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Encouraging You To Think Differently
Here you’ll find a variety of articles designed to encourage you to think differently or introduce new principles that you can take to the work place. If you like what you’ve read and are interested in how we might be able to work with you or your organisation, please GET IN TOUCH! We’d love to hear from you.
Identifying, retaining, engaging and developing top talent
The post-covid ‘great resignation’, followed by the current economic slowdown and recent ‘tech-shedding’ has brought the focus squarely back on to talent. Initially, it was, “Who do we want to make sure does not leave?” and now, in some cases, it seems to be, “Who do we want to make damn sure we don’t let […]
Emotionally Intelligent Leaders Take Breaks
Want to be a more strategic, emotionally intelligent and better leader? Take a break! The pandemic has definitely changed the way we all work, I suspect some elements will be here to stay when (or if) we get back to some kind of normality. For example, I expect hybrid working to remain a […]
All Praise The ‘Real 360’ – The Leader’s Mirror & Critical Friend
People tell senior leaders what they think they want to hear, not necessarily what they should be hearing. This, combined with the pressures of the role, can lead to ineffective communication, lack of empathy, unhelpful behaviours, crooked thinking and poor decision-making. This also leads to senior leaders becoming isolated, lonely and less grounded in […]
What Is Chunking?
Julian Horne of Miramar Global Executive asked our CEO, Bill Lawry, what is chunking and how does it affect motivation and purpose. Here is what he had to say.
Guest Perspective: Planning For Success by Abby Walters, Chapman CG
In February, we were asked by ChapmanCG, the world’s leading executive search firm dedicated to the Human Resources profession, to host our Insight Lab: Leading Successful (Hybrid) Teams Through Challenging Times to their clients. Abby Walters, Senior Director, provides a great summary of the event here: Working in close partnership with Ascend, […]
Guest Perspective: Resilience Within Teams by Edward Scott, Miramar Global
In June, we were asked by Miramar Global, a leader in executive search and talent acquisition., to participate in their HR Leadership Forum. by hosting our Enhancing Personal & Team Resilience webinar to a group of their clients. Edward Scott, Head of Operations, provides us with a great summer of the session: Ahead […]
The Complex Relationship Between Ambition & Potential
Our CEO, Bill Lawry, and Julian Horne of Miramar Global Executive discuss the complex relationship between ambition and potential and how it should be managed for both the success of the organisation and individuals.
What Is Potential & How Does It Relate To Organisations
There are a lot of different defintions out there on what ‘potential’ actually means but at Ascend, we deal with humans in organisations so the question we ask ourselves is: “What is this person’s potential for stretch – what is this person capable of?” Now, how do we measure that? We have identified […]
The Importance Of Teams
Why should we be focussing on teams now? Over the last year, organisations have been focussing more on the individuals rather than their teams. Now, as individuals have found themselves members of remote teams and also hybrid teams (some members working from home and some working from the office), the dimensions that make up […]
Maximising Team Cohesion & Well Being To Drive Performance
What can teams do to try and tackle the inertia created by the ongoing impact of Covid-19? We are certainly seeing a drop in energy levels – a depletion almost – in teams. Here we give some advice on what we can do to maximise team cohesion and well being to drive performance during […]
Is Remote Coaching Worth The Investment?
In the current turbulent climate, when companies are dealing with unparalleled levels of uncertainty and transformational change, leaders need the support and challenge of executive coaching more than ever. But when coachees and coaches are struggling to get together face to face, the question that HR leaders and coaching sponsors are wrestling with is […]
Driving Business Success – Isn’t it Time We Put The Spotlight On Teams?
In uncertain times, businesses require unshakeable strength within their teams in order to thrive. The global pandemic has quite rightly led to an increased focus on individual well-being and resilience. This a very natural reaction when humans are faced with factors outside of their control. Understanding that this would be the case, we offered […]
7 Key Resilience Themes That Emerged During The Pandemic
How has the pandemic affected people’s resilience, resourcefulness and well-being? At last we can share the answers with you! In response to the unprecedented turmoil created by the global pandemic, we have spent the last six months giving clients (and those new to Ascend) complimentary access to our resilience diagnostic questionnaire. The questionnaire […]
Are Your Teams Robust & Resilient?
In April 2020, Ascend published this advertorial discussing what a successful team looks like, feels like and acts like in order to be robust, resilient and resourceful at all times. In uncertain times, businesses require unshakeable strength within their teams in order to thrive. Today’s environment can be volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. […]
6 Steps To Transform Your Career
The coronavirus pandemic has affected people and businesses in different ways. Some can’t make their product fast enough to get out it onto the shelves while others are suffering tremendously from the ramifications of lockdown. Organisations are having to re-structure and make redundancies in order to survive. This can sometimes end up being a […]
Ascend Launches New Virtual Leadership Programmes
Ascend has unveiled a new programme of virtual leadership development workshops, designed to help organisations provide crucial and highly focused support to their leadership teams. Ascend’s CEO and Founder Bill Lawry explains: “These uncertain times call for exceptional leaders who can help others to be resilient, can build strong remote teams, have successful […]
How To Build Successful Client Relationships In Difficult Times
In many ways, humans are just like plants. Plants flourish best when their need for nutrients, water and light are met. Yet each species of plant has its own particular needs: a cactus needs far less water than a rhododendron, and a tomato plant loves the sunshine whereas a fern grows best in the […]
Conversations in a Virtual World – 5 Steps for Success
We are in challenging times, and they’re challenging, not just because we’re in a pandemic, in isolation, locked down… but also because from a conversation perspective, we’re always taught that face to face conversations are best and most of us can’t see anybody face to face! Conversations are the glue that hold businesses, teams […]
Leading Successful Remote Teams In Challenging Times
Of course, many organisations operated distributed teams before the coronavirus pandemic, with people spread across different cities and countries. COVID-19 has, however, created a distinct difference – with organisations moving to almost 100% remote / virtual models, and teams unable to get together face to face, however infrequently. The tried and tested Ascend Successful […]
5 Dimensions That Empower Executive Leaders To Thrive During Tough Times
Being a senior executive leader in today’s climate is really tough and it’s easy to get stuck in a rut. Under the current stressful circumstances, we’re seeing leaders overwork and head for burnout, blur work-life boundaries, enter downward spirals, continuously react without thinking and do the same actions and behaviours over and over again, without […]
4 Ways Resilient Leaders Manage Their Energy Levels
All successful, resilient executive leaders know that performance stems from energy. And you can spend your energy doing whatever you want. Energy is one of the five key dimensions of our Resilience Model (see below). To maintain performance during difficult circumstances, like today’s health crisis, and peak at the right times, you need to […]
Be More Resilient During Tough Times By Knowing Your Purpose
Are you struggling to stay resilient during this difficult time and concerned that it’s impacting your team? There are five crucial qualities of a resilient leader that distinguishes successful senior executive leaders, as they (remotely) guide their team and organisation through this unprecedented challenge. The fundamental qualities are knowing your purpose and core values. In […]
Coping With Crisis: Stay Resilient By Managing Your Emotions
The fast global spread of this health crisis has left leaders like yourself feeling concerned and stressed about how it will affect their organisation and team now, and in the future. We introduced our Resilience Model to you in our previous blog, Building Resilience In A Crisis With The Right Mindset. In this […]
Build Resilience In A Crisis With The Right Mindset
In the last few weeks, we have invited you to tell us how we can help you through this time – performance and career advice, remote working, or even just someone to listen to. This invitation still stands. Just contact us on how we can help. As many companies and individuals will be doing, we […]
5 Questions To Become A More Resilient Executive Leader
Do you want to enhance the resilience of your executive leader or senior team to increase the performance of your organisation? We get it. Today’s working environment is tough and demanding. More and more is being required from leaders and individuals within organisations. It takes unshakable resilience to sustain great performance in challenging times […]
10 Key Ways To Lead Senior Teams At The Executive Level
If you’re reading this and work in HR – or you want to take your leadership skills to the next level – next time you start your day, go into a meeting, or observe your senior team, think about horses! Last month Ascend worked with a leadership team of an American Defence business in […]
Part 6: What Makes A Successful Team: Leadership
Is the leader of your senior team not performing to their true potential? Senior leaders set the culture and tone of the team and organisation as a whole, which is why it’s vital for them to be performing to a world-class level, consistently. In this blog we look at the importance of leadership development […]
Part 5: What Makes A Successful Team: Resilience
Is your organisation about to go into a tough time? Do you want your team to be ready, or are you worried about your team’s performance? In this article we share the importance of resilience for sustainable, successful teams and organisations, and practice advice on how to enhance your team’s resilience. What is […]
Part 4: What Makes A Successful Team: Agility
Are your senior teams able to effectively and efficiently adapt to the current business environment/context? In this article we explain the importance of a senior team being able to continuously adapt and re-invent themselves and provide practical advice that will allow you to increase your team’s performance. What is Agility and why […]
Part 3: What Makes A Successful Team: Spirit
Do you want your senior team to sustainably win more business and develop your organisation? Strong team spirit is one of the most powerful ways to enhance your team’s performance and success. But often senior team members distrust each other and just don’t get on well together. In this blog we discuss how […]
Part 2: What Makes A Successful Team: External Focus
If you’ve already tried to increase your senior team’s performance, you’ll know that it’s not a simple task. In this blog we share with you why a lack of External Focus could be the key to your team’s poor performance and how you can simply and pragmatically pin point the key areas that require […]
Part 1: What Makes a Successful Team: Internal Focus
Are you feeling frustrated because your senior team is under performing…and you just don’t know how to fix it? If this sounds familiar, keep reading. Do you see your team making slow and poor decisions, missing opportunities, perspectives being ignored, cliques forming, important tasks going by the wayside, sloppy meetings, poor communication and […]
6 Compelling Reasons To Work With Ascend
Is your senior team ticking along, your senior leaders just towing the line, or your organisation/team are experiencing sub-par performance and are vulnerable if a crisis hits? If this sounds like you, your senior team and/or senior leaders, please feel reassured that you’re not alone. It’s a minefield to navigate this world and experience […]
How To Increase The Performance Of Your Senior Teams
Do you have room for improvement in your senior team? Our new Successful Teams Model is the answer. Is your organisation just ticking along? Are your senior teams only towing the line? Do you feel that they are capable of so much more, but you don’t know what’s holding them back? This is […]
Talent Killers
Is your organisation guilty of this? I attended an interesting talk this week at the European HQ of Duke Corporate Education, given by an eminent author who argued that companies should not focus their development budgets on a select few ‘high potentials’ but instead treat everyone in the business as ‘talent’ on the basis […]
Working Across Borders
I am one of those lucky people who really enjoy their job and get to go to interesting places and work in diverse cultures all over the world. Late last year, this was brought home to me as I voluntarily got out of bed at 4.30am to meet some of my clients at the […]
Building Personal & Team Resilience
The last time we wrote, we told you about a workshop we were running which challenged your current thinking, lifestyles and leadership to enable you to thrive in the increasingly tough and demanding working environment of today. We find that more and more is being required from leaders and individuals within organisations. In order […]
Gaining competitive advantage through the power of relationships
Some companies and individuals have a product or service that is so unique or ground-breaking that it sells itself. People come searching for it and are willing to pay above the odds due to the perceived value that it will bring to them. Just look at the iPhone. It had people queuing for miles just […]
Do you have a Growth Mindset or a Fixed Mindset?
First let’s find out where your mind currently sits. Score yourself on the following by choosing the number that represents how much you agree with each statement (1 = strongly agree; 6= strongly disagree): People have a certain amount of intelligence and you really can’t do much to change it. 1 2 3 4 […]
The Dangers of Praise
Praising people (and noticing their strengths) is important as it builds confidence and self-awareness as to what people are doing right. However, praise for praises sake and non-specific praise can actually do more harm than good. Recently I worked with an organisation where senior leaders refused to give constructive feedback to their underperforming employees. […]
Are you a role model for being courageous?
In January, I wrote a couple of lines on courage in our newsletter (click here to read it) . Such was the positive response, I have expanded on the topic below. In Spring 2008, I was invited to Beirut to run a workshop on Leading High Performing Teams. I had always wanted to visit […]
What is your real brand at work and what does it say about you?
I have worked for nearly 20 years with executives and high potentials and it still amazes me how many people are unaware of their real ‘brand’ in the business. They have no idea how they are actually perceived by those above them and what roles the organisation would be willing to offer them versus the […]