This site is designed to provide thought leadership and services which will support you in defining and managing the changes you wish to make in your life as an individual, and for your employees as an organisation and within your community as a citizen. We hope you enjoy the rich resources you will find in these pages over the coming months.
At our core, it is the belief of The Diversity Coaching Initiative, that human beings no longer have to make do with just being the best, when they have the ability to be great, and we want to be there to support you in making this happen.
Enjoy!
29/07/2010 3:01 pm - Posted by admin | Comments ( 3 )
Our mission is to improve the capabilities and potential of children, young adults and individuals who sit within the diversity constituency, for businesses and communities. We will achieve this mission through the provision of both targeted and one to one coaching programmes; research; education; and collaboration with other agencies who share the same vision. We will deliver this through the tools and programmes that The Diversity Coaching Initiative works to provide, so that every minority constituent will be facilitated in becoming empowered, enriched and engaged members of society.
2:57 pm - Posted by admin | Comments ( 6 )
The Character Ephraim Brown, from the hit series “Everwood”, was given an assignment in school to write about his own tragic flaw. In his observation, quoted below, he eloquently observes that human beings seem unable to change. No matter how difficult things become for them, he believes that humans would rather stay the same for as long as possible, than change.
I would like to offer an alternative perspective, I believe strongly Humans are not in fact averse to the act of changing, which they appear to resist; it is in fact the fear of not being in control of their lives. True, Human Beings require the element of certainty in order to thrive and grow, however, it has been researched and proved that we also require an element of uncertainty too in order to prevent boredom and apathy, but we must be in control of what happens next. If we are being forced into changing, we loose that element of control and staying exactly the same for as long as possible, may feel better, after all it is a known entity. Throughout my years of coaching people, the overriding regret clients have shared is not want they did do, but what they did not do.
What if not coming to terms with change means you consign yourself to a place where there are no possibilities? Stuck in a perspective that is destined to go nowhere, even though you feel it is safe? What if you would like to investigate the ‘What Else’ options but you have no idea of where you can obtain help in redefining your life on your own terms? Are you a person who is good at coming up with the plan, but then just never manages to follow it through to a logical completion?
Then Re-inventing yourself with ChangeWorks! ® Is designed just for you!
Take a look at what the character Ephraim Brown has to say about the topic of change.
My Tragic Flaw……
“The more things change, the more they stay the same. I am certain I am not the first person who said that. Probably Shakespeare. Or maybe Sting. But at the moment, it’s the sentence that best explains my tragic flaw …..My inability to change.
I don’t think I’m alone in this. The more I get to know other people, the more I realise it’s really everyone’s flaw. Staying exactly the same for as long as possible, standing perfectly still…. It feels better somehow, and if you are suffering, at least the pain is familiar. Because if you took that leap of faith, went outside the box, did something unexpected…. Who knows what other pain might be waiting out there. Chances are, it could be even worse.
So you maintain the status quo. Choose the road already travelled and it doesn’t seem that bad. Not as far as flaws go. You’re not a drug addict. You’re not killing anyone…. except maybe yourself a little. When we finally do change, I ‘don’t think it happens like an earthquake or any explosion, where all of a sudden we’re like this different person. I think it’s smaller than that. The kind of thing most people wouldn’t even notice unless they looked at us really, really close. Which, thank God, they never do. But you notice it. Inside you that change feels like a world of difference and you hope this is it. This is the person you get to be forever….that you‘ll never have to change again”
– excerpt by Ephraim Brown from the hit series Everwood.
If you are in a role, a job, a career, or recently been you have been made redundant and are feeling you need to do something different, but not sure what or how, and would like to gain or, maintain control over your life during that transition, and make changes on your own terms, please contact us. We have a tried and tested programme designed to aid you maintain control over your life and guide you through being the you, you were really meant to be.
Why not make the decision to investigate what it would be like to be the real you and take our free Survey and contact us for a complimentary debrief.
Re-Inventing Yourself in Challenging Times
Contact us for a complimentary debrief
03/03/2011 9:18 pm - Posted by admin | Comments ( 0 )
As Corporate UK along with the Public sector wade through the challenging climate, high on their minds will be the thought of how they can maintain productivity in these difficult times. Most organisations would have restructured and reshaped in order to maintain their competitive edge. However, is this really all that is required to maintain productivity today?
My research has shown that restructuring is not, in of itself enough to maintain productivity, especially where it concerns an organisations workforce. Restructuring may be a necessity in order to stay in business, but what should an organisation do to maintain productivity after they have restructured? For the employees that have remained, there will be concerns about working longer hours to cover missing colleagues for no more remuneration and a prevading air of uncertainty will stiffle creativity, loyalty and ultimately business growth.
The Proudfoot’s Global Productivity Report of 2008, as identified by Managers, name amongst other barriers, poor quality of managers or supervisors, low employee motivation and morale, and poor internal communication problems. At a time when the UK needs to engage its workforce in order to mobilise a recovery, these obstacles warrant serious consideration, as the Proudfoot report is even more applicable to the business climate in 2011.
How is low productivity showing itself within organisations today? It is being demonstrated by low employee morale and thus engagement as employees no longer believe their employers are interested in hearing their input. High numbers of people being categorised as “long term” sick due to stress and exhaustion, employees are now showing a general lack of trust for their leadership teams and there is a general reduction in new ideas coming through from the floor. The strain of doing business in these times for leadership teams mean sometimes leaders also require assistance and strategies in preventing inappropriate behaviours, such as bullying, unreasonableness, unsustainable work ethics and a general lack of respect and appreciate for the workforce, in order to protect the business brand and ultimately their customers.
How certain can employers be that their employees under the weight of exacting business demands that they are truly present and engaged when they are at work? Having the right number of employees on your headcount, does not naturally equate to having employees engaged in your business. There is an unquantified cost to not paying attention to the quality of output and the impact it is having on your customers base.
Want to know more about engaging your employees and building an impactful business climate in challenging times? why not take our free Survey by clicking on the link below
Maintaining Productivity in Challenging Times
contact us for a complimentary debrief
Click here to download our Productivity flyer
24/02/2011 2:25 pm - Posted by admin | Comments ( 0 )
Here is a truthful and exemplary homage to Ken Olsen, CEO of digital Computers, who died on Sunday.
I can honestly say he was an amazing Leader. A man who inspired every member of his organisation to want to be the best. This was not a man who dealt in the correct sound-bytes, this was a man who always walked the talk. Looking back he really built the company by living his values, this is something 21st Century corporate companies need today in the UK, but sadly we have in such short supply of. Yes, they may not have gone under, but their internal business climate is poor and their employees are neither engaged or loyal to them any longer, and continue to be present, taking their salary. This is a subtlety of our day. Employers are often mislead into thinking, that because their employees are not leaving in droves, that everyone must be happy.
Ken Olsen built a business where individuals could be incited, encouraged and supported to excel. An environment where the value of doing the right thing by the client, your team mates and the company, was actively encouraged, but also rewarded. A Company where you felt proud about the brand you worked for. I will never forget my HR Induction session at digital where the HR Director said, “At digital we look after our people, because we are certain that if we look after our people, they will look after our business”. It is a statement which has both stayed and influenced me, in the way I managed people and worked with my subsequent employers, ‘doing the right thing‘ no matter what.
Today Corporate UK seem somewhat drawn to only worrying about the bottom line to the exclusion of their employees and not paying focused attention to how their employees feel. The principle of having an ‘Open Door’ policy, has long been extinguished, for fear of hearing the inconvenient truths about what it is like to work for their company. People very rarely remember what you say to them or what you do them, but they never forget how you made them feel. Years after this amazing company ceased to exist; people still talk about what it felt like to work for digital. I certainly got most of my work ethics and passion of doing a 100% job from being part of the digital family. I have worked for many other blue chip companies since, and none of them made me feel as empowered or engaged, heard or valued as digital did. Digital was all about building a family, who played together, worked hard together, and enjoyed being part of this extended team.
Long before the days of companies paying attention to working mothers (which is now legislated), and crèches for working parents to leave their children, digital took care of their staff; I was a single parent, working for digital as a Technical Specialist, and often had to work away from home. Digital always took care of my child in terms of child care payments whilst I was away, and stayed in touch with him and relayed updates to my hotel for the duration of my assignment. When I returned to the office on Friday, after completing my timesheet, I was instructed to leave for home and return on Monday with receipt for dinner and the pictures for myself and my son. What this did for me was it created loyalty, it made me feel acknowledged and valued, and I in turn rewarded digital with my loyalty and 150% engagement, passion and a hunger to keep improving not only for myself, but for the greater good of the company.
None of this was rocket science, this was a company whose leader was endowed with a great deal of Emotional Intelligence and this percolated down to second and first line Managers and ultimately to the all employees. Quality never starts at the bottom, it starts at the top, and more importantly it fuelled productivity. If Corporate UK is to get through these challenging times, they will need to embrace all that leading entails. They need to reconnect with their employees, and start to take a long look at who they are being in service of their business, what values are being copied by their senior leadership teams? What bad or inappropriate behaviours are they rewarding? They need to become curious about what it means to create a working environment where everyone feels they have something to contribute, no matter what their starting point is.
Ken Olsen was a man ahead of his time. He will be missed, but I am certain his legacy lives on in the people who he inspired and inculcated with his outstanding business values.
What would you like your employees to be saying about
your company, long after they leave?
Why not take our free survey as a start to creating a more
powerful working environment.
Maintaining Productivity in Challenging Times
contact us for a complimentary debrief
09/02/2011 10:04 pm - Posted by admin | Comments ( 0 )
Here are some wonderful guidelines for being human. Sometimes all it takes is to stop, reflect on the important things, and then pay attention or re-invent yourself. These rules are not just to educate children, but it is a lesson adults sometimes have to be reminded of. Re-inventing yourself at any stage of your life is a possibility, not just for some, but for everyone. Give yourself that gift, make the time to invest in the person you were always meant to be.
28/01/2011 11:47 pm - Posted by admin | Comment ( 1 )
Coaching in the 21st century is all about helping people gain or maintain control over their lives. It is said in some professional quarters that Human Beings are averse to change, however, I would argue, that Humans are not averse to change, they are averse to being out of control. For a coach, even if you know that something better awaits your client, if only they would step across the line, however for the client, they have found comfort for so long in this difficult space, to step outside of it, for them could mean even more pain, with even less control. Working with clients today entails helping the client to become really clear about what they want in their lives. Where they want to be, and identifying and removing the obstacles which are stopping them getting to where they need to be. This is the essence of coaching in the 21st century.
In designing your coach it is all about designing that someone who will personally champion and support your successes, challenge your thinking and stand on that next mountain top encouraging you to take that next step.
Technology and the availability of vast amounts of information humans have to digest today, has created a void in our world where individuals are not always heard or acknowledged for who they are or what they personally achieved.
We are essentially sociable beings, who thrive best on encouragement and acknowledgement. Anthony Robbins claims that every human being requires 6 key elements to be present in their lives in order to feel fulfilled and successful. These are:-
1. Certainty/Comfort 2. Uncertainty/Variety
3. Significance 4. Connection/Love 5. Growth
and 6. Contribution.
When we reach a level of mastery, sometimes we can lose momentum in moving forward to the next level because the place we find ourselves is easy. A coach will be there to help individuals step up and move forward to becoming who they were intended to become. Coaching works at the level which is not always visible because it sits below the water line and works at the level which speaks to the motivation and values.
Coaching can be used to raise awareness within individuals; it challenges the thinking behind procrastination, and creative avoidance, ‘the stuff’ which holds back growth and development. Coaching aids individuals facing their deepest fears and coming out of the experience with a stronger, clearer perspective on who they are and who they are planning to be. Coaching can aid an individual who is in crisis and lead them to a place where their crisis becomes their best ally.
Coaching is not about telling someone what to do; it is not about giving advice or providing solutions. The client has all the answers and coach has all the questions. Coaching, when delivered professionally can be a powerful catalyst for positive personal change or organisational change.
Challenges make life interesting, overcoming them with the aid of a coach, is what makes life meaningful.
Are you ready to Re-invent yourself? Why not take the free ChangeWorks! survey
Re-Inventing Yourself in Challenging Times
contact us for a complimentary debrief
17/11/2010 7:19 pm - Posted by admin | Comments ( 4 )
The world climate is now dictating that we find different vehicles to mobilise and engage employees. Historically coaching has been used for just the senior employees or potential leaders. Today, this should not be true. In an environment where it is not always possible to give financial rewards, other tools have to be found to incite engagement and build loyalty. For employers who have not considered Coaching before, this is definitely a vehicle to be looked at. Maintaining productivity in these challenging times will be key for all employers. What does it entail? How can it be achieved?
How employees feel is as important as what you pay them to do. When an employee is fully engaged in their careers or jobs, employers will find the quality of their output, and their innovation and creativity will increase. Sick leave from work will decrease and it makes for an all-round better environment for everyone. After all, whoever heard of plants thriving in soil which is not conducive to sustaining quality of life?
Once upon a time, employers could have argued that looking after the mental state or emotional state of their staff was not really their mandate. Today that is no longer true, people are not machines they are sentient who do not show up to work in parts, but as whole beings. Evidence shows, that happy engaged people, make highly productive loyal workers even in challenging times.
Maintaining Employee Engagement in Challenging Times
Ready to work on maintaining your organisations productivity in Challenging Times? Why not take our free ChangeWorks! Survey?
Maintaining Productivity in Challenging Times
contact us for a complimentary debrief
4:22 pm - Posted by admin | Comment ( 1 )
The UK is currently working through the difficult period, where employees even if they have a job today, are living with the constant threat of being made redundant tomorrow. Stuck in the realm of what they are currently doing, dreaming of the day when they can become fully engaged in something they are truly passionate about.
As a Firework Licensed Coach and a ChangeWorks! Personal & Professional Change Practitioner, I am very cognisant of the pain people are experiencing around change, and the fear of not maintaining control of their lives in these challenging times, blocking them from moving forward to the place they truly need to be.
I am seeing people grappling for strategies which will aid them in creating a new story line for their lives, afraid that the story which they currently find themselves in is the only one which can be read or played out. Fear is a powerful emotion, clients are very unhappy not necessarily with their jobs, but the way they feel sometimes their employers appear to be focusing only on the bottom line, instead of focusing on them. Fear keeps them from taking control.
Personal & professional change management today is much more than merely helping the client create and implement new life possibilities, it is also aiding the client in putting closure to the difficult challenges they have faced, recover and rebuild the person they were meant to be. It is also about aiding clients writing a new story for themselves by which they will live in the future.Career coaching is helping clients look beyond the “the moral panic” of the media, around employment, job and career opportunities and look deep into themselves to bring to the fore, with the guidance of a coach, the lives they truly want.
The Re-Inventing Yourself In Challenging Times Programme provides a robust framework for helping clients through their transition. What is unique about this programme is that it draws on the clients own innate resourcefulness to help identify an exciting and viable new career direction. It is very flexible and scalable which take approx. 12 weeks to cover (this can be tailored to the clients individual needs).
Is the sword of Damocles hanging over your head? Feeling stuck in a job you feel no longer makes you want to get out of bed, yet you need to pay your bills?
Why not take the free survey and find out exactly how you can manage this change?
Re-defining yourself In Challenging Times
contact us for a complimentary debrief
20/10/2010 2:09 pm - Posted by admin | Comments ( 0 )
The streamlined equality rights bill came into force on Friday 1st October, 2010 to mixed reviews; employers feel the new changes will place both an added administrative and financial burden on them. Employees who are not part of the protected constituency feel there is a greater chance of them inadvertently ending up in court for inappropriate office talk.
I am curious as to whether these concerns are masking much deeper feelings? As a society, we have long proved that on issues surrounding changing our values and behaviours. Governments have lead the way by creating legislation before any real changes happen, just look at our recycling habits and the types of fuel we now use in our vehicles. In truth some would argue that the updated legislation has not gone far enough, after all equal pay between for women with men is still a highly emotive topic within the corporate community. Every journey starts with the first steps and though the steps seem small, it is moving in the right direction. Our perspectives of what is morally acceptable is being challenged and because of this legislation it is causing us to think about who we are and what is acceptable and fair for our community in 21st Century UK.
I am eagerly watching out for the Triennial Review published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which will give a unique insight into the current state of equality in the UK.
www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents
03/10/2010 6:24 pm - Posted by admin | Comments ( 0 )
Establish an abundance mentality, be a dreamer, have a sense of greatness. It has been said if you can dream it you can do it!
01/10/2010 12:06 pm - Posted by admin | Comment ( 1 )
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