Notion Blog and News

Everyone has heard the proverb ‘curiosity killed the cat’ which warns of the dangers of unnecessary investigation and experimentation. The phrase, despite being over a century old, is still commonly said and is often used to stop people from asking unwanted questions. Interestingly, this notion is reflected in the management models of many organisations across the globe, where information and instructions flow from top to bottom; managers are expected to hold all the knowledge and employees who ask too many questions can be perceived as an irritant.

Recent news reports reveal that business confidence, across all sectors, is at its lowest in 15 months, as a result of the Brexit negotiations and low wage growth. Despite signs of business growth in some industries, optimism is still falling, suggesting that organisations don’t feel confident about future trading conditions.

The impact of slumping levels of business confidence, not only affects what happens in local and international markets, it can also have a dramatic effect on people working inside organisations. The people costs of low business confidence can be substantial and shouldn’t be understated or ignored, because, helping people to sustain high levels of optimism during these volatile and uncertain times, might be a key factor in whether organisations survive long enough to prosper.  

The coaching industry has grown at a remarkable rate over the past decade, with people from an array of occupational backgrounds entering the profession. As a result, it has become essential to establish high standards of competence and professionalism in an industry that has few barriers to entry. 

Thankfully, many coaches undertake training and qualifications to set themselves apart from untrained individuals who call themselves coaches. However, it seems that after the initial enthusiasm for training, many coaches are not taking their professional development seriously, with reports indicating that only 50% of coaches undertake coaching supervision post-qualification. 

 

For many people across the country, September marks the start of a new adventure: starting school, moving up to secondary school, moving into a new school year, or leaving home to go to University.

It’s a time of great anticipation and excitement but also a time of significant change that can cause feelings of uncertainty and anxiety if not managed well.

These days, there is a lot of advice and guidance available to children and young adults making these big transitions. It’s now quite common for schools to arrange multiple induction days, to assign buddies and mentors, to organise social and team events, and to provide bespoke pastoral care for new students.

Yet, for people starting new jobs, at whatever age or status in life, there is rather more of a sink or swim attitude.   

‘What would you do if you were stuck in one place and every day was exactly the same, and nothing that you did mattered?’ 

That sounds pretty awful, right? Yet in many ways that is what people are experiencing in organisations that rely too heavily on a command and control leadership model.

When the normal behaviour of a Manager is to dictate what will happen, what to do, where to go, who to work with, even what to think, there is a very real risk that people will develop a ‘learned helplessness’ that will significantly decrease engagement levels, performance and productivity.  

Job hopping was once perceived much more negatively by recruiters than it is in today’s employment market. Any applicant whose CV listed lots of jobs over a short period would probably set alarm bells ringing for potential employers. Frequent and short periods of employment would have led most recruiters to at least question how well the applicant was able to integrate into their previous companies, or how well they coped with their work, or how loyal they were. Indeed, back then, the prospect of hiring and developing a job hopper would have been considered a high-risk decision.