The ladder of workable New Year resolutions
Averil and Connie discuss sensible approaches to New Year resolutions using (properly researched) positive psychology and other behavioural techniques. From morning coffee, to Duolingo, to the ladder with an infinite number of steps… Broadcast on Hogmanay. The...Parenthood on CV?
Should women (or men) who take a so-called career break to raise a family add this to their CV? Averil provides corporate culture context and trends in modern parenting to illustrate the debate. “The best way to becoming good at emotional literacy!” Radio...The Right to Disconnect
Does the UK need French-style legislation to give workers the Right To Disconnect? As flexible work is here to stay, how do you create healthy boundaries between work and private life? Averil argues that it is mostly a failure of leadership to engage with...Confinement and personal relationships at work
No point repeating that this long confinement has taken its toll on relationships, even as we see light at the end of the tunnel. One of the good aspects of this shared hardship has been the emergence of more profound, human conversations instead of the usual trivia....
What’s your mission?
Who are you? What difference can you make? Why are you here? Some people just know. Others are on a voyage of discovery. Open-minded exploration is fundamental to happiness. Pay attention and see patterns in your life. What central themes recur? When you pursue a...
Don’t stand so close to me…
No, not the song by The Police, but the joys of commuting. Averil looks at the psychology of being squashed in a light hearted way on BBC Radio Scotland.
Negotiation Skills: natural or learnt?
Negotiating is an essential life skill that we are not always explicitly taught. What are the key secrets of good negotiators? Averil Leimon, Leadership Psychologist and Director of White Water Group, discussed it all with Stephen Jardine on BBC Radio Scotland –...
Straight Talking can be for Good News too
Being a straight talker doesn’t mean that you have to be critical or offensive. We avoid not only confrontation but the good stuff too, suspicious of positive comments as just being a softener before the negative! If you take the opportunity to praise others in a...
Influence can change the world: the role of social psychology in coaching
Last week I had the good fortune to meet a postgraduate class studying organisational and social psychology at the LSE to discuss the practical applications of various strands of psychology in coaching. This blog is the first in a series building on this conversation....
The Happiness Formula
A bit of science: Happiness = S+C+V. S is your set range: the way you were born. Some of us are born a bit more grumpy, some a bit more cheerful. It maybe counts for 50% of your long term happiness. C is for circumstances, i.e. climate, wealth, health, marital status,...