  Is networking your idea or heaven or hell? Before I began Be You Consultancy & Coaching I had the firm belief that I didn’t need to network and didn’t have time to sit and ‘have coffee’ with people - I had work to do and that was the most important action of my day…. On reflection how wrong I was! So if you are already in this mindset that is amazing and I challenge you to get more people to realise the power of their ‘NET’. Why the change in mindset? The change of my mindset began during COVID when, like many, I realised that whilst I knew my team and colleagues I didn’t know my community or my surroundings. I felt alone. I wanted to get to know more about the area I was living in and had lived in for years but also who my neighbours were and what they did for their careers / lives - what made them tick. When I started in business I had some very wise words given to me which was to: Network, Network, Network. After all you are your brand and if no-one knows you how can they know your brand? This, as you can imagine resonated with me and I networked with vengeance! The Art of Networking Remembering that “art is in the eye of the beholder” according to E.A Bucchineri Where can we start with networking? I once read “Networking for People who hate Networking” by Devora Zack which should give a good overview as to where I was in my mindset! The aim should be to talk to new people and ask them questions about their business and their role so that you build rapport with them and a relationship flourishes however, the majority of people who network have the habit of talking to their friends, people they’ve known for years and having a good gossip - whilst I could ask here whether that action is good for their business or brand it is more important to ask, what is their aim of attending the networking? Was it to catch up with a contact and talk shop or was it go out and market their business? People attend these sessions for so many different reasons, it could even be that they just wanted to get out of the house for a bit or thought the subject that was being discussed sounded interesting - but what is important is that we don’t assume people are all going for the same reason! So why do you network? Do you know what your end goal is? Here are some of my tips for networking  Aim
Then start again!!! Meeting new people can be hard for some of us (me included!) as an introvert I find it tiring, it doesn’t give me the energy as if I was an extrovert however, the more I do it the more enjoyable it is. I find arriving early and finding a ‘job’ really helps takes my nerves away and if I can’t do that I ‘act as if’. That means that I just pretend I’m super confident and eventually that will come true! If you want to work on your strategies for networking, growing your confidence or another area then please contact me. Be You can empower you through our Coaching Programme making sure that you have all the strategies you need to Be You!
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  As business owners, it’s really important that we all stay relevant within our field to ensure that we are able to run with the larger companies and offer our customers the best solutions but… How do you keep relevant and find the time? Let’s tackle the elephant in the room first, THE TIME! That for me is the biggest challenge. - being a small business it’s another action on the ‘to-do list’ but it’s important to remember how critical it is to business success. If I’m not up to date on employment law, the economy, and business challenges when I’m offering solutions to customers how can I be sure they are the best options? If I’m not sure, then how will that come across to the business will I be confident in my approach and how will I fair against other competitors who are tendering for business? Years ago, I had the privilege of working for a very successful businessman who gave me some wise snippets that I have always held onto, one was; Everyone has a shelf-life For me, whilst employed by him it used to concern me in terms of our conversations, I would always have in the back of my mind “is he telling me that I’ve reached my shelf life” though thankfully he wasn’t! On the positive side though it did make me realise that we always need to remain relevant and that I’ve carried forward since that day. How do I make time work for me? I look for quick wins and multi-tasking! I always ask myself how can I get most out of the time I have. After all time is limited isn’t it, when you are taking on the world! Being relevant Have you ever thought about it? Or is it something you just do or maybe you don’t? I’ve always advised teams, and business owners to try to keep a set time for learning in their diaries each week, whether that is 60 mins., 45 or 30 mins! If you think about all your interactions, if you remain curious then you are learning and keeping relevant all the time. Where I tend to struggle is if I’m studying for a qualification and there is a lot of learning to do in order to achieve it. I’m currently studying for several diplomas and the time needed to study can be a challenge! Each week I review my diary and then try to work around business and personal needs / appointments to then add in studying time. I find that if I allocate time then I am more committed to studying rather than getting distracted by something else! I also find that colour coding my diary helps me see how my diary is planned for the week - it is split into 3 colours, studying, work and personal but it’s a great visual check! Quick Wins I find these options work well:
 My challenge / ask of you is to take 5 minutes over a cuppa and consider how you keep yourself relevant.
It would be great to hear from you on what other ways you keep relevant! Remember, stay curious and everyone has a shelf life you’ve just got to make sure you are always in date! Can Be You support you? Yes of course. This support and empowerment would come through the form of coaching. After all the service we offer to our customers is based on what they want, their needs and therefore enabling our customers to be themselves. How can I find out more? Please <contact me>.   Ironically I’m on annual leave whilst writing this so bear with me! I’m in the Highlands on a week’s break at an idyllic home called Sail Mhor View with a view over Little Loch Broom, birds singing in the garden and dogs snoring on the sofa why oh why I am writing a blog? Well, it dawned on me how many of us continue to run our businesses whilst on holiday and do we ever get downtime? In order to answer this I want to refer to a book called work-life brilliance which is a book I read many years ago and changed the way I think about work-life balance. Denise Green (author) talks about the fact we consider work-life balance as a 50/50 split but that is just unrealistic for most especially those who run their own business, in fact, it's much more about looking at it as an individual - are we able to flex our balance so we work some of the time and have down time the rest? That’s what I’m doing, I’m having my morning coffee before going exploring in search of more beaches and stunning views which will make me fall more in love with this part of the world! This way I can be comfortable that the business wheels are still turning and I’m getting my holiday later today. Does this suit all people? of course not. This is my work-life balance, not anyone else’s. However, I’m sure if you ask other business owners or those who are in certain positions within businesses they will do something similar. I always consider there to be a difference though between the expectations business owners put on themselves, and the need to keep their business going and those working for an organisation. Neither is better or worse, just different. Business Owners Having the tendency to work 365 days what ways do you ensure you get your balance right? Where you are meeting the needs of yourself, your family and your friends let alone your interests and just grabbing time for sleep or 'veg on the sofa'? For me, I plan everything in my diary, even those downtime moments! That way I can see clearly see where there is space, when I know I have commitments and even when I want to have a day doing nothing! I didn’t realise how much I did this until one Christmas when my ‘to-do list’ included reading 3 books and watching the Marvel films in the correct sequence! Both I achieved and that was only possible as that was in my diary/to-do list to achieve! Working in a business How do you get your downtime? With the amazing technology we have these days it's hard to not be contactable, isn’t it? Some have ‘off grid’ holidays specifically going somewhere where there is no signal or WiFi but then do they spend their time exploring/ visiting local sights trying to find WiFi? I know I did this once, I found a signal in a food shop in mid-wales and ended up spending an hour or so there - just to answer those ‘important’ emails! France in 2017 brought in legislation to enable workers to digitally detach from work, ensuring that they wouldn’t get a call in the night or that ‘just a quick question’. For the UK it doesn’t look like this is coming in any time soon so how can we self-manage the need for downtime? Quick Wins
Be You Consultancy & Coaching are able to support you to find your balance through our coaching services whilst I make it sound straightforward I continually review and adjust my balance and so far it's taken me over 25 years to refine my art! Whether you are a business owner or working within a business, we can support you with your time management, finding your balance and identifying and achieving your goals. After all, unless we enjoy spinning on a hamster wheel we want to take something from all this work and find enjoyment in what we do! If you think we can support you, then please contact us.  Ikigai is an established way of thinking and provides a reason for being. I don’t know about you but during the pandemic, I spent time considering what I was doing in terms of career and life and whether I was getting back what I wanted from it. Ikigai is a great philosophy to use to consider your reason or your why. Ikigai has developed from the Japanese culture as a way to live. Ikigai is a life purpose or bliss and it helps you become more positive within. It supports you to feel at peace with yourself and your life. It was first popularised by Japanese psychiatrist and academic Mieko Kamiya in her 1966 book 'on the meaning of life'. There is a western interpretation and this is to use this philosophy as a way of finding your dream career. But what does that mean and how can you apply it?  Ikagai is personal to each and every individual and is based on your; personal history, values, beliefs, hobbies and personality. Therefore by applying the model above you can study to identify what your Ikagai is. How can Ikagai help? By using this philosophy you can work to:
When you know your Ikagai and understand it, its means that you are aligned with the work you've longed to do and the work that the world needs you to do Ikagai is a 3 step process:  Why am I sharing this?
I believe for individuals to find peace, meaning, motivation and drive they need to know what it is that drives them, what their meaning is and therefore what motivates them. Part of this journey is self-discovery and Ikagai supports that personal development and awareness, that’s why I am so driven by motivational maps, as it is part of this journey of discovery. Can I support you? Yes of course. This support and empowerment would come through the form of coaching where the focus could either be on identifying your Ikagai or taking time to look at one area of the process. After all the service we offer to our customers is based on what they want, their needs and therefore enabling our customers to be themselves. How can I find out more? Please <contact me>.   I didn’t think I had either, but I was wrong. In fact, the HR Director suggested that during 2022 approximately 85% of UK workers experience imposter syndrome. What is it? Ever thought:
If not, that is amazing! But I would ask you to think about it some more. If yes, then read on! The definition of imposter syndrome by Psychology Today states ‘it is the feeling that you are a fraud. That you’ve slipped through the system undetected and any minute now someone is going to find you out. That on the surface you may look deep, but deep down you know that you are shallow’. For me, this manifested in my mind as ‘I shouldn’t have the job I have’ and at seminars or board meetings ‘I just shouldn’t be here, I don’t belong’. However upon reflection both of these were far from the truth. These days I visual these thoughts as a set of old fashion scales. On one side, I consider what I bring to the table and on the other side of the scales, my ‘mind chatter’! On the side where I consider what I bring well, its over 20 years of HR Experience, knowledge of complex scenarios, objective mindset, ability to empower my peers to succeed with the support and guidance from HR. On the other side of the scale it was just ‘how I was feeling’. But knowing that didn’t stop it from happening! That, for me, was the hard part and I don’t think it is something that you can ‘fix’ all at once, for me it’s more of an ongoing process; one that I have to revisit in new circumstances or with new people, colleagues and customers. What steps do I follow?
That doesn’t necessarily solve it there and then, but it does help me feel that I should be in the room. What is the impact of imposter syndrome? The impacts of imposter syndrome can be limitless but can impact:
Remember as well that if you lead a team of people this can impact them in terms of your style, approach to situations and it could impact your retention rates! The impact is similar to those mentioned in the blog on being your authentic self. If you don’t think you should be in the role you are in or you don’t think you are qualified to be in ‘that meeting’ you are spending your time focussed on that ‘mind chatter’ rather than focussing on what you are there to do! Imposter syndrome and reducing the effects of it, can take time as I mentioned. It is all about changing your mind set and I believe strongly in completing daily positive affirmations and breathing exercises. I’ve got into a practice of mediation, positive affirmations and breathing exercises in the morning which set me up for the day. I also have a coach that I meet with regularly and yes, coaches have coaches - so that we can find more solutions to my experiences and ‘mind chatter! My mind talks a lot! That doesn’t mean though, I don’t have to do ‘in the moment’ quick fixes as with most things in life I find it is all work in progress. Have you taken time to reflect on what you do to overcome imposter syndrome and how you manage your mind chatter? Would you like to work on your imposter syndrome? Be You Consultancy & Coaching can support you! If you are interested to find out more either for yourself or your teams, please <contact me>.  It’s International Women’s Day today, an important day each year as is International Men’s Day which is the 19 November this year! This year’s campaign is #embraceequity. Isn’t Equity and Equality the same? Short answer is no, they’re not but let me give you some more to think about! Equity and Equality are often used interchangeably however the concept of the words are completely different.  Equality is focused on everyone having the same advantage. Whilst this is great, it still means that there is a difference in the experience, that everyone will have. Take the image above, imagine there is now a fence which they are trying to look over, the person on the far right will still have a lesser view that the person on the far left. Equity is focussed on adjusting the advantage/support for each individual so that the whilst the ‘starting blocks’ may be different the experience for the individual is the same. If you take the image above on the right you can see that all of the ‘heads’ are aligned. Another way to consider this is if you are having a running race with a child, would you:
Whichever option you choose in this scenario is up to you of course but answer 1 would be equality and 2 is Equity. Why does this matter for work? If we continue to have a focus on equality the experience for all individuals will remain inconsistent, but still why does that matter? Equity means that we are creating an inclusive world, but this isn’t just for International Women’s Day it is for all employees, customers, and anyone whom we interact with. Ensuring that all individuals are given the right support or have the right adjustments in place for a fairer world, yes there will still be those that win and those that come last but at least we all have a fairer chance! Can you measure equity? Yes, you can but it will vary within each business as to how so there isn’t a set formula. One consistency in approach is though that you should get company-wide input on how this is done. This is so that you are taking the view of the workforce on equity means and looks like to each team member. Why would you? Why would you not? By taking equity seriously you are:
The Chartered Institute for Personnel & Development (CIPD) recommend that businesses should consider six key areas of diversity practice and strategy when considering Equity and Inclusion. These are:  Need some help?
Be You Consultancy can support your business through a review of how you could improve diversity, equity, and inclusion within your company. It may be a review of policies or talking with your employees, we tailor our services to meet your needs. After all, we want you to be the best and enable your employees to be their best authentic selves. If you would like to discuss this further, then please <contact me>.  I'd like to take a guess and say that you have already heard about MBTI, DiSC and other personality tests or psychometric profiling tools that have been used to enable businesses to understand what makes people tick and how we can more effective, but have you heard of Motivational Maps? How can this tool help you? Do you know what motivates you?
If you’ve answered no to any of the above… read on! Motivational Maps focus on three clusters and nine individual motivators. Measuring whether you or your team are focused by Achievement Relationships or Growth The tool will then look at the individual motivators analysing what drives your motivation but also measuring where you are against what motivates you!  Why might you need to know that? Its important to know if you are: An individual | Its a great way to understand where you are at, what you should focus your time on and of course what you can do to help improve your motivation levels A new business | Understanding you motivators and how you can build those into your new business; vision, mission, strategy and work ethic. This is where it really supported me. An established business | Understanding what motivates your team, how they work together and identifying focus areas to strength the team as a whole and individuals Let me tell you my story, I'll keep it brief! I made a decision last year to set up my own company and that was probably one of the biggest moves I’ve made in my career to date. I knew WHAT I wanted to do, but I was STUCK, I wasn't sure what to focus on and what was important to me, let alone what would make me different to others in the marketplace. After attending a networking event I met Paul Ward, Black Top Coaching, who presented on Motivational Maps and I was intrigued. Previously I'd only used tools that measure a static factor but Motivational Maps the results adapt over time as the person and their environment changes. It seemed like a great tool to measure and understand; empowerment, motivation, team dynamics and a way to measure equity within the workplace. I have always believed that I am in tune with knowing what my motivators are and where I get enjoyment and thought, it won't tell me anything I don't already know... I knew that I was low on motivation and energy, I'd just left corporate HR after many years and having to lead on COVID and Brexit responses was ready to down tools for a bit, as with so many others within the HR Profession. I met with Paul who talked me through my responses, it was clear that I was low on motivational energy however I found clarity in where I could focus to re-energise and further my motivation. The results shows that I would get motivation from:
I quickly realised that I could use this tool to help shape my business so that I would get the most motivation from what I was doing. I also saw that it would be a great tool to be able to offer customers to increase their awareness and understanding within their businesses and as individual leaders. I started to create my vision focusing on empowerment, agility, and flexibility in my business model. I also built in how I could support the local community and remain an expert in my field. All of these areas became embedded into my value proposition considering my customer, what my offerings might be and also what would help me grow and develop as a business owner and individual. What happen next? As I had adapted my business plan and the fog was beginning to clear I decided that I wanted to take two actions: 1.Complete a questionnaire to see what changes if any had occurred. 2.Become a licenced practitioner for Motivational Maps The Second Questionnaire There were a few reasons I wanted to complete another questionnaire, one was to understand if the changes I'd implemented would show as a difference in the results. I also wanted to check in and understand whether there had been an improvement on my motivational levels. What can I say. I felt my motivation, clarity and focus had improved and the motivational map agreed. My level of motivation had increased by 39% to be an amazing 87%. This meant within the space of a few months, I'd gone from being worryingly demotivated to highly motivated. What else did the report show? It showed that some of my motivational values had changed in importance to me and all but one I was highly motivated it. Whilst there is still an area for improvement, which I’m working on, it’s a great feeling to feel the transformation both in myself but also to see it within data analysis. Why become a licensed practitioner? As I mentioned before, I was aware this would be a great tool for individuals, leaders and businesses to aid them further in their drive to understand their;
I feel that motivational maps are a game changer because the tool is looking at what motivational values an individual holds and whether they are being motivated by that at present. It is important to me that my customers are able to measure and obtain rich valuable information that will make a difference to their business, team and themselves. Following on from COVID we have all seen a massive shift in employee expectations, it is much more about what added value the employer can bring to the employee. I feel that motivational maps enables the employer to measure that and so much more. How could I use Motivational Maps within my business? Motivational maps is a great way to;
Whilst you can run individual reports you can also compile team reports to really get into the detail and to make that difference! If you'd like to find out more then please contact me, I'd be happy to go through the process, reporting and outcomes in more detail after all:   This is a great subject for Be You Consultancy & Coaching as we pride ourselves on being authentic and empowering all the individuals, we work with to be the best version of themselves at all times!
Why is the world talking about everyone being authentic? Finally, the working world is getting their head round how to get the best out of each individual and that is to enable and empower them to bring themselves to work. Why? Well, think about it this way, how often have you had to ‘pretend’ to be someone else when at work? I know for me being a HR professional it was:
But who I am is:
How can this work for your business? It can:
What if employees can’t bring themselves to work? It can create pressure and sometimes stress, increased absence levels but most importantly it can make us unhappy and not fulfilled. Think about the amount of time and skill / focus it takes for individuals to not be themselves but to focus on the person that they think they should be. How much energy, concentration and effort must that take to be constantly checking in with themselves? What if, as a business owner you can refocus that energy, concentration and effort to people doing their roles. How much more productive do you think they could be? What if they bring themselves to work and that isn’t right for our business? With everything in life there has to be a limit, you can still have:
How do you establish that change? It all works on communication, as with everything in life. Talk to your staff, explain the reasons behind the change but also start being authentic too - bring the real you to work! This will help your staff to engage with you, trust you, become more engaged with the business and wanting your business to succeed . This is something that both you and your team will need to work at but it will bring change to your business and increase productivity! So why would you not want to do this? Did you know that at Be You whilst we offer HR consultancy, we also can support you with HR support, leadership mentoring, identifying development needs as well as business coaching! As being your authentic self is so important to us at Be You Consultancy and Coaching, we are offering a coaching or mentoring package of four sessions to people who email [email protected] and quote “I’m empowering my authentic self”. The sessions are on offer for £240 to individuals. Please note that all four sessions need to be booked and paid for in advance, by the 1 March 2023 for the discount to apply. If you want to discuss other ways that, Be You Consultancy and Coaching can assist you or your team then please <contact me>.  The ability to adapt to change is something that all business owners and leaders are familiar with; but how do you manage what could optimistically be describe as the 'interesting times?' we're living and working through?
We've certainly been through some turbulent times in the past few years. The UK has experienced a period of what feels like continuous change, the pandemic, Brexit, changes in government, the war between Ukraine and Russia, the economy and now the cost-of-living crisis. It can be hard to keep up - let's face it, all of the above would be a challenge by themselves but I'm sure you'll agree that going through them all at once has made for an interesting journey! We know that the next 6-12 months looks like presenting challenges and changes that are going to impact all of us in different ways, so as a leader, how will you make sure that your employees are; motivated, productive, present? It starts with you Ever heard of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs? Whilst this model was established in 1943 it represents a number of areas that the majority of individuals need to experience to be able to flourish and succeed. With that in mind ask yourself, are you:
If yes that’s great. If not, why not? It's pretty likely that your lack of motivation won't be going unnoticed. The way you show up for your role has a direct impact on the rest of the workforce and your customers, so ask yourself what you're struggling with and how you can address it.
Is this impacting your success or your business? Simply. Yes. You need to hold yourself to account and identify what you are going to stop doing, start doing and continue doing. Phil Daniels, a psychology professor at Brigham Young University created a technique called the Stop Start and Continue and whilst it was designed for team feedback it can be used in many different scenarios including enhancing effectiveness, drive engagement and in turn that can help improve retention rates. Best of all, it’s simple to use! All you need to do is note down:
Write a list Just thinking about ideas in your head makes it much easier to forget about them and you need to be accountable! If you need convincing, just remember the last time you went shopping without a list; you will have come home with a bag full of things you didn't need and probably have forgotten one or two items you did! Talk Once you have a list of stop, start and continue items, get out there and talk to your employees. Make them feel empowered and a part of a plan to get things moving again when life is throwing; them, you and the business curveballs. Let people know that you understand their concerns and try to set up regular meetings where people can voice how they feel, so that they feel part of a team who are 'all in this together' and not just a number on a payroll. This will help your employees to engage with you, on a business and a personal level, as you can show them that you are experiencing similar issues to them. If staff start to believe you've got a renewed focus on getting through the challenges the 2020s are throwing at you all ...as a team, they'll start to respond to the visible changes they see in you and your positivity will spur them on. Remember, employees mirror their leaders whether we want them to or not! Allaya Cooks-Campbell from Betterup stated that 87% of employees cherish transparency within their workplace as well as experiencing a notable increase in attracting top talent. Can I help? If you're struggling with the turbulence or feel its impacting your employees and would like to talk to an experienced HR consultant about any HR support or HR guidance, I'd love to chat!  For many of us in business, our focus has always been on ensuring a great experience for our customers. But what about our employees? There has certainly been a shift in the expectation of employees. Back in the 2000s, work was simply a 9-5 environment where overtime wasn't always paid if people worked extra hours. During the 2010s, the culture was one of 'be first in and last out' and overtime wasn’t paid on a regular basis. More recently, employees are beginning to look for roles in which they feel valued in terms of their input and inclusion as well as being part of the wider community. But what does this mean for employers? Whether you have just one or 20,000 employees, a really successful employer in the 2020s needs to put some real thought into how they can add value to the employee experience. Rules of Attraction and Retention We all know the rules when it comes to attracting and retaining clients and customers. If you want your business to be a success, you must make sure that each customer, from their first to last interaction with you or your business, has a positive, considered experience. By doing this you are helping to drive return business. But...what about your staff? Do you do the same for them? Employee’s Attraction and Retention Employees tend to be around 70% of a business’s cost; therefore, improving retention rates, understanding development needs, and enhancing effectiveness should be at the top of mind! When considering the employee’s experience in line with their lifecycle at the company, this is where HR guidance and HR support can be beneficial for businesses! Taking the time to consider what improvements or adjustments can be implemented to add more value and of course if you do implement them, what can you expect in return? Employee Lifecycle This is the whole cycle of the employee working with you / your business from when they join to when they leave. It's important to know about this lifecycle because it not only improves the experience of working with you for your employees, it makes business smoother for you and your business. Stages of an Employee Lifecycle & Adding Value
Indeed.com suggest 15 ways to make employees feel valued. Do you use these methods within your business? Do you know what your retention rates are? Have you considered taking time to analyse and understand your employee experience? Can you improve your engagement and retention to benefit your business? As a trusted HR professional with over 20 years’ experience I am able to off HR guidance, leadership mentoring and business coaching as a service to you. If you feel this would be beneficial then please contact us. |
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