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Tag: Training

  • Walk your Talk: developing a healthier work environment and workforce.

    I recently attended the Daily Standard SME Expo in conjunction with Water Cooler “Connecting Workplace Wellbeing Solutions.” Hats off to the organisers for this excellent event that gathered together many experts from different fields to discuss, debate and deliver thoughts, ideas and opinions on different topics related to workplace wellbeing as well as to answer the most urgent questions facing SME’s today. Out of this event has come my latest blog about developing a healthier work environment and workforce.

    Many years ago as a junior member of the management team at the Elangeni hotel in Durban, South Africa I was constantly reminded by my then General Manager to “Walk my Talk.” As I remember this phrase was never really explained to me, but it is pretty straight forward that “Walking your Talk” is doing what you say showing an example to your team members of how to interact with customers, treat each other, carry out your job role professionally etc. While I don’t think this has changed, nor should it, in the new business environment for leaders and team members perhaps it is time for “walking your talk” to take on a broader meaning?

    “According to the World Health Organization, poor worker mental health will cost the global economy $1 trillion this year. Without intervention, 122 billion working days — or 500 million years of work — will be lost between now and 2030.”


    I don’t know about you, but it is unlikely that I will live 500 million years! Joking aside, in order to address workplace health, the current paradigm has to change. Leaders are being called on and challenged to come up with creative ways to inspire and lead others in the process of achieving company vision and goals. Taking a simplistic approach to health we know that sound health and wellbeing – the feeling of being well, the feeling that you are ready to embrace the world and what it has to offer, the sense that you are part of something greater that is both miraculous and inspiring leading to all the energy you need to fulfil your life there has to firstly be love for yourself and the many roles you play – mother, father, son, daughter, aunt, bus driver, engineer, programmer, customer account manager and so on as well as, love for your job and the company in which you work.

     Team members and employees always want to do a good job, it is human nature to feel valued for who you are and what you contribute, therefore returning to the office has to offer something new – an environment that is fun, creative and a comfortable place to be. In other words, it has to create the state that organisations want their employees to be and to achieve. Going into the office to answer emails, no longer makes any sense as that can be done at the home office. Therefore, what does the new office environment need to offer?

    •  Spaces where teams can get together to enhance social connection that a home office cannot provide. 
    • An environment that is less about me and more about us – where individuals can “catch up” and collaborate.
    • An environment that stimulates co-creation and fun.
    • A place that individuals go to get their energy fix and dose of inspiration from their boss and colleagues.
    • An environment that fosters healing and overall wellbeing.

    What about the leadership?

    Leaders need to start connecting more to their hearts and become whole humans to provide a welcome to those in need of coaching, mentoring or simply someone to listen to them while they share what is going on in their lives. Most of us don’t need fixing we need someone to truly listen.

    Of course, organisation goals don’t take a back seat to make way for human interaction on a heart-felt level. Instead we go about achieving the goals in a different way by turning the current paradigm on its head and taking care of people first, so that they take care of the customer, fulfil their K.P.I’s and productivity levels as well as the organisation goals because they feel valued, happy and well.

    The pillars of health include a nutritious diet, adequate sleep, hydration, fresh air and nature as well as a job role that we love. How many people do you know that are working because they have to and not because they want to? How many people do you know that are working for toxic bosses? How many do you know that are working at something they dislike as the pay is good? Too many of these people end up in my consultation room suffering from different issues, such as back pain, digestive problems, hormone issues, headaches, adrenal fatigue…….. mostly because they are in roles in their working lives where they feel undervalued, exploited and even in some cases abused through managers and leaders who themselves are suffering from the pressures that are fed down through the organisation in pursuit of certain numbers. All this is doing is making people sick, literally.

    Looking at normal business processes, why not go about daily tasks through “active working”, a phrase used in one of the discussions I listened to, by holding meetings outside with your team and actually, walk as you talk? When someone comes into your office for a “chat”, put your coat on and go for an active walk. Stop at some point to breathe in deeply the healing that mother nature has to offer. Stop to listen to the birds singing, running water, to look at the beauty of a single flower, or the amazing cloud formations overhead. Mother nature has a profound effect on our nervous system, slowing down the sympathetic to balance with the parasympathetic nervous system putting both you and your colleague or employee at ease and making it easier to open up to what is bothering them. If nothing per se is bothering them, slowing down the sympathetic nervous system, increases focus and attention, encouraging a productive output to the conversation.

    Meetings held outside that start with deep breathing and tuning into yourself as well as into the surroundings, can have profound effects on performance. Resulting in becoming more aware of their feelings as well as those of others, because they simply stop to tune in.

    During fine weather if the “Office” has an outdoor space how can you encourage people to leave their desks and go out to eat, leaving the Wi-Fi driven environment for at least half an hour to allow the immune system to come off high alert and return to normal.

    How can you use “walking your talk” through active working to develop a healthier work environment and workforce? How can you use this approach to encourage collaboration, co-operation and fun? After all the best tonic for the immune system is a good laugh. How can walking your talk enhance the leadership approach to inspire and create dynamic teamwork through becoming present, focusing on the wellbeing of your team and the overall environment through your awareness both of self and others, and ultimately the way you lead?  

    If you would like some help to Walk your Talk and create a healthier work environment and workforce phone us on +44 (0) 1235 639 430 or book a call!

  • What We Can Learn About E-Learning, From A 5-Year Old

    A guest blog post by Shaheen Sajan

    Interface, home screens and gamification truly enrich the learning environment and entice the learner to learn more and more. I recently purchased Osmo Genious kit for IPad which is bundled with activities that teach children reading, mathematics and problem-solving skills. 

    While I specialize in adult learning theory, every now and then I have that ‘aha’ moment when I notice certain universalities exist in terms of how both children and adults learn.  Playing Osmo with my 5-year old was one of those moments. 

    When my Osmo set first arrived in the mail, the packaging looked great and I couldn’t wait to get enough memory on my iPad to start installing all the large apps that are required to play each game.  Yes, looking at the cardboard and plastic pieces that came with the set I did feel the heavy price tag for this learning tool was steep.  I was determined however to prove Steve Jobs wrong when he said he would never give his kid an iPad as it would stifle their creativity. 

    I was excited about the possibility of my son playing games on a tablet that enabled him to still build his fine motor skills and that his attention would not be fully fixated on a screen. 

    We started with the Tangram game. He enjoyed watching the puzzles he created on the desk being mirrored onto the screen and receiving real time feedback on his success rate.  As the game unfolded, we realized there was a map on the home screen and solving each puzzle led us closer to rescuing a kidnapped figure locked in a castle tower.  We must have solved at least ten puzzles before we realized there was this gaming element to the app.  I blame the interface for not making that immediately obvious.  I observed while my son enjoyed Osmo Tangram, it was far from his favourite game in the kit. 

    We proceeded to play the Word game. He guessed the letter that was missing at the start of each word and then we were done with the junior level.  It turned out there are more activities we can download but it was such a struggle getting enough space on the iPad to install the Osmo app’s I really don’t know how I am going to find more space to install these add-ons.  In a debacle of parental sacrifice, it always seems to be my app’s that get deleted when we are trying to make space for his games.We can all learn a thing or two from children. My five-year old recently taught me about the importance of gamified e-learning. Read about what I learned, here.

    What we can learn about e-learning, from a 5-year oldGamified learning works for adults and children alike

    The prize winner by far was the Maths game.  I wouldn’t put the reason down to some stereotypes of boys excelling in mathematics or in them having a natural affinity towards it. I am a firm believer that such traits are socialized.  Simply put, he loved the maths game because it was an excellent example of gamified e-Learning.  I would go so far as to say if the elements in the Osmo maths game were replicated in an e-Learning module for adult learners, the learner would be more engaged in the course and would be more likely to retain the information they consumed.

    The power of choice is very motivating

    What was it that Osmo maths did that your e-Learning module should do?  First, this was the only game in the Genious Kit that enabled the learner to choose which question they wanted to answer.  Teaching is often full of a lot of assumptions that the learner does not know what the teacher is about to put before them.  While this issue can exist with young learners, it is more acutely a challenge with adult learners and can make any learner question or resent why they are being presented with something that is so unchallenging. 

    Putting the user in control of the learning process is a very empowering technique.  It removes any condescending notion and any assumption that they don’t already know what you are trying to teach them.  In the case of Osmo maths, the user is fishing and they choose which fish they will try to catch based on which maths question they will answer. 

    The second thing that Osmo maths does well is repetition.  The learner will be asked dozens of times what combination of numbers add up to numbers like 15, 20 or 23. Of course, it is up to them if they want to answer the question but each time they do, it helps reinforce what they know and makes for better retention of the material. 

    Interface can transform the learning experience

    What makes all of this so enjoyable is the excellent user interface and gamified elements embedded in Osmo maths. The interface starts with a gradient ocean.  The top of the ocean has a light colour and 9 levels in which the math questions are easy.  As you start scrolling down, you find the ocean gets a bit darker and the next 9 levels also get a bit more difficult.  The further you scroll down, you see more and more depths of the ocean unfolding and you can see there will be a long journey ahead for the young learner starting with simple addition and ending with multiplication and division. 

    Within each level, the user has a goal, to pop bubbles containing maths questions.  There is an element of strategy involved.  Trapped above some of the bubbles, there are fish and if you manage to pop the right bubbles below them, the fish fall into the ocean at the bottom of the screen and you get to see them floating around in their natural habitat. At the end of each level, the user gets a key that unlocks the next level.  I noticed this incentive of freeing fish worked wonders at motivating my son to play Osmo maths. In fact, he spent part of his day begging to do maths. I of course used this to my advantage by getting him to eat up everything that was on his plate at dinner.  His reward was the chance to do maths, I never imagined maths can be the incentive to get a child to eat his asparagus, but this is the power of gamified learning. 

    It is this exact gamification of learning that will make an e-Learning project a resounding success.  You will captivate your learner and motivate them to keep learning.  Remember, an excited learner, is an active and engaged learner.  That is when the wheels are turning and the knowledge seeps deep into the brain.  Gone are the days when the passive reader skims through volumes of data out of hopes that small glimmers of knowledge enter their cerebrum.

    Five-year olds aside, make your e-learning gamified and your adult learners will thank you for it.

    To find out more about how Green Key can design interactive e-Learning courses, please contact Rachel Shackleton directly at rachel@greenkeypersonaldevelopment.com

  • Suffering from work-related stress? You are not alone!

    According to research nearly half a million people in the UK have work-related stress that is making them ill, resulting in sick leave and absenteeism.  It is estimated that 12 million working days are lost each year in the UK due to stress-related illness. (HSE.gov.co.uk)

    WHAT IS STRESS?

    The dictionary defines stress as “ a forcibly exerted influence usually causing distress or strain.”    In short stress is any factor, positive or negative that requires a response or change. Medical research recognizes that chronic ongoing stress can lead to illness, aggravate existing disease conditions and accelerate aging.  Common stressors include most aspects of life in the Western world – work related, financial, emotional and environmental, as well as nutritional factors.

    The concept of job stress is often confused with challenge. Clearly these concepts are not the same.  Challenge, if at the appropriate level, energizes both psychologically and physically.  It motivates to learn new skills and master new and more challenging job roles. When a challenge is met, we feel relaxed and satisfied, proud and perhaps even excited about what has been achieved.

    When does a challenge become stressful?  Either when the goal cannot be achieved because it looks and feels overwhelming or when demands cannot be met, due to capability and or lack of necessary resources.  Very quickly the situation can change from focused and motivated to exhaustion from trying, and the sense of ability to accomplish has turned into feelings of stress.

    WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF STRESS?

    What are the symptoms of stress?Stress doesn’t just lead to workplace absenteeism, is can cause illness in many forms. Read this blog to learn the symptoms of stress, early warning signs, and what you can do to offset stress. #stress

    Early symptoms include tiredness and lack of energy, tension headaches, and poor sleep, and even dizziness, stomach tension and diarrhoea.  When stress becomes more ingrained and bordering on or causing adrenal exhaustion, these symptoms are still evident, but stronger and more constant, and are often joined by other symptom including, sweaty hands and feet, insomnia, circulating thoughts, nightmares, inability to get back to sleep, mood swings, anxiety attacks, stomach pains, heart burn and palpitations, depression and if that’s not enough – a permanent feeling of being exhausted all the time. 

    IS STRESS MAKING YOU SICK?

    Is stress making you sick?Stress doesn’t just lead to workplace absenteeism, is can cause illness in many forms. Read this blog to learn the symptoms of stress, early warning signs, and what you can do to offset stress.

    Subjecting the body to constant stress means the fight and flight system is no longer able to turn off.  In other words your body is in a constant state of alert, whether there is danger or not.    Stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol are released which sends blood to the areas of the body that most need it including the heart and muscles in order to get you away from the immediate danger.  When the perceived fear has gone, the hypothalamus should tell the system to go back to normal, but when constantly under stress this system becomes incapable of regulation resulting in cortisol flooding the system causing the many symptoms mentioned.

    Stress doesn’t just lead to workplace absenteeism, is can cause illness in many forms. Read this blog to learn the symptoms of stress, early warning signs, and what you can do to offset stress.

    Some helpful tips for managing the body’s reaction in the early stages of stressSOME HELPFUL TIPS FOR MANAGING THE BODY’S REACTION IN THE EARLY STAGES OF STRESS:

    • Practice good sleep hygiene  – be in bed by 10.30pm
    • Make your bedroom a “no zone” for electronic devices
    • Stop using all electronic devices at least an hour before bed in order to calm the brain.  Read, meditate, take a warm bath with calming essential oils or simply share time with your family instead
    • Vigorous exercise to be completed a minimum of 2 hours before going to bed
    • Allow two hours for digestion of your last meal before going to bed.
    • Drink calming tea such as Lime Blossom, Chamomile, Lemon Melissa and or Lavender before retiring 

     

    Rachel ShackletonRachel Shackleton is an entrepreneur who owns and manages Green Key Personal Development and Green Key Health. Working with local and multinational organisations, she is a public speaker and trainer in the spheres of leadership, communication and customer excellence. She ensures sustainable productivity and profitability through healthy self-management and leadership practices, ensuring a focused and successful workforce.

  • Take Control of Your Back to Work Fears

    This month’s blog is focused on the return to the office working environment and how you might be feeling about going out and about after the long period of social distancing, working from home and generally controlled contact on public transport and in crowded places. 

    Good news – yesterday morning the prime minister, Boris Johnson announced that we can all start hugging again.  Hugging, a form of physical contact with others is essential to us human beings. It is normal and natural that we shake hands, hug, casually, briefly touch each other during conversation and sit within reasonably close contact.  Infact it is not only normal and natural it is essential to our wellbeing, and the sooner we get hugging the better for our mental, emotional and physical health. The thought of going out into crowded places to get to the office, take a lunch break and use public transport, for some after such a long break, might be overwhelming, causing anxiety attacks and even agoraphobia. 

    WHAT IS AGORAPHOBIA? 

    According to NHS England “Agoraphobia is a fear of being in situations where escape might be difficult or that help wouldn’t be available if things go wrong. Many people assume agoraphobia is simply a fear of open spaces, but it’s actually a more complex condition. Someone with agoraphobia may be scared of travelling on public transport.” 

    VERY OFTEN SYMPTOMS OF AGORAPHOBIA ARE:

    • Fear or anxiety almost always results from exposure to the situation 
    • The fear or anxiety is out of proportion to the actual danger of the situation 
    • Often with agoraphobia you avoid the situation, you need someone to go with you, or you endure the situation but become extremely distressed 
    • These feelings of significant distress or problems with social situations, work or other areas in your life result because of the fear, anxiety or avoidance 
    • This phobia and avoidance can last up to six months or even longer. 

    TYPICAL TRIGGERS OF AGORAPHOBIA ACCORDING TO THE MAYO CLINIC INCLUDE:

    • Leaving home alone 
    • Crowds or waiting in line 
    • Enclosed spaces, such as movie theatres, elevators or small stores 
    • Open spaces, such as parking lots, bridges or malls 
    • Using public transportation, such as a bus, plane or train 

    Take Control of Your Back to Work FearsDo you or any of your employees resonate with this definition and are feeling insecure, nervous and perhaps even anxious at having to travel on public transport and go back into the office environment, or are you welcoming this development with open arms?

    Agoraphobia is classed as a mental disorder as it can have the same debilitating effects as other mental disorders such as general anxiety disorder, depression and panic disorder. 

    WHAT CAN ORGANISATIONS DO TO HELP EMPLOYEES WITH AGORAPHOBIA, FEELINGS OF ANXIETY OR AGORAPHOBIC TENDENCIES? 

    Below are 5 things that can help leaders in organisations to identify and address employees that are suffering agoraphobic tendencies; 

    1. Be understanding and empathise. The person you are talking to might appear quite rational, calm and balanced, until such time as they are faced with having to leave the house, use public transport or even enter the office that was so familiar up until March 2020, which makes the conversation seem unreal and perhaps even a “try on” to return to or remain home-working. Show empathy, give time willingly and avoid judgement. 
    2. Notice changes in behaviour. Be attentive in conversations with employees and notice any change in behaviour, however slight.  Create an opportunity to open up the conversation around how they might be feeling about coming back to work in the office. If already back in the office, how they might feel about work back in the office and how they have adapted and changed their personal circumstances to accommodate this change. 
    3. Listen without commentary. When an employee begins to tell you about how they are feeling and the challenges they might be having around the new regime it might include issues in connection with childcare, the difficulties that might be caused by working part time at home and the rest of the time in the office.  Perhaps there are some family issues going on in the background that is distracting attention and performance.  Listening without trying to find the solution can be the most powerful gift that you give anyone.  Very often just being listened to is enough to feel secure, and to find the way forward by themselves.  The job of a leader is not to “fix” others, it is to help others fix themselves through listening. 
    4. Keep in touch. Once an employee has found their own solutions which they are comfortable with, check in now and again to see how they are getting on and what has changed in how they feel. Has the anxiety or agoraphobic attacks become less, more or gone away completely? If increasing, advise them to visit their doctor and encourage them to add practices such as meditation, deep breathing and mindfulness to their daily regime. 
    5. Do not assume that the most confident of your employees are not struggling. As leaders we often leave those that are the most confident and competent to “get on with the job,” to give time to those who need guidance, input and training. Why? They know what they are doing and therefore why get in the way or interfere? Agoraphobia and agoraphobic tendencies are not reserved for the less confident, it can affect anyone at any time. 

    The essence of what is in this blog is to avoid underestimating the impact that not only Covid has had on the physical body, but on mental health as well.  Living in an environment of fear for the last year has taken its toll on many of us and the true impact of isolation, social distancing and other lockdown regulations, may only be starting to show now.

     

    Worried about agoraphobia or other mental health issues in your office? Try Green Key’s Wellbeing in the Workplace E-learning course to help your team’s productivity!

  • Leading a Contact Centre – The Hidden Challenges

    As a manager of a support or contact centre, do you recognise any of these challenges when trying to lead your team to deliver excellent and consistent customer service, while also meeting demanding performance targets?

    If so, you’re not alone. Many contact centre managers face a combination of people, performance, and engagement challenges that make leading others one of the toughest, but most rewarding roles in business today.

    1. The Leadership Learning Curve

    Too often, managers step into their roles with little preparation or development for what leadership truly entails. They may have been top-performing agents, but managing others requires a different skill set entirely.

    Common challenges include:

    • Difficulty transitioning from team player to manager
    • Lack of emotional intelligence to build trust and strong relationships
    • Avoiding difficult conversations or giving feedback when performance dips
    • Struggling to coach effectively to drive behavioural change
    • Handling too many escalated calls, which may signal a lack of team empowerment.

    Leadership in a contact centre is about influence, coaching, and empathy—skills that require focused development and continuous learning.

    2. The Human Connection in a Hybrid World

    Many organisations celebrate hybrid working as a win-win: reduced office costs, better work-life balance, and increased flexibility. But there’s another side to the story—human engagement between managers and employees can easily drop when face-to-face contact becomes rare. The phrase “out of sight, out of mind” too often becomes reality.

    When team members feel disconnected, motivation slips, communication weakens, and performance targets suffer. Today’s managers need new skills to lead remotely—skills in virtual communication, trust-building, and emotional presence to ensure their teams remain inspired, supported, and empowered, even when working miles apart.

    3. The Cost of Constant Turnover

    Every new hire whether in a contact centre or elsewhere typically needs months of training and coaching before reaching full productivity. When attrition is high, managers are caught in a constant cycle of recruiting, onboarding, and retraining—leaving less time for strategy, coaching, and customer experience improvement.

    High staff turnover is not only financially costly, but it also drains team morale and consistency. Customers notice when they’re dealing with inexperienced agents, and loyal employees feel frustrated when they must constantly compensate and fill gaps.

    4. Beyond “It’s Typical for This Role”: Tackling Attrition at the Source

    Attrition in support centres is often accepted as “part of the job.” But if we dig deeper, it can reveal more serious root causes and concerns:

    • A toxic work culture where stress and burnout go unchecked
    • Poor management practices or lack of employee recognition
    • Weak recruiting that places the wrong people in the wrong roles.

    While some turnover is healthy and brings fresh perspectives, excessive churn creates chaos, inconsistency, and frustration for both employees and customers. The key to reducing attrition isn’t just about better pay or benefits—it’s about developing great managers. Managers who communicate clearly, coach effectively, and build trust and motivation create environments where people want to stay, do a great job and grow.

    5. Investing in Manager Development Is No Longer Optional

    The success of any support centre ultimately depends on the capability of its managers. By equipping them with the right skills—emotional intelligence, feedback delivery, coaching, and remote leadership, organisations can:

    • Strengthen employee engagement
    • Reduce costly turnover
    • Improve customer satisfaction
    • And create a culture of accountability and empowerment.

    In the end, great customer service starts with great leadership. Developing your managers isn’t a “nice to have”—it’s the foundation for a healthy, high-performing contact centre.

    The key lies in developing managers who can:

    •           Lead with empathy and accountability

    •           Coach effectively to build competence and confidence

    •           Maintain engagement in hybrid settings

    •           Model the culture you want your customers to experience

    Strong leadership remains the cornerstone of every high-performing team, department, and organisation.

    Looking for learning solutions to support development of your managers, here's a recent case study:

    https://www.greenkeypersonaldevelopment.com/pages/improving-support-centre-effectiveness

    More reading:

    https://www.greenkeypersonaldevelopment.com/pages/blog?p=thriving-call-centre-culture-wellbeing-success

     One of our solutions:

    https://www.greenkeypersonaldevelopment.com/bundles/management-skills-in-the-tech-sector

     

  • The Importance Of Recognition When Leading Others

    A MESSAGE FROM THE NA’VI PEOPLE OF PANDORA

    In my personal experience it is common to both use and hear the term “recognition” in the work environment, especially when referring to motivation of others. What does it mean to give recognition, and how does that differ from giving appreciation, or appreciating someone or something?

    An explanation of the word “recognition” – to recognise someone in the work environment means, ”the act of publicly acknowledging your employees for what they do.” In other words, recognising someone for what they do in their job role and the value they bring in that role. On the other hand, employee appreciation is about who you are and how colleagues, irrelevant of role, naturally recognize each other and make the workplace feel more inclusive and human. This might also be extended into knowing you as being a valuable part of the team. Since the advent of hybrid working, It is not always remembered that humans need other humans, and that being part of a group or team is one of the main reasons why we like to go to work. In other words, the appreciation that we receive from others that feeds into our feelings of belonging.

    The Oxford dictionary defines recognition as “The act of recognising; acknowledging especially” and defines appreciation as “The pleasure that you have when you enjoy the good qualities of somebody or something.”

    In the film Avatar – the greeting that the Na’vi people, living on Pandora on meeting each other was “I see you.” This greeting was not just about literally seeing someone, but really seeing them in a holistic manner – the physical presence, mental and emotional aspects as well as the person inside, the very soul of a person. What a beautiful phrase of appreciation and recognition to truly “see” someone.

    Employee recognition combined with appreciation is one of the most important factors in driving workplace engagement, productivity, performance and employee retention. At its core, employee recognition is another word for feedback, usually associated with feedback focused on an employee’s strengths and what they’re doing well, a technique that encourages more of the same. It is also an expression of appreciation and gratitude.  Living and working in an environment of gratitude when inclusive within the entire organisation makes the operation more fun, meaningful, a place where people want to “belong” and be associated, as well as an environment that is productive and employees enjoy performing at their best.

    In the work environment we mostly link recognition as being positive and connected to what an individual is doing right and has done well, however recognition can also be negative. The power of giving recognition for good performance publicly enhances the positive impact on the individual to do more of the same. Negative recognition, sadly all too often is given inappropriately and perhaps even publicly, lacking a constructive and positive approach, especially when the manager and leader has limited emotional intelligence and fails to understand that negative recognition whether given publicly or not amplifies the negative impact on that person and rather than enhancing performance actually leads to the opposite – a de-motivated, deflated and often highly embarrassed individual who has now lost face amongst his or her colleagues, thus threatening the secure and important ties of “belonging”. An individual having been berated openly and unconstructively is unlikely to be your best performing employee certainly in the short term and likely for much longer, if indeed they stay in your employ.

    What can we learn from Avatar, the film and the Na’vi people of Pandora? How does “I see you” translate into performance, to build excellence, increase productivity as well as employee retention. The latter being one of the biggest challenges organisations face today. Perhaps, truly “seeing” someone, a colleague or team member, you not only recognise them for what they do, but also appreciate and value them for who they are?

  • Mrs M – A very capable lady

    This case study encompasses both my professional roles as an alternative healthcare practitioner and corporate wellbeing training provider. The aim of the case study is to encourage you to assess the impact of executing a decision on the health of those who are involved, perhaps through no fault of their own and therefore what could have been done differently.

    The client in question, came to me for the treatment of chronic depression. She had been recommended by a person who I had been treating for some time who also suffered from  chronic depression, which I am glad to say he is mostly free of today. At the time she was under the “control” of the specialised NHS mental health, psychiatric unit as well as receiving medical assistance. She is taking several medications for depression, anxiety and sleep including Lithium.

    A lady late 50’s who was employed by a high school as the assistant director of the school, a job she has been doing for some years already while also continuing to teach the pupils an academic subject. An active person who was working long hours every day, five days a week in school and some part of her personal time to catch up, mark papers and do other administrative tasks, she seldom did less than a 10-hour day. Her husband also works in education. Her daughter was due to graduate a couple of months after her first consultation with me.

    About 3 years ago, as a part of some kind of change in status and re-organisation of the school, all teachers were asked to re-apply for their jobs to continue employment at that school. Each teacher would be hired based on the new requirements. My client was not re-hired, nor was she given an explanation as to why, she was simply told that her job was no longer needed as of tomorrow. No redundancy payment was offered. That news would be a dramatic shock for most of us, even if thinking of resigning or retiring. Lack of appreciation, feedback and thanks would make anyone angry, likely followed by sadness at having the job and career you love crudely removed with no further contact. From May to September of that year she did not feel well, she lost interest and enthusiasm for life, but tried to regain this by taking up a role as a volunteer in a local charity shop.

    At a similar time, her father died during Covid and this seemed to “tip” her over the edge into mental illness, specifically severe depression combined with anxiety. Her father also suffered from depression and anxiety therefore depression running in the familial line. She stated that she remembers shaking uncontrollably at the loss of her father, and perhaps to this day has not yet come to terms with this loss through the normal grieving process.

    Certainly, we can debate if how she lost her job was according to the law? That is not the purpose of this case and therefore we will avoid going down that route. The client is now on four medications for anxiety and depression, some of which are also negatively affecting hair growth, causing hair loss, which further embeds the feeling of “why would anyone want or love me?”. In addition, she is putting on weight, which also negatively impacts how she feels about herself. Her quality of sleep is poor due to twitching, a side effect one of the prescribed medications. To aid sleep she has been subscribed Zopiclone, a common sleep medication which can cause drowsiness during the day. In her own words, she “Has no reason to get out of bed and most of the time feels blank and tense,” therefore can spend the whole day in bed sleeping with no desire to get out of bed. In order to end this cycle, she saw only one way out and that was to commit suicide. She tried, but luckily was not successful.

    She had her gall bladder removed approximately 10 years ago and despite this has no  difficulty in digesting most foods. However, looking at this energetically, the gall bladder – “How can you have the gall to……?” is a representation of rage and extreme anger that has been suppressed within the body, ultimately causing severe inflammation and damage to the gall bladder until eventually it had to be surgically removed. This is an example of how suppressed negative emotions manifest on the physical level to show us what it is we need to deal with. Does removal of the gall bladder mean we have dealt with these negative emotions, or do they still remain in the body as the person’s behavioural pattern remains the same?

    Mrs M also suffers from a fungal nail infection in both her feet under the nails.

    Despite being under the guidance of the mental health team in her local area, at best she is staying numb to life, devoid of any kind of emotion whether joyful or otherwise, at worst is not living. Weekly she has a counselling session with one of the mental health counsellors. After several years of guidance from this team, she and her husband, whose life has also been tipped upside down, decided to try something different and on recommendation from one of their friends, sought a health consultation with me.

    The main goals for treatment are:

    • To get better from severe depression and anxiety to live her life as before.
    • To improve her quality of life and reduce medications.
    • To empower her to embrace life through physical and mental health and vitality.

    To date she has undergone 2 consultations. Between consultations she is taking herbal remedies and orchid essences as well as Omega 3 for brain health and vitamin D. The orchid essences were to address the anger at herself and to re-balance the victim and saboteur archetypes that are both running negative patterns affecting her behaviour. Naturopathic advice included:

    • Going outside into nature for a minimum of 10 minutes twice daily. When someone does not even want to get out of bed this is a huge challenge.
    • Removal of all wheat from her diet.
    • Find one positive in her life every day and give thanks.
    • De-clutter her “office” for 10 minutes 3-4 times weekly until complete. Throw past documents out with joy at letting them go.

    The first two points were essential to creating wellness. The other points are important, but if not done every day at the early stage of treatment, this is fine.

    This gives you the background of this client. Now look at this situation from a treatment perspective and answer the following questions:

    1. How did this person end up with severe depression and anxiety when previously she was a capable, active woman who up until losing her job we can assume was able to take responsibility and get things done? 
    2. When treating any dis-ease condition how important is it to treat the symptoms and the cause for long term relief and to ensure she is able to live her life with a good degree of normalcy?
    3. What do you think is the root cause of her prescribed condition?
    4. Treating any dis-ease requires consideration and treatment of both the emotional underlying factor as well as the physical condition/symptoms? What is your opinion?
    5. Do you think that treatment through the traditional, allopathic medical system considers the person as a whole in the treatment protocols or rather focuses on the visible symptoms and therefore dis-ease diagnosis?
    6. What naturopathic advice would you give to the client, bearing in mind that she may not have the energy to get out of bed? What actions do you think would bring the most positive impact to her mental health?
    7. If you were the manager/HR manager who informed this client of their redundancy would you do anything differently?

    Are you on a similar journey to Mrs M? Discover how you may be able to help yourself from my Brain Health – Mental Agility course.

  • Nurturing Leadership – The New Norm?

    COVID19 has replaced Brexit as the trigger for urgent and critical business change. Organizations have become decentralised as teams and individuals are made to work remotely from home. Or they are temporarily disbanded where staff are furloughed. Most companies will have now completed all the actions necessary to decrease costs, meet the government directive to “stay home” and put contingency plans in place with the view to still being in business at the end of this pandemic. If ever there was a time for leaders to be nurturing, both of themselves and others, it is now.

    WHAT ARE POTENTIAL IMPACTS OF THESE CHANGES ON INDIVIDUALS?

    We know through our experience in performance management that one of the key motivators for being employed to work in a company as opposed to working from home alone is the fact you get to mix with others on a daily basis. The opportunity to talk something through with a colleague over a coffee, the metaphoric and perhaps literal shoulder to cry on when going through a tough time personally or professionally, and not to forget the morale boosting office “banter”. Unless you are a key worker on the front-line of the coronavirus crisis, you will be cut off from all this now.

    The issues facing key workers are different and will not be addressed here.

    POTENTIAL IMPACTS OF ENFORCED HOMEWORKING MIGHT INCLUDE:

    • Lack of motivation as social and face-to-face physical contact has disappeared overnight. 
    • Difficulty balancing time effectively as the working day is no longer segregated from family responsibilities. Not to mention the fact parents have the extra responsibility of educating and entertaining their children. Children who may well act up as a result of the highly irregular circumstances that they find themselves in. As well as the need to prepare meals, and generally keep the house going. No matter the motivation and dedication, it is likely that productivity will suffer.
    • Mental and physical exhaustion as individuals try to play super mums and dads to cope with extended duties such as being home educators, as well as shopping for and checking in with vulnerable family members and elderly members of the community. All the while they are trying to be productive so they can earn the salary that keeps the ship afloat.
    • Worry and anxiety about where is the money going to come from to meet financial obligations and therefore obsessing over the question; “How are we going to manage?”
    • Dealing with the impact and fear of keeping well especially if there are people dependant on you.
    • Living a relentless cycle with little or no respite and “down-time” as everyone “stays home”, and the challenge this brings of trying to stay healthy and keep everyone else healthy.

    HOW DOES LEADERSHIP NEED TO CHANGE?

    In asking this question, it is easy to forget that those designated as leaders also have personal issues and are impacted by the changes to their home environment work set up. Therefore, it is paramount that the time spent on leading is quality time, relaying supportive, inspiring and nurturing messages to all team members that show genuine interest, empathy and understanding.

    Nurturing leadership is going to become the new norm as organisations realise that in order to navigate this crisis successfully, the priority is going to be people. Tailoring your approach to each team member relative to where they are at, as opposed to achieving short-term goals and driving profitability using a one-size-fits-all approach.

    How do you nurture your team in times of crisis?WHAT DOES NURTURING LEADERSHIP LOOK LIKE?

    When nurturing something or someone “we care for it whilst it is growing and developing” (www.Cambridgedictionary.com). Translating this into how leaders are to respond, they should take care of the individual and the business as a whole: each employee that a particular leader is responsible for needs to be supported in helping them find the new norm, encouraged to be kind to themselves and not beat themselves up when missing deadlines, forgetting reports and finding the new ways of using technology a challenge. Me included in this last point!

    A nurturing leader will be able to listen empathetically, listen without the need to “fix” the current situation for their employee, enabling the individual to find their own solutions that work for them and their individual circumstances. Giving them the encouragement to keep trying and to make that breakthrough on something that may on the surface look incredibly simple, and perhaps would ordinarily be so, but in fact is extremely challenging in their new daily environment.

    We know that challenge presents an opportunity for growth. The importance for every leader to create the right environment to allow for growth and development through trial and error is essential to show support, inspire to keep trying and to succeed, whilst at the same time providing a safety net should it be needed.

    A nurturing leader will be tuning into his or her sixth sense of intuition and feeling, to “see” when one of their team is struggling, and to use gentle coaching questions to encourage the sharing of frustrations, venting of anger and disappointments.  At the end, finding empathetic and inspiring words to show respect, kindness and warmth that willingly drives the person to keep searching until they eventually find the model, of the new norm that works for them in their current reality.

    Just as importantly, each leader needs to protect his or her inner emotional and spiritual self through leading by example showing that nurturing is vital and to also take the necessary time to nurture themselves.

    Under present day circumstances, I believe there is no space for the hard-nosed focus to drive profitability, as this will likely push well-intentioned and loyal employees who are desperately trying to be productive right now, away from organisations when the tide turns. It is a time for being. A human being, not a human doing!

    Green Key Personal Development – Nurturing People, Nurturing Business, Growing Potential through these challenging times.

     

    To learn how we can help you and your organisation, email Rachel directly at rachel@greenkeypersonaldevelopment.com

     

    Rachel ShackletonRachel Shackleton is an entrepreneur who owns and manages Green Key Personal Development and Green Key Health. Working with local and multinational organisations, she is a public speaker and trainer in the spheres of leadership, communication and customer excellence. She ensures sustainable productivity and profitability through healthy self-management and leadership practices, ensuring a focused and successful workforce.

  • Olympians and Leadership Lessons

    Sports and leadership have so much in common, as do leadership and sports?

    Kirsti Yamaguchi could not have put the point across more succinctly.  To be successful in any sports, whether on ice, on snow, in water, on a track or field, focus is required to keep your goal in mind, and in vision at all times.  Sport is a passion as is effective leadership.  The “why” in Why I do this?

    Setting clear and measurable goals is essential for individual sports men and women as well as for teams.  Is this different for any leader?  He or she needs to know and be passionate about the goal and be able to inspire others to share that same passion.

    In sport and in leadership, there are times when discipline and hard work are essential to produce that extra bit more, that bit you didn’t think was possible when the odds appear against you.  Does this happen in business sometimes? Perhaps external or internal circumstances change, putting pressure on how to achieve the goal under changing circumstances, as well as on the leader to find the way to inspire the team to produce synergy to achieve what appears to be the unachievable.  To avoid giving up by finding that bit extra.

    As Mark Phelps, the Olympic Swimmer once said “Goals should never be easy, they should force you to work, even if they are uncomfortable at the time.” Setting clear and “smart” goals is essential to creating that sense of challenge and focus that we all work towards and celebrate once achieved.

    Celebration and sharing the glory of goals achieved with a team is a genuine opportunity to provide positive feedback on performance, it is a genuine opportunity to support and encourage during the process and an essential characteristic of an inspirational leader.

    Successful sports people, and effective leaders, whether male or female share the importance of self leadership.  Respecting oneself through honouring mind, body and spirit, Eating responsibly to ensure the body and mind are nourished and ready for challenge.  Ever considered if fast foods, snacks, caffeine, energy drinks and processed foods are up to the job?

    Sportsmen and women naturally exercise to train their body.  No Olympian ever succeeded without training both the body and mind to rise to the physical and mental challenge of competing. Do leaders have a duty to themselves firstly and to their followers and company secondly to maintain a healthy level of physical as well as mental stamina?

    The last part of the equation shared by sports people and leaders is adequate sleep to keep the mind and body alert to make those last second and important decisions that make all the difference to performance.

  • Is Your Customer Service Roadworthy? Fixing the ‘System’ That Leaves Drivers Stranded

    Imagine you're driving to an early morning networking event. You're navigating a familiar stretch of road, only to find it partially flooded. Your wheels are cautiously floating in the water until a massive clunk vibrates through your vehicle. A pothole strikes your front tyre. Fifteen minutes later, the tyre pressure light flashes on the dash—it’s the exact tyre that hit the hole.

    Your journey turns into a test of your insurance provider's customer service. Four calls later, you’re emotionally drained, late for your meeting, and grappling with a system that feels anything but helpful.

    Here’s what went wrong—and what any service-focused company should fix.

    1. Stress and the Human Touch Matter

    When you're stranded roadside, you're not just inconvenienced—you’re anxious and vulnerable. A chatbot or digital form may be efficient, but it cannot soothe emotions. Empathy from a trained person does. Empower your customer-facing team to accelerate the conversation, not deflect it. Listening and reassurance under stress aren’t just niceties—they build trust.

    2. Inclusivity Isn’t Optional

    What if your stranded customer is elderly, dyslexic, or managing a crying child? Digital-first policies may exclude and exacerbate stress—no one wants to complete a fiddly form in that scenario. Customer support systems must be designed for all customers, not just the digitally savvy.

    3. Digital Claims Must Be Trustworthy

    I was told booking online would speed up recovery—but had to be pushed repeatedly. How can you enforce digital-first when your system doesn't work reliably? If you're encouraging online use, it must deliver—or risk destroying trust. Transparency and reliability are everything.

    4. One Task Shouldn’t Mean Four Harrowing Calls

    My experience required four calls and an hour of stress to accomplish what should’ve been simple. That’s not efficiency—it’s friction. Test your processes under real-world conditions. Use approaches like “Appreciative Inquiry” to identify pain points by engaging both customers and frontline staff.

    5. Systems vs. Human Connection

    These issues disproportionately expose two core truths:

    • Your service system must be built for diverse customers under pressure.
    • At times, customers need human connection over automation.

    Your team should know when to streamline via digital tools—and when a human voice is the shortest path to relief.

    6. Empower Your Team—and Your Business Wins

    Training, empathy, and autonomy aren’t just inside baseball—they’re strategic levers. According to Forrester, customer-obsessed companies enjoy:

    • 28% faster revenue growth
    • 33% higher profit growth
    • 43% better customer retention
    • Digital Commerce 360
    • Kate Smiley-Rodgers

    Embedding customer obsession into operations is not a buzzword—it’s a powerhouse growth engine. .Forrester https://www.forrester.com/bold/customer-obsession/ Kate Smiley-Rodgers https://www.krosecreative.com/blog/the-b2b-flight-to-customer-obsession-is-taking-o

    Final Thoughts

    Being stranded on the side of the road shouldn’t expose flaws in your customer service DNA. A system should adapt to your customer—not force them into frustration.

    Empathy, flexibility, and empowerment aren’t just ideals—they’re the backbone of loyalty and business momentum. As a result of this experience, I'm unlikely to renew with this insurer—and I’ve already shared my frustration with friends.

    Call to Action: This isn’t about slapping a chatbot on your website. It's about embedding empathy into every system, every channel, every interaction. Fix the process. Train the people. Empower your frontline—and watch commitment, trust, and profit follow.