Why some coaching questions can do more harm than good Coaching, if we follow Sir John Whitmore’s definition that it’s “helping people to learn rather than teaching them”, is about asking questions to help the ‘coachee’ find their own answers and…
How To Get People To Change Their Minds
Recent Evidence-Backed Insights On How Not To Come Across As A Jerk – And What’s Behind Them
Why You Need To Put More Effort Into Empathy As A Leader
How To Increase Your Emotional Intelligence 3: Get In Touch With Your Emotions
How To Increase Your Emotional Intelligence 1: Own Your Emotions
Emergent Principles of Appreciative Inquiry 2: The Enactment Principle

Traditionally, Appreciative Inquiry has had five guiding principles (the Constructionist, Poetic, Simultaneity, Anticipatory, and Positive principles as sent out by David Cooperrider in, for example, the Appreciative Inquiry Handbook). In recent years, new principles have started to emerge as Appreciative…
How To Use Surprise To Reduce Confirmation Bias
‘Confirmation Bias’ is when our minds filter what we perceive of the world around us, amplifying evidence that fits our existing beliefs and playing down or ignoring altogether any information that challenges them. Confirmation bias is inevitable – there’s so…
How To Solve Intractable Problems
If you’ve run out of ideas for solving a complex, intractable problem, try this exercise, drawn from the Appreciative Inquiry approach. It works by finding what’s already working well and building on it, rather than trying to analyse the causes…
The Best Way To Motivate Yourself With Self-Talk
You also need to know this if you use (or teach) self-hypnosis, or use affirmations. We now know that it makes a difference if you tell yourself “You can do it” or “I can do it”. A recent study by…