Northern Value Creators

Resolve those difficult 1-1s Find out how the 3 advice monsters might be spoiling your 1-1s by twisting your good intentions. 47 pages of practical help: Detailed profiles of the monsters Real life case studies Reflection exercises? Practical techniques & tips 1-1 Planning tool Download link in the comments

We are really proud of the work we did with the Ambulance Radio Programme PMO team You can read more here

Stop trying to win My career has been an endless battle between my inner control freak and my chaos demon. When I first stepped into leadership, getting the balance right felt impossible. Too much freedom? → Confusion. Chaos. Missed deadlines. Too much structure? → Resistance. Slow decisions. Creativity killed. No matter what I did, someone was unhappy. As a coach I see the same struggle in my clients. They swing from one extreme to the other, never quite getting it right. What I know now? No one ever “wins” this battle. Because you need both. I wish I’d discovered Yes & Thinking sooner. Instead of fighting over which approach is “right,” great leaders take the best of both and create a third way. Curious? I break it all down in my carousel. Be honest: Are you a control freak or a chaos demon? Drop a comment below & swipe through the carousel! #MicroBlogMBA #Leadership #YesAndThinking

Does your team always know what version of you they’re going to get? One day, you’re strategic, clear, and motivating. The next, you’re stressed, distracted, and short on patience. The problem? Leadership inconsistency creates doubt. Your team doesn’t average out your moods. They remember the extremes: - That one meeting where you were reactive instead of composed. - That moment where you hesitated, making them question their own decisions. - The inconsistency that made them unsure of what you actually wanted. And uncertainty? It slows everything down. That’s exactly what happened when Amanda was first promoted into leadership. Her boss pulled her aside and said: “Pick a mood and be it.” It sounded ridiculous. She wasn’t being inconsistent, she was just being herself. Some days, she was engaged and full of energy. Other days, she was quiet and thinking things through. But for her team? That inconsistency wasn’t neutral. It was confusing. In this edition of Lifting the Lid, we explore: 1. Why consistency is the foundation of leadership trust (and how your brain remembers the extremes, not the average). 2. How the Reticular Activating System (RAS) determines how your team experiences you. 3. The simple self-check one leader used to go from “acting up” to permanently promoted—twice. Read the full piece here ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? We’d love your comments!

If you want to dive deeper into how to create clarity We have a clarity workshop in March and a new e-book

Another hour you won't get back Ever sat through a meeting and thought, why am I even here? Or left thinking, that was an hour I’ll never get back. - No decisions - No clear actions - Just more time gone And when that happens, it’s tempting to blame: - The agenda - The meeting host - The organisational culture "People weren’t engaged." "No one spoke up." "We covered the same ground again." I used to think that was the problem too. . . Until I studied the neuroscience of conversations and the penny dropped → It’s not just the agenda → It’s not just the host → It's me and it's you Everyone attending a meeting is responsible for its success. E-v-e-r-y-o-n-e And yet, - we lean back - we switch off - we complain If the meetings you are in, or run, suck it’s up to you to make them better How? There’s one simple question that works every time At the start of the meeting ask: “What would make this meeting a 10/10 for you?” You can ask it - as the organiser - as a participant You can ask it - In a one-to-one - In team meeting - With clients Because when you ask this, something changes: - People stop waiting and start contributing - Expectations become clear - Everyone has skin in the game and time is used wisely Meetings don’t have to be a waste of time. Take responsibility. Ask the question. And if you want more ways to make work actually work, follow me and sign up for my newsletter Artwork by me! #MicroBlog4 #Leadership #Meetings #AwesomeTipsThatWork!

Great questions transform the thinking in others

Here Simon tells us all about Conversation Engineering, our growing collection of toolkits, workbooks and soon to be released instructional videos. What we say at work matters and we are here to help.

Amanda shares such a simple action that could turn everyone into a great boss.

Ever felt like your support as a manager isn't landing the way you'd hoped? When my daughter was three, she won a goldfish at the fair. She hooked a duck, and before we could protest, we were bringing a tiny fish home in a plastic bag. She adored that fish.? It didn’t take long for the inevitable to happen.? The fish died and she was devastated. Tearful she told us: “I took him out of the water and gave him a cuddle everyday, I will miss my fishy.” Her intentions were good, but she didn’t realize that fish thrive in water and not in cuddles. They need water to breathe And space to swim and grow. Managers and leaders can do the same thing without realizing it. They feel the urge to - step in - support - protect. It all comes from a good place But sometimes it’s too much Growth requires struggle and space. Learning needs that uncomfortable gap where people get to figure things out for themselves. Giving fish a cuddle at work could be pulling someone out of a situation when they struggle or telling them what to do rather than coaching them to find their answers and build their strengths Letting your team stay in the water can feel uncomfortable like you’re not doing enough But, by adopting a coaching approach you empower your team to experiment and find their own solutions Taking your team [fish] out of the water and giving them a cuddle may come with the best intention but you're slowly killing their professional development. Art work by me __ Don’t worry lesson learned! We didn't realize she was cuddling 'fishy' daily, and no, we didn’t get her another fish. #Leadership #TeamDevelopment #MicroBlog4 #Coaching