The BCF Group Blog

Are Your Leaders Aware Of Their Weaknesses?

• by Adam Fisher
• 18th March 2024

What makes a great leader?

Attributes could include excellent communication skills, active listening, transparency, empathy, emotional intelligence, having a clear vision and a willingness to make hard choices.

But what about being aware of their weaknesses?

Are leaders expected to be flawless? Or is it better they know they are not perfect?

How To Be An Emotionally Intelligent Leader

• by Adam Fisher
• 19th February 2024

Emotional intelligence – also known as EQ - is increasingly viewed as a must-have leadership skill.

A high level of emotional intelligence sets a leader apart from their peers, helping them coach their teams, manage stress, deliver feedback and collaborate.

But what exactly is it? How do you know if you have good emotional intelligence? And can you be too emotionally intelligent?

Are Your Leaders Struggling With Difficult Decisions?

• by Adam Fisher
• 8th January 2024

How good are your leaders at making difficult or complex decisions?

Procrastination and indecision costs.

So, what if we told you there was a simple thinking tool we explore during our leadership and management training courses that can make the decision-making process easier, explore different ways of thinking and remove some of the unconscious biases that can impact decisions?

Leading Through a Crisis – Part Three

• by Adam Fisher
• 20th November 2023

Being in charge during a crisis is tough. But at some point during every leader’s career, they will be faced by one.

But how can leaders better manage their emotions and understand how they respond to different pressures?

What happens if you need to lead your team through a long-running crisis? And how can they overcome communications barriers?

Leading Through a Crisis – Part Two

• by Adam Fisher
• 13th November 2023

So, you’ve got a decision-making framework in place for when the worst happens. And you have your incident response and crisis communication plan in place.

But what leadership style approach work best?

Leaders will have their natural style. But they should also consider using parts of different styles during a crisis.

Leading Through a Crisis – Part One

• by Adam Fisher
• 6th November 2023

What happens when you are in charge during a major crisis or incident at work?

Crisis communication training and emergency response testing will massively help. It will enable you to communicate with compassion and authority to everyone affected internally or externally.

But what else do leaders need to respond effectively and lead their organisation through a crisis?

Is Hybrid Working Impacting Your Employee Training?

• by Adam Fisher
• 23rd October 2023

The way we work has changed dramatically. The days of being in the office every day are a distant memory in many organisations. Instead, colleagues may venture in a couple of times a week or maybe just once a month. Some employees remain fully remote.

And there continues to be much debate around the benefits and disadvantages of hybrid and remote working.

But is it having an impact on training? Well, the statistics suggest it is.

Not All Training Courses Work For These Four Learning Styles

• by Adam Fisher
• 16th October 2023

Studies show that more diverse organisations outperform their rivals.

But there is a problem. We all have different learning styles, and unless they are accommodated, training can be viewed as more of a burden than a benefit, diluting its impact.

Our online courses have been created to meet the needs of these different styles.

What If "I'm Too Busy For Training" Is A Lie?

• by Adam Fisher
• 9th October 2023

You try to roll out a training programme, but people keep telling you they are ‘too busy’ for the training. Frustrating, right?

The good news is there are many solutions, including training at the moment of need.

But what if the real reason is something else and that ‘too busy’ is just an excuse? Could it be they don’t see the value in the training being offered?

Are Your Employees Too Busy To Learn?

• by Adam Fisher
• 25th September 2023

Are you noticing a reluctance from your leaders and managers – and their teams – to take part in training and skills development?

Don’t worry, it is a common problem. And often, people blame it on being too busy.

So, what’s the solution?

Are Your Leaders Curious? A Crucial Leadership Lesson From Ted Lasso

• by Adam Fisher
• 14th August 2023

Develop your leadership skills with a crucial lesson from Ted Lasso: be curious, not judgemental. Discover how curiosity can create energy in your team and foster a culture of learning and transparency.

11 Top Tips For Effective Communication In The Workplace

• by Adam Fisher
• 20th July 2023

While communication is often categorised as a soft skill, leaders can no longer pay lip service to the ability to communicate effectively.

Leaders need strong communication skills to share their vision, express ideas, convey information, persuade, influence, inspire, inform and show they care.

But how do you become an effective communicator? What does good communication look like in the workplace? And how can you avoid communication mistakes?

Are Your Leaders Creating A Culture Of Toxic Positivity?

• by Adam Fisher
• 6th July 2023

Can being positive in the workplace ever be toxic?

Essentially, toxic positivity is the belief that no matter how dire a situation becomes, people should maintain a positive mindset.

And, while it starts with good intentions and attempts to create a healthy culture, it leads to issues being downplayed and swept under the carpet.

Why Soft Skills Have A New Name (And The Ones Your Leaders Should Focus On)

• by Adam Fisher
• 15th June 2023

Soft skills are having a rebrand.

The ever-growing importance of the skills that help us better interact with people in the modern workplace is seeing them increasingly referred to as 'power skills'.

Initially coined by Udemy Business, the term is used with increasing regularity to describe interpersonal skills.

But does that rebrand work?

How Can Leaders Better Navigate Difficult Conversations?

• by Adam Fisher
• 15th May 2023

Difficult conversations are an inevitable and necessary part of leadership and management. But they can be a cause of great anxiety and worry.

And because of that, there can be a tendency to put them off and avoid them altogether. That’s not healthy for the individual or the organisation.

So, how can your leaders better deal with difficult conversations?

How To Help Your Accidental Managers

• by Adam Fisher
• 18th April 2023

Did your first line managers plan to get into management?

Many people’s first taste of management comes because they are high performers - it’s a reward for excellence. And it means they often begin the roles without management training to help them survive in the deep end.

The term ‘accidental manager’ has been coined to describe those in this situation.

So, how can your organisation better help them make that transition? And how can accidental managers help themselves?

How Can You Make Hybrid Working Work Better?

• by Adam Fisher
• 16th March 2023

During the past few years, working life has gone through seismic change. Recently, as economic pressures grip, some organisations have backtracked on this new way of work.

Yet, many other organisations realise being flexible is crucial to attracting and retaining the best talent. And costs less than a big pay rise.

Even if it turns out there is a gradual move to more time in the office than at home, hybrid working is here to stay.

How can organisations make it work better?

How Many Monkeys Do Your Leaders Have On Their Backs?

• by Adam Fisher
• 5th December 2022

Weird question? Maybe a little abstract?

What if we told you those monkeys are problems? And that the more people leaders manage, the more problems they are likely to carry.

So, how can leaders break the cycle of taking on other people’s monkeys? The answer lies in business coaching techniques.

Is “quiet quitting” a problem your leaders need to solve?

• by Adam Fisher
• 26th October 2022

How worried are your leaders about ‘quiet quitting’? The phrase has spread like wildfire this year, fuelled by a popular TikTok video. Now the internet is full of advice on solutions and how to combat it.

But is it something leaders and their organisations need to solve?

How important are psychometric tests in business coaching?

• by Adam Fisher
• 1st August 2022

Psychometric testing is big business. There are endless options out there gauging everything from psychological fitness to cognitive ability, skills and performance.

Many companies now use it as part of their recruitment process. But what role should it play in your business coaching?

Why confidentiality is crucial in business coaching (and when it should be broken)

• by Adam Fisher
• 7th July 2022

What do the line manager of the person being coached and the organisation get to hear about the coaching? And how do you manage expectations about the feedback from the sessions.

Confidentiality is at the core of the coaching relationship, according to expert coach Tienie Loubser. He says that for the process to be successful, the person receiving coaching needs to feel they are in a place where they can speak freely without reprisals or judgements.

What is performance coaching (and should you be doing it)?

• by Adam Fisher
• 30th May 2022

The term 'performance coaching' reflects the way business coaching has changed. It has moved away from being regarded as a way of helping underachievers get better, and is now about helping people who are already performing well improve further and achieve their potential.

Why your leaders should let the people they coach fail forwards

• by Adam Fisher
• 12th May 2022

Here’s an intriguing business coaching question. Let’s say one of your leaders is coaching a team member. And the person they are coaching suggests a way forward the leader knows will not work. In fact, the leader is convinced it is the wrong option. Do they panic and tell them not to do it? That is probably the most natural reaction. But is it the right one?

How do you manage and coach different personalities?

• by Adam Fisher
• 20th April 2022

Everyone is different. And teams consist of lots of contrasting people. So, when people coach and lead teams, they encounter different personalities. Your leaders will work with extroverts, introverts, those who are open to change, and others who struggle to adapt, to give just a few examples. To be successful, they need to identify them, understand them, and tailor their approach.

How should leaders run their coaching sessions?

• by Adam Fisher
• 28th March 2022

Business coaching is increasingly viewed as a vital way for leaders to nurture their team members, improve morale and develop better relationships. This, in turn, leads to better performance, improved retention and a healthier and happier workforce. One of the many aspects it covers is how leaders can introduce coaching to their teams and run their sessions. And we felt this was a topic we should cover in our regular business coaching and management training blogs.

What skills do you need to be a coach?

• by Adam Fisher
• 7th March 2022

The power of coaching is increasingly recognised. Business coaching can boost productivity and morale. It can change the mindset of those you work with and help you create a team that doesn’t need micromanaging. And it can aid leaders as they steer their organisations through change and reach new heights. But there is a question that keeps coming up – what skills do you need to be good at coaching?

The warning signs one of your leaders is a narcissist

• by Adam Fisher
• 11th February 2022

Having a narcissist in your management team can be a nightmare. Many of us will have been led by one at some point in our careers - someone whose self-belief is far greater than their abilities and whose leadership style creates a toxic environment. But it is not always easy to identify them. What behaviours should you look out for, and how can you change leaders with narcissist tendencies? To tackle some of these questions, I caught up with Tienie Loubser, an independent executive coach.

Why your leaders should adopt 'in the moment' coaching

• by Adam Fisher
• 24th January 2022

Many of us now only work in the office a couple of times a day at most. Others have not set foot in the workplace since the start of the pandemic. Yet, modern employees typically want more coaching. They want to be developed and strive to reach their best. To tackle the disconnect, we believe that leaders should adopt 'in the moment' coaching.

How coaching can empower your teams (and why some leaders solve rather than coach)

• by Adam Fisher
• 10th January 2022

Business coaching is a powerful tool. It can motivate and empower employees, helping them think differently about their work, become more creative, solve problems and adapt to change. But not all coaching is equal, and leaders often fall into the trap of solving the problems and challenges their team members face rather than empowering them to find the solutions themselves.

Webinar Rewind: How to build a learning culture in your business

• by Adam Fisher
• 29th November 2021

What is a learning culture, how do you get one, and where do you start? These are just some of the questions we explored with our expert business coaching and management training tutors Tienie Loubser and Kirsty Waite during our recent webinar. And we thought it would be helpful to capture some of their tips and advice in one of our blogs.