Imagine the scene: a trendy-yet-affordable restaurant in Kings Cross, a selection of delicious tapas to share, bottles of wine, and 10 well-known leaders discussing challenges they face and sharing solutions in how they overcome them. Who wouldn’t want to be a fly at that table? What could we learn? What might inspire us? At a […]
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There is something about the summer that brings on the desire for a team away day. As we move into July, we are getting more and more requests to facilitate these get-togethers. Maybe because it’s too hot to do all the usual things, and because we have been apart for so long, managers want us […]
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There is something about the summer that brings on the dreaded team away day. As we move through summer, we are getting more and more requests to facilitate these get-togethers. Maybe because it’s too hot to do all the usual things, and because we have been apart for so long, managers decide it’s a good […]
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As a Learning & Development Consultant at =mc I have supported many organisations – from MS Society to the University of Reading to WWF UK – in developing their project management. Probably like many of you reading this, I also juggle several projects in the office. And like some of you, I have the advantage […]
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What’s the Big Idea? Management guru, Peter Drucker, has written extensively on the value of innovation and the need to avoid ‘the temptation to feed yesterday and starve tomorrow’. Third sector, public sector and even social business often have a false sense of ‘playing safe’ by sticking to what has worked in the past. But, […]
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“Being a manager means I have more on my plate than ever and trying to keep up with my own workload as well as those of my team is a big job. I’ve got too much to do and not enough time to do it all. What can I do?” On our management training programmes, […]
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Working in a matrix should make us more flexible, productive and effective. So why am I finding it long-winded, hard and messy? Matrix management is when reporting operates along both task and people lines. We are hearing from more and more people in the NFP sector that their organisation has developed a matrix structure. This […]
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Working in a matrix should be empowering, agile and developmental. So why am I finding it confusing, hard and messy? Put simply, matrix management is about dual reporting lines. Someone based in a regional office might report to the regional manager – the geographical line – and to the head of their department who’s based […]
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Lately, I’ve been getting a lot of calls lot about providing training and advice for managers in two specific areas. One call, often delivered in a slightly worried and urgent tone, asks for training on managing change. Another, usually slightly more upbeat call, asks for a workshop on creativity and innovation. What strikes me as […]
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Negotiating with others, whether it’s at home with a partner over household chores, or at work with a colleague about help with in a project, is part of everyday life. And reaching an amicable agreement isn’t always easy. People often tell us they walk away from these situations feeling they either haven’t achieved what they […]
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We’ve all been there. After a long day at work, in meeting after meeting, you look at your phone and see that dot. The FEAR begins. The one that tells you there are 87 unread messages. And you are itching to look at them – but you have to get off home. You get in, […]
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Blended Learning & Development for Future Leaders at City, University of London Introduction City, University of London (City) is a global University committed to academic excellence with a focus on business and the professions, and an enviable central London location. It’s in the unique position of having special links with the City of London and […]
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Help! It’s all changing! Hardly a week seems to go by these days without someone asking me about change and how to manage change at work. The world is changing, our sector is changing and our jobs are changing. Whether you’re a manager driving change in your organisation, or a member of staff implementing change, […]
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UNICEF UK (UUK) is part of UNICEF’s global network. It raises money for their work with children and children’s rights worldwide. Accurate, up-to-the-minute information – data – is a key element in UNICEF UK’s very successful fundraising operation. And how that data is managed across the organisation is increasingly significant to their work. Challenge Supporter […]
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In this blog, =mc Assistant Director and L&D consultant Yvette Gyles shares three top tips for giving memorable, impactful presentations that you can enjoy, rather than dread
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To be an effective leader you need to get people engaged with your ideas and work – whether it’s a senior manager to agree a new way of working, a colleague to help with your project, or support from a funder or external stakeholder. Whatever the situation, bringing people on board is critical to success […]
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In this blog =mc‘s Director Laura Slater shares practical tips on how to become an outstanding project manager, and introduces the highly effective =mc Systems Model. What skills do I need to be a good project manager?
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=mc’s new updated version of the systems approach to project management offers you the solution to a range of challenges whether you’re a multi national humanitarian INGO or small art gallery that needs to see every exhibition as a mini-project. Among the organisations who’ve used the =mc Systems Model are: Project working is becoming the […]
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Following on from a previous article on Emotional Intelligence at Work, we explore why emotional intelligence (EI) is especially important for leaders. What is EI and why does it matter? Emotional intelligence is defined as a critical group of non-cognitive skills, capabilities and competencies which help individuals to control and manage their emotional response to […]
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Just who is responsible for learning in organisations, and for learning transfer after training programmes? Yvette Gyles, =mc Director, explores the role of accountability in learning. Many of our customers ask us to ensure the training we deliver encourages personal responsibility for learning – but exactly what they mean by that is not always clear. Learning is […]
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Great managers are an asset to any organisation. They engage, inspire and motivate their staff to achieve results. Their staff feel like valued team members. A ‘bad’ boss, on the other hand, can leave people feeling demoralised. They reduce trust, inhibit creativity and innovation and can set staff up to fail. So just how badly […]
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Making an impact isn’t always easy. In this article, Philly Graham, Senior Learning & Development Consultant at =mc and accredited coach, explains how developing your personal brand can help. What is personal branding? Personal branding is “the process whereby people and their careers are marketed as brands.” The concept of personal branding suggests that success can come […]
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In September 2016 Ruth Jobling, Research Advisor at The Brooke, was a participant at their bespoke introductory day on Presentation Skills, run by =mc. For Ruth it was very much ‘just in time’ training – she was booked to put her learning into practise in front of a large audience at an international conference the following […]
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Team days, focus groups, planning sessions – they’re all about getting specific outcomes from a finite amount of time. They’re about bring groups of people together – people who might not know each other – to work towards a common goal. A skilful facilitator can be the catalyst for consensus and output. The alternative – leaving the group […]
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It is a truth universally acknowledged (or very widely, anyway) that good time management and prioritising our activities are key to helping achieve high pay-off results. It’s also true that too often it can be difficult to focus and stay on track – especially when things are really busy. At that point it’s all too […]
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Bad day? How to control your responses, and not let your emotions control you. We’ve all had bad days – and bad interactions with other people. You know the ones – where you feel the prickle of anger or upset, surges of frustration or even crushing levels of disappointment. These sometimes overwhelming feelings are the […]
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Yvette specialises in leadership, personal effectiveness, change and innovation. Before joining =mc, she worked in HR for several years in both the private and charity sector as an HR Manager. In these roles, Yvette provided advice and guidance to managers, staff and trade union representatives. She also delivered several change projects and worked closely with […]
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Philly specialises in communications, leadership and management development and personal effectiveness. She is an accredited coach, action learning set facilitator and a CIPD Learning and Development Associate. Philly’s career has spanned both the private and charity sectors, where she has gained extensive experience in communications and management. She joined =mc 10 years ago and has […]
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Laura specialises in project governance and management, as well as leadership and management development. Laura has 8 years’ experience in the charity sector, in particular developing and delivering regional volunteer and community projects. Before joining =mc she was Project Officer at Sustrans, managing their London, East of England and South East volunteer programmes, focussing on […]
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Jules specialises in fundraising, presentation skills and leadership development. She spent nine years working in the commercial world before becoming Deputy Director of Fundraising & Marketing at one of the UK’s largest children’s charities, Action for Children. My areas of expertise: presentation and personal impact skills senior leadership development and executive coaching fundraising training At […]
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Charlie specialises in leadership development, team facilitation and strategy development. Charlie worked for over 20 years in the not-for-profit sector. Before joining =mc ten years ago, she created and implemented a development programme to build the effectiveness and long-term sustainability of partner organisations around the world. My areas of expertise: leadership and management development facilitation […]
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Developing line managers for an evolving culture West Kent Housing Association (West Kent) is a vibrant, community-based business providing affordable homes and services to people living in the towns and villages throughout Kent. Established in 1989, they were one of the first large scale voluntary transfers of local authority housing. They were the first ‘excellent’ […]
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We all procrastinate on occasion. But do you ever miss a deadline because you put things off for just a bit too long? Or delay starting on something and then have to rush to get it done, compromising on quality? Or miss an opportunity because you didn’t act earlier? If any of this sounds like […]
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(previously South London YMCA) provides a range of supported housing services for 545 homeless people Croydon, Bromley, Lambeth and Kensington & Chelsea. Over the last five years, they’ve transformed most of their properties through a £25m redevelopment programme, so that those living in them have a better chance to turn their lives around and live […]
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Giving good feedback is an essential part of a manager’s role, not only to get the best outputs, but also to motivate and develop staff. It is doubly important when dealing with a performance challenge of some sort. But no one said it was an easy part of a manager’s job. Fortunately, there are a […]
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In any senior manager’s career, the transition from manager to leader can be a tricky one. In any manager’s career, the transition to leader can be tricky. How do you lift yourself up from the operational to the strategic? What are the secrets to providing visionary leadership? How can you inspire and lead change in […]
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In this article, =mc’s Senior Learning & Development Consultant, Philly Graham looks at an important new framework, behavioural economics, and what it can teach us in learning & development. At =mc we are constantly reflecting on what could improve training and development initiatives, especially in terms of supporting real change in organisations. A challenge that is often cited to […]
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Social housing needs skilled managers and strong leadership to lead others through change and protect its social purpose. Housing associations have a core social purpose – to support those in need, ensuring strong communities and to do so in a way that empowers individuals to lead healthy, happy, and secure lives. However, we know from […]
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In the blog below, Learning & Development Consultant Philly Graham shares 5 practical energisers to help bring teams together. Before you read on… if you’re fed up of enforced fun with no clear output from your standard summer away-day we want to hear from you. =mc‘s tailor made away-days for teams are more fun, more […]
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One good, workable idea often comes from two others being combined. For example, Johannes Gutenburg, the 15th Century inventor of the printing press, combined the idea of the pressure provided by a wine press, with the idea of the imprint put on coins in the city mint. His printing press with moveable type was a […]
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