People Skills

Decisions we expect to be made rationally sometimes get made by the heart or gut. Trust your gut instinct as these decisions can be valuable.

When organisations convey a sense of purpose to activities, they can recruit people who align to that purpose, who genuinely promote it.

Being left out. Not feeling part of the gang. Standing on the outside staring in. Avoid these feelings with compassionate communication.

If experiencing resistance to change on projects, why not use Beckhard and Harris’ change equation to review which factors are in place and where you might need to focus more attention.

Reflection and learning are critical for organisations, teams and individuals, especially at a time of high uncertainty and rapid change.

With so much disruptive and emergent change going on, here are some ways to facilitate sensemaking for teams and organisations.

Face-to-face conversations build understanding and trust, and help people appreciate different perspectives during organisational change.

Recent research from professional search engine findcourses.co.uk indicates that learning and development (L&D) training is a key tool metamorphosing diversity in offices around the world. [...]

I have had many discussions recently about transformation – business, digital and IT transformation – but there is one common theme that underpins each of these conversations: Organisations [...]

  Yet another traffic jam. Crawling along in my car the other day, craning to see the reason for this 20mph procession, the news on the radio announced Clinton Cards were going into [...]

We live in fast moving times. Never before has there been such rapid transformation, and uncertainty, across all industries as in recent years. Technology is advancing at a phenomenal rate, and [...]

A few days ago, I watched some of Clare Balding’s TV game show –they showed clips of an experiment, with people buying fruit and vegetables at a busy market stall. The experiment highlighted how [...]

When Craig Kilford, from Course Conductor, contacted us back in 2016, he explained he wanted to “Transform the way companies invest in learning for their employees, by using independent analytics [...]

When your working week is already full on, with pressure to deliver tasks, support services and hit targets, you may feel it doesn’t leave a lot of time for supporting people and considering [...]

Who do you trust with your company’s future? The answer, at the most fundamental level, has got to be your people. I have been doing some really interesting work around building and [...]

What sank the Titanic? It wasn’t just an iceberg, it was people. Leaders whom no one dared challenge, employees unable to communicate, organisations lulled into a false of security. The lessons [...]

Who wishes they could attend more meetings?!!  We all know what it feels like to come out of a meeting knowing there was no point being there… or that it could have been so much more productive [...]

There’s every chance you haven’t yet heard of mBraining, but we’re convinced this exciting concept can do a lot to help organisations overcome resistance to change. mBraining is about aligning [...]

Are you on the World Cup bandwagon, loving the agonies and ecstasies of those last-minute goals and dramatic upsets? Or do you hate the uncertainty and would rather your team scored three in the [...]

It’s increasingly recognised that a stronger focus on people skills is essential, for achieving not only project and change success, but also personal success.

The launch of ‘Gower Handbook of People in Project Management‘ by Gower Publishing is evidence that the importance of the people element of project management is being increasingly recognised, [...]

This model for relative prioritising and sizing of requirements is a technique often used in an Agile/SCRUM environment.

How often have you praised someone for “bouncing back”? Getting back on our feet after a setback can show impressive resilience … but what if we could go further? In today’s fast-changing world [...]

In Titanic Lessons in Project Leadership, we see how ‘small’ and easily overlooked behavioural and communication issues can build into seemingly unthinkable errors.

Be prepared for the fast life Life keeps speeding up. Do you remember when the tape ribbon would come loose on your music cassettes and you’d use a pencil to wind it back in? Now your smartphone [...]

47% of employees complained that meetings were the #1 time-waster at the office. Most employees attend an average of 62 meetings a month. Unproductive meetings cost companies time and money. [...]

Do you ever need to run sessions with your teams to identify solutions to problems, or find a way to move forward? Why not learn a broad range of practical facilitation tips, tools and techniques [...]

Wellbeing and self-care are trends worth promoting not only because they feel good, but because they lead to better productivity and happier people.

What do comedians, vacuum cleaners and Formula 1 have in common … and what have they got to do with project management? I’ve been inspired by a Radio 4 programme about learning from past [...]

Just think about building the Titanic… It was a huge undertaking, both in terms of sheer scale, and because of the complexity caused by integrating so many new technologies in a way that had [...]

When you’re faced with change and having to do things in a new way, have you noticed that it takes longer to get things done? When you change your mobile phone or your television, this can [...]

It is now known that the brain organises things using a basic threat or reward principle, and that our first instinct is to assess threat levels. However, dealing with a ‘threat’ takes more brain [...]

Last week I was in Barcelona, at the headquarters of Fusion for Energy, the EU body managing Europe’s contribution to the ITER project – the biggest international collaboration in the field of [...]

A Triumph for ‘Teamwork’ over ‘Individuals with Talent’ There was an outbreak of joy in the early weeks of May centred on the City of Leicester, but shared throughout the country for people who [...]

I buzzed the entry phone, introduced myself, and waited, feeling slightly uncomfortable gazing at the box on the wall. Then I heard a voice “Hello! Please come in!”. Instantly, I relaxed. He [...]

It seems such a passive thing, listening. And yet, it can be so much more powerful than speaking — particularly when supporting people through a period of change. If we’re not careful, it’s easy [...]

I think this is going to be a blog about contradictions and opposites. After all mindfulness is about noticing details in the ’here and now’, giving us an appreciation of the status quo – whereas [...]

The first lambs are appearing in the fields – bright and bouncy, and seemingly unfazed by the coldness of the wind. Whenever I’m admiring lambs, I find myself wondering why we are generally so [...]

For our last piece this week (but by no means least!) we spoke to Melissa Buerbaumer, CPA, PhD and Head of Accounting and Reporting at the International Atomic Energy Agency. Can you tell us a [...]

McKinsey recently coined the term ’Neuromyths’ to describe old-fashioned ways of thinking that may have become entrenched, and damaging to the way organisations are thinking about their [...]

I’m talking about giving yourself some time and space to reflect on the past year and give yourself a big pat on the back – you made it! With New Year approaching there will soon be the [...]

You’ve arrived at the site of an important customer. You’re about to address a group of their senior executives and you’re feeling excited about it – you’ve done loads of work on this, and feel [...]

We’re in the final week of ’The Great British Bake Off’ and the last three contestants have survived 27 challenges, including cakes, pies, pastries, tarts, bread, biscuits and puddings from the [...]

The updated change management certification was launched 3 months ago. I recently wrote a blog for APMG International containing some reflections and observations from running this course with 6 [...]

There’s nothing quite as satisfying as learning a new skill. This is because it relates to what we are actually doing, rather than just what we know – or think we know. In some areas, the [...]

It was Adult Learners’ week and that got me thinking… What I had learned recently? I’m doing an online Social Media course at the moment so there was that; I’m a mum to a [...]

Almost a month into the New Year, how are you progressing with your New Year goals? When working towards a goal, it’s helpful to understand a bit about the change process, so that you [...]

Gabriele Oettingen is a psychology professor at New York University who’s studied human motivation for the past 20 years. In her recent book, Rethinking Positive Thinking: Inside the New Science [...]

The world is a lot smaller today than it used to be. Whether it be services provided, products manufactured, or simple information, the rest of the world can be a click away. As a working [...]

Four years seem to have passed by so quickly and it’s taken nearly that long for my ears to stop ringing from the blaring Vuvuzella assault from the last World Cup or maybe age makes the years go [...]

The profound power of storytelling is never greater than when people are experiencing times of the greatest change and adversity, such as during war or rapid industrial and social upheaval. With [...]

Last week Ranjit did one of her popular talks on the Titanic disaster. From what she told me, a visitor needs to hit the ground running, and be right up to speed on the dramatis personae of [...]

So here we are – it’s the beginning of January and time to put new ideas and resolutions into action. Chances are you have a lot going on: new projects, major pieces of work, and all these are [...]

My guess is you think of Creativity as art and design, technical innovation, or perhaps the latest digital marketing ideas? But that’s not all. Today’s business world is very different to how it [...]

Our brains are constantly on the lookout for signs of threats or rewards – clearly the survival of early man depended on this. The decisions we make about what to pay attention to are based on [...]

Recently Honda released their latest gardening tool nicknamed ”The Mean Mower”. It can go from 0 to 100mph in 4 seconds accelerating faster than a Porsche 911. It has the same engine as a 996cc [...]

Ruby Wax’s new book* is published next week. Not surprisingly, it promises to be a good read and an entertaining portal to some pretty big ideas – neuroplasticity, for instance. But [...]

A recent article in New Scientist* offers some valuable insights — and they’re not necessarily the ones you may expect. Many management courses include some guidance on body language, the reading [...]

Last week I met a Mercedes-Benz driving coach – please note he was not a driving “instructor”. His business card says very clearly that he is a Driving Coach. Listening to him, I was [...]

From very early on individuals in competitive sports are hardwired to win, they’re driven by a need to be ”top dog”, sometimes at any cost as many scandals have revealed (Lance [...]

I had an interesting discussion with an old colleague and friend recently about some problems she is having managing a project to implement a new CRM system. Not untypically there is some [...]

When I first heard about APMG’s plans to launch a new Facilitation skills certification it piqued my curiosity, as it’s such an important skill-set both for people working on projects [...]

Is there a difference between a decision and a choice? And does it matter anyway? Why is it that a decision feels as if it should be based on a full situational analysis and yet a choice can be [...]

Guy Watson, the ethical entrepreneur and founder of Riverford, who created a global business with sales of £30 million and 400 staff from three acres and a wheel barrow, believes that greed is a [...]

A recent report from Deloitte has found that: “the quality of senior leadership — including core capabilities as well as personal qualities such as honesty and integrity — has a direct, and [...]

When you’re faced with change and having to do things in a new way, have you noticed that it takes longer to get things done? When you change your mobile phone or your television, this can [...]

Very soon we will all once again be happily jumping up and down cheering the world’s Super-Humans, the Paralympic athletes. After Team GB’s hugely successful performance in the 1st [...]

On any given project you can be fairly sure that things won’t go smoothly. Add to that being expected to do more with less, dealing with setbacks and disputes, things constantly chopping [...]

I hope by now many of you have managed to watch the wonderful spectacle that was the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony and you’ll no doubt have your favourite bits – perhaps it was the [...]

You’ve probably heard about statistics that say 55% of meaning comes from non-verbal communication, 38% from tone of voice and just 7% from the words we speak. This is based on Albert [...]

There are many techniques around to help with decision making, which typically involve understanding where you need to get to, exploring possible options, gathering information to weigh up the [...]

Last year I was running a large number of short change management workshops for an organisation, touching on theory around their change management framework, but mainly facilitating discussions [...]

We were upgrading our computer systems in the office last week and, as I was out training for the week, it was an ideal time for our “go to IT” man to rummage around my desk [...]

The other day my husband was nostalgically watching one of the original Star Trek re-runs. Feigning interest I received a quick induction into the show’s formulaic format.  I learned [...]

What does it take for us to really learn from our experiences? Having finished our website project, we’re about to review ‘lessons learned’ with the team at ChangeQuest to make [...]

Titanic Lessons in Project Leadership The story of the Titanic has captivated people for the past 100 years. It stirs our curiosity and emotions and it is still amazing to think that what was [...]

 Animation showing how a deeper understanding of communication skills could improve the performance of your projects. ChangeQuest presents: The Project Manager’s Story (Communication [...]