Field notes
Straight talk from the trenches. No fluff, just leadership logic and management techniques that do the work.
Employee relations
A 'good' investigation? Atmosphere is everything.
Interrogate, question - or just ask?. The same action, but a completely different vibe. Here's a way to take the pressure off the process and improve quality of the investigation, all by keeping a focus on the vibe.
Employee relations
Scrutiny-proof your investigations with three questions
The change to the unfair dismissal qualifying period will increase the time delay for cases reaching an ET hearing, and in turn will put pressure on workplace investigations to stand up to judicial scrutiny long after memories fade and team members involved move on.
Here's three questions that will lift the quality of your investigations so they stand up to that scrutiny for the long haul.
Manager capability
Elevate workplace coaching capability quickly and at scale
Organisations often lack the time or budget to roll out in-depth coaching development for all managers. And yet it's undeniable that strong coaching capabilities lifts leadership to the next level.
A practical, high-impact 'quick fix' to build confidence and appetite for coaching is this: Flip GROW to RGOW.
Here's why and how:
Employee relations
Hirer guilt - the saboteur of good probation conversations
To admit a new hire is struggling is to admit an error in judgment. This is a cognitive bias that causes drift in managing probation that we now can't afford to have.
This case study demonstrates the what/how 4-box grid in action, facilitating an evidence-based conversation that identified exactly what was needed to turn around the performance of a new hire recruited for their potential.
Employee relations
Break your managers out of 'the comparison trap'
"They're just not as good as [name]!". Managers asked to assess performance of new hires can reach for comparisons.
This is the comparison trap, and it's acting as a barrier to good, prompt performance evaluation during probation periods.
Use a 4-box grid to break your managers out of the trap. Here's how:
Employee relations
Now's the time to review your harassment training
Use the EHRC's guidance to frame your review. Here's what we have spotted along the way: See this guide as a checklist of points to consider as you refresh your training in to be ready to show you've taken 'all reasonable steps':
Leadership insight
Crisis leadership
Navigating troubled waters with empathy and integrity needs a 'stewardship' approach, not a hero-leader.
The best quality leaders are the ones who:
1) Are radically transparent
2) Demonstrate public grace
3)Advocate actively for those who are impacted the most.
Belonging & inclusion
'Life stage appreciation': A critical leadership skill for 2026
We've relied on generational labels to help leaders make sense of the workplace for decades.
But now, research is now telling us that there's a 12-year 'friction point': Productivity drops significantly when there's an age gap of 12 years + between a team member and manager.
Here's why, and what to do about it: