How CliftonStrengths Saved My Life
Over the last 15 years of ups and downs, I have reflected on the power of my strengths and how these have helped me transition from survival, to coping, to thriving through very challenging circumstances.
Crafting Clifton Strengths Curiosity Questions to Lift Client Insight and Performance
Ever since I fell in love with the art of Coaching in 2007 when I read Coaching for Performance by Sir John Whitmore and subsequently trained with the Coaching Academy in the UK, I have held true to the simple definition that a great coach fosters performance by: 1) Asks simple and powerful questions of their client 2) Listens […]
Becoming a Strengths-Based Family!
As a Strengths-Based advocate, enthusiast, and coach, I have been very aware of my potential to get ‘evangelical’ about the Strengths Movement. In particular, I have to tread very carefully with my own family regarding accessing, exploring and thriving using their own strengths. Sometimes a day comes along that just changes things. Last Sunday (9th […]
What Business can learn from the sport of Springboard & Platform Diving!
As a Strengths-Based personal and business coach, I am always looking for ideas and connections that might help me and my clients improve our Success, Happiness or Fulfilment, both in business and in life. In my spare time, I am also a very rough around the edges springboard and platform diver, and love supporting my […]
Oneness vs Separateness – feeding two of our human needs
As I watch the news recently, I am reminded of two of humanity’s key needs which drive our behaviour, our progress and our growth. Oneness can be characterised as ‘bringing things together’, ‘merging’ or ‘making one’ while Separateness can be characterised as ‘separating’, ‘disconnecting’ or ‘dividing into pieces’. Both states of being are essential to […]
Life on a Page
Over the course of more than a decade of business coaching, I have always been inspired and intrigued by the impact of Plan on a Page, a one page document aimed at summarising a company’s strategic plan. Verne Harnish, Stephen Lynch and Results.com all contributed to my own Plan on a Page which can be downloaded from the Resources page […]
Accessing Intelligence
I have always been curious about humanity’s individual and collective intelligence. I admire Howard Gardner (Multiple Intelligences) and Daniel Goleman (Emotional / Social Intelligence) as authors in this space, and have been inspired to simplify and expand on their models of intelligence. There may be an unlimited number of intelligence domains, given the diversity of […]
Thriving Through Living Your Values
What do you truly care about most? How do you decide whether to ‘invest’ in success, happiness or fulfilment? What ‘rules’ do you use to make important life and career decisions? Most of humanity is wandering the earth with the capacity to define or create their Purpose and Values, yet very few individuals have taken […]
Searching, Discovering and Creating My Purpose
10 years ago, my family and I immigrated from Scotland to New Zealand in the hopes of experiencing a new adventure, meeting new friends, and building a life we could be proud of. We have accomplished all of that and more, with the unintended side effect of searching, discovering and creating my Purpose along the […]
Inspiring Personal Engagement and Fulfilment
For over 20 years, the modern workplace has been striving to lift employee engagement with limited success. While there is a clear correlation between ‘institutional’ employee engagement (as measured by the annual survey) and productivity, profitability, safety and turnover (Gallup meta-analysis), Gallup has also published numerous articles highlighting the absence of real progress in lifting […]