Moyra Mackie
The blog
CV Writing: The 6 worst mistakes you can make
Part of what I do as a coach is help people – whether recent grads or senior execs – find new roles. It’s not a big part of my work, but it’s very rewarding. This can be a stressful time, full of opportunities for self-doubt and rejection, and helping...
Emotional Intelligence and the Art of Noticing
When Daniel Goleman’s first book on Emotional Intelligence was published in 1995 I was so excited by the possibilities he was describing that I was happy to rush to Barnes and Noble in Raleigh, NC and pay out what was then a princely sum of $40.I was...
Motivation: Why carrots and sticks don’t work
We know what motivates people at work. We’ve known for a really long time and we’ve got an increasing amount of science to back it up. That’s the good news. The bad news is that this knowledge is rarely passed on at school, not taught on business school...
Journaling – how to get started when you have writer’s block
It was a sunny Saturday morning in Shoreditch. Thirteen of us sitting in a circle in a light filled room heads down writing.All strangers. No introductions, no knowledge of what might connect us or divide us.The only thing we knew for certain is that this was day 1...
What if we’re not a great team and we don’t trust each other?
Team work isn’t optional. Management theorists tend to over-complicate things by differentiating between groups and teams, but I like to keep it simple.I frequently work with leaders and teams who ask me a version of this question:“What if we’re not a...
Calling all leaders: how warm is your water?
“If you drop a frog in a pot of boiling water, it will of course frantically try to clamber out. But if you place it gently in a pot of tepid water and turn the heat on low, it will float there quite placidly. As the water gradually heats up, the frog will sink into a...
Feedback – Why the hamburger approach is just junk
When I ask groups how feedback should be given, there’s always someone who mentions the Hamburger Approach. This is the theory that you should start by saying something positive (the white bread), move on to what you really want to say – apparently often...
10 questions to ask a coach before you hire them (and not one of them is about money!)
I find it shocking that in 15 years of coaching senior leaders and teams I've only twice been asked even some of these questions. The focus from the organisation (HR and L&D) is on cost and cancellation fees; the transformation my work represents is...
How can you make changes when you’re always so busy?
One of the reasons transformative change is so hard is that we struggle to break out of the way we are living and working right now. Our busyness and temptation to procrastinate can get in the way of meaningful change.The temptations of procrastinationThe best...
Why I’ve finally embraced the term life coach
When I try to explain what I do, I’m often told: “Ah, so you’re a life coach!” And I used to bristle. I’d want to protest that I’d spent several years studying for an MSc in Executive Coaching (executive – there’s a clue in the name!) That my work is...
Beware the victim…and the rescuing hero
What happens when you experience conflict at home or at work?If you’re directly involved, do you feel helpless and put upon; pretty certain that there’s nothing you can do? Or do you feel angry; blaming the other side for everything that has...
Gratitude and the benefits of positively paying attention
I’ve been thinking a lot about gratitude this week.Firstly Jane, a friend of mine from school, nominated me on Facebook to declare three positive things each day for five days and to pass this nomination on to three of my friends.Now ordinarily I am not a...
Moyra has worked with our organization to help us navigate a number of important change initiatives… consistently demonstrating an ability to help us see the gap between where we are and where we need to go… truly defining what it means to be a trusted advisor.
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