skills from teaching to business”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Acknowledging our weaknesses as leaders
Interviewer: what would you say your biggest weakness is? Everyone in the world: I’m just such a perfectionist. *rolls eyes whilst holding hand up in confession of using this phrase…* Okay, so the dreaded interview question makes us all suddenly throw any semblance of our authentic selves straight out of the nearest window, puff outContinue reading “Acknowledging our weaknesses as leaders”
Can boundary setting helps us avoid workplace burnout?
Discussing psychological safety in the workplace is an important way of showing your team that their wellbeing is valued. It showcases your trust that they are capable (and allowed!) to set boundaries in alignment with your overall company values, which in turns offers them more autonomy and improves wellbeing and performance. Avoiding employee burnout isContinue reading “Can boundary setting helps us avoid workplace burnout?”
Year 11 Revision and the Ulysses Contract
The Ulysses Contract is a commitment device based on the idea we can anticipate the mistakes we will make and bind ourselves to positive action, tying ourselves to the mast to ensure we make it through an oncoming challenge. I became Head of Department at my current school during significant change: the first year ofContinue reading “Year 11 Revision and the Ulysses Contract”
How to give ourselves better advice
‘I always pass on good advice. It is the only thing to do with it. It is never of any use to oneself.’ Oscar Wilde. Ah, advice. Love it, hate it, take it, ignore it – we all fancy ourselves as good at giving it… to other people. Why is it that we’re full ofContinue reading “How to give ourselves better advice”
When to take the plunge in starting up your business: a reflection checklist.
Despite endless conversations about your hypothetical business and lots of pipelined plans, you might not know when the time is truly right to take the plunge and start. I’ll be super honest here: I absolutely didn’t go through a checklist like the below; didn’t write a business plan; and didn’t have a five-year plan butContinue reading “When to take the plunge in starting up your business: a reflection checklist.”
Self-discovery in recovery from surgery
When your health is unexpectedly at risk it can take a long time to process. More recently, I’ve started to reflect on what I learned from my experience with the rare condition Cauda Equina and recovering from back surgery whilst newly single-handedly running a business. Despite this being a personal topic, in the hope itContinue reading “Self-discovery in recovery from surgery”
Hiring in a pandemic
When we went into lockdown, March 2020, like everyone else out there – we had no real idea how the pandemic was going to impact us. The first few months were survival mode: learning the new ropes of virtual interactions; endless health and safety risk assessments to even contemplate a return to the office (whichContinue reading “Hiring in a pandemic”
Self-deprecation in the workplace: 12 phrases to stop overusing today
Is it a female thing? A millennial thing? A British thing? Or just a me thing? Why is it some people exude natural confidence and hold their own when talking, leaving their listeners pumped, clear and full of respect; whilst I still seem to waffle and witter my way around my key messages, adding unnecessarilyContinue reading “Self-deprecation in the workplace: 12 phrases to stop overusing today”
A Writing Curriculum Part 2 – a transition approach to teaching writing
There is a kind of powerless frustration familiar to teaching writing. It is a series of pyrrhic victories, like untangling an intricate chain only to find another catch. How can a child use capital letters perfectly well in one sentence and forget that they exist in the next? And when you think you’ve solved thatContinue reading “A Writing Curriculum Part 2 – a transition approach to teaching writing”
Finding Our Words 