Archive
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Book review – Coach your Team by Liz Hall
In this blog I review Liz Hall’s excellent book Coach your team, which introduces a wide range of approaches and models and grounds it all in conscious and mindful practice.
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Framing return on investment – Setting up a coaching network – Part 2
In the second part of the series of blogposts I discuss how to frame return on investment and how to support the people training to be coaches to make sure they get through the qualification.
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Catching the bluebells and coaching in nature
An overview of the advantages of taking coaching sessions outdoors, plus a few pointers of things to consider if you do
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Coaching top tips – The four, five, six, seven levels of listening
In which I get back to the brass tacks of coaching and explore the levels of listening
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Gwen John revisited – a Cardiff Museum exhibition review
This blog discusses an exhibition of Gwen John’s work at Cardiff Museum, highlighting her unique artistic approach and its parallels to coaching. It explores themes of commitment, observation of body language, and the importance of balance in life and work. I praise the exhibition, recommending it highly for viewers.
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Am I becoming a silverback gorilla?
Mark reflects on how the way he is perceived has changed over time, noting instances where colleagues have highlighted his talkativeness, resemblance to bugs bunny but also his gravitas and wisdom. He emphasizes the importance of confidence built through experience and self-reflection, suggesting that this allows for a more authoritative presence and a deeper understanding…
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Bursting the bubbles – Swn music festival – Cardiff (2025 edition)
Talking about Cardiff’s Swn Festival and the way in which you can use conferences and festivals to widen your view
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People who make the time, not just those who have the time
(Structuring an internal coaching network – part one) A topic that I have been called upon for advice time and time again has been on how to structure an internal coaching network. Coaching, as a profession, has ebbed and flowed over the past two decades, and businesses and organisations have similarly ploughed money and time…
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Making peace with your personal wasps
The plum tree outside of my partner’s office window heralds that Spring has properly arrived with a glorious display of blossom which usually coincides with April fools day. It’s a bit hard to tell what variety of plum it might be, as it has grown impressively tall over the years and now towers around three…
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Podcast review – Happiness and how to get it (HAHTGI)
This week I review a podcast that I found both light and breezy, but that was packed with top tips that are great for coaching. I’m not sure if I was a late adopter of them or whether they were late bloomers but podcasts seem to have now popped up everywhere and you can’t swing…
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Walking unafraid
The pleasure/pain principle is a really key theory that can be used in coaching, which I explore here.
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The way some people… get hooked on murder mysteries
I love a good detective novel, here I discuss the works of Ross MacDonald and why, at core, we all love a mystery
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Albert Einstein, involuntary swindler*
This blog discussed imposter syndrome (heck , even Einstein had it)
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“Drew 550 different shoes today, it almost made me faint”
In this blog I talk about how Andy Warhol took the discipline he needed in his commercial drawing and turned it into an asset.
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Surround yourself with good people
In this blog I take stock after wrapping up the 5th Public sector coaching week, thanking Hermionie and everyone involved in growing our homebrewed week of CPD from a cottage industry into the beast it has become (while retaining its quirky charms)
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“Why? The Purpose of the Universe” by Philip Goff – Book Review
A review of Philip Goff’s book Why? The purpose of the universe, because this blog doesn’t shrink away from tackling the big questions
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Fantasies, Faust and mental contrasting
When you’re picturing goals it’s interesting to know the scientific theories as to how this can be made to work for you, so in this blog I explore the ideas behind mental contrasting
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Would a kick in the shins make you angry or indignant?
Looking at how emotions and physiological changes interplay and which comes first (James Lange theory and the weird experiments around it al)
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The Sounds in Silence
A blog on the use of silence in coaching, what types there are and how it’s a challenge (for me) worth persevering with
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Aspiration Experts Ltd
How James and I started a business to spool out coaching consultancy and executive coaching
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Photographing the photoshy
How I trained in photography at the same time as I trained to become a coach, and how I used my project to photograph the photoshy as a way to practice my coaching skills too
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Book Review – Neuroscience for coaches by Amy Brann
One of the most thumbed books in my coaching library is Amy Brann’s superb, Neuroscience for Coaches, so here’s my review
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The benefits and risks of optimism
Although there’s a lot of people pushing the benefits of optimism, it was fascinating looking at the two underlying strands of research in this area which helps to examine the good stuff and the risks
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Time out in Cardiff Museum with Gwen John
A digression into the amazing paintings at Cardiff museum and a pondering on how coaching can encourage people to try (a bit like some approaches to painting, or to Lord Byron)
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Mindfulness and meditation – a long way from relaxing
Looking at practical and unfussy ways to meditate (with Prof Paul Gilbert and Victor Davich)
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Joe and Harry’s Double Glazing
An overview of Johari’s window, self knowledge and a song from The Coasters
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“…you do not eat that which rips your heart with joy.”
A blog on the neuroscience of delayed gratification, the painting of Lucy Pass and the poetry of Thomas Lux
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WOOPing in the New Year
A bit of new year reflection and an overview of the great coaching tool – WOOP
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Online coaching – tips and takeaways
Tips and tricks for online coaching, including a little quiz on the unlikely place I found the best guidance
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The Power of Recontracting
In which I discuss how contracting and recontracting during the coaching process (and even within sessions) isn’t just a boring chore, but an essential part of the process