Examining some of the themes from the True Strength interview with Dawn Smedley, starting with celebrating who we are: “Sometimes I should just look back and celebrate who I am fundamentally. We all should.”
As part of my True Strength project, I’m featuring interviews that dig deep into how people succeed and I was delighted to interview Dawn Smedley of O.C. Tanner alongside her manager Ian Feaver. The interview has lots of insights into how we succeed, about strengths, weaknesses, mindset, resilience, and how to help people be their best.
How do you find success secrets? Well, you can’t as success depends on who you are and what you want. However, we can find inspiration in real stories of success and I’m working on a project – True Strength – to tell these stories.
There is a real lack of diversity in many organisations, which is a serious issue. We need to take action to fix the root cause of this, not just the symptoms.
Performance Management is really important but no amount of process will make the right conversations happen. Managers need to be equipped to have great conversations with people. These role-plays present a scenario that managers need to be able to handle.
Many organisations are struggling with a leadership skills crisis and yet aren’t doing the right things to help leaders flourish. We need to create the right culture and then support leaders in the right way, recognising that there is not ‘one size fits all’ model of leadership.
There is a time for expansive, creative thinking. And there is a time for editing, for removing things. Sometimes, less is more. Noise detracts.
The benefits of doing what you’re best at and playing to your strengths are significant. There are, however, some situations in which I believe it is OK to play to your weaknesses and this blog posts looks at those situations and how you might cope with them.
Exploring the statement in The Kingfisher Coaching Manifesto; ‘Each and every day, do what you’re best at. Play to your strengths and value other people for theirs. Everyone shines given the right lighting.’ and asking whether you’re doing what you’re best at.
So many people don’t realise their potential and this post is part of the UK HR Blog Carnival where a number of bloggers are exploring the theme of ‘When potential comes to fruition’
I’m a big fan of having a Manifesto, of having something that makes it really clear what you’re here to do, and how you’re doing it. Inspired by the Holstee Manifesto, I’ve created the Kingfisher Coaching Manifesto.
A reflection on my own experiences of redundancy, and of how it opened up a world of opportunities.