Balkin Coaching Leadership Insights

It’s been a long glorious summer here in Australia, and I hope you all had some time away from your desks to relax and refresh. February always marks to the beginning of the school year, and the realisation for all that there are and there are no public holidays till April. Most of you have the self-awareness to know what good habits enable you to switch off, to ensure you refresh and recharge. Unfortunately, as our lives get busier inevitably these good behaviours slip, th

The summer is here in Sydney, we are all about to have a few public holidays and perhaps a week or more out of the office. It would be particularly nice if we could just flick a switch and automatically switch off from work. My readers in the northern hemisphere, I encourage you to please read on, as being able to easily unwind is just as relevant to you. My very first psychology supervisor taught that me there are three main ways people can relax: focusing on muscles; us

Some readers may be aware, there have been some lovely milestones in my family, which were celebrated with much joy and fanfare. The challenge for us all is to take the "normal" events of life and work and make them more meaningful. To be a remarkable leader it is essential to be aware of when hand how you can elevate ordinary and make it extraordinary. My Celebrating Moments breakfast focused on many of the creative and innovative ideas from the book Moments by Chip

Over the last few days my inbox been filled with articles and blogs on the positive exponential impact of changing habits. So I thought I would still share with you two of the articles I have received: 1. How to Get 1% Better Every Day by James Clear. https://heleo.com/get-1-better-every-day/19161/?utm_source=newsletter_the_lift&utm_campaign=10_22_18 2. How To Easily Build Good Habits: 4 Secrets From Research By Eric Barker https://us11.admin.mailchimp.com/campaigns/show?

When I think back to my first job as a psychologist in child protection, my colleagues were fond of harmless pranks. It was common to hear shrieks of laughter when people realised that the letters on their key board had been switched, their office chairs were missing, or they spotted a plastic spider in their office drawer. The unexpected laughter was a welcome relief in this emotionally draining work environment. Yet today's workplaces seem to be characterised by silence. D

Photo by Bud Helisson on Unsplash In the past, promotion was gradual, and employees would get a combination of mentoring, formal training and experience as they progressed through the structured hierarchy to leadership. Accordingly, organisations tended to rely on training, mentoring and formal study to develop their leaders. Now with the rapid pace of change, coupled with the flattening of formal hierarchies, leaders often rise to the top quickly. As such, evidence has demo