🌸 Sometimes oldies deserve a comeback!

(I'm referring to the flowers, not me.)

A few days ago, I was sitting in a huge field of Zinnias. As a child, I didn't like them - too old-fashioned, too obvious, too boring. Then they seemed to fall out of favour. I haven’t seen any around for a long time. I guess floral tastes change? Perhaps replaced by some new, trendy GI variety of blooms? 

Zinnias are definitely back on trend now - I see them everywhere! And I've grown to appreciate them - probably because they remind me of my mother's flower garden - she was a fan of Zinnias and all the classics.

Teams are a bit like flower gardens. “Old-fashioned” practices can get pushed aside as new and shiny things take over - hybrid working, AI, new fads.

But "oldies" are "goodies"! Team success isn’t about the latest tool or trend. It’s about old fashioned things like: listening, presence, curiosity, trust, and taking the time to actually talk, connect, and think together.

Teams, take inspiration from Zinnias! Let the classics bloom again. 🌸

If you'd like to bring the classics back to you team, or you'd like to talk about other ways to improve team success, please get in touch. I'd love to have a chat.

What’s your New Year’s resolution?

You’re probably ready to reply with something personal — a skill to learn, a habit to change, or a goal to achieve. Or, like me, you might skip it entirely - because resolutions are too hard to make stick.

But what if I asked your team the same question?  How would they describe themselves in the future? What would they want to learn, change or achieve together?

This month, I worked with two teams on exactly this! 

I asked them to physically stand on a rope. One end representing December 2025, the other December 2027. As they stood in the present, I asked them to look ahead and describe what they saw.

Not one person in either team mentioned achieving strategic goals, profit, or market share.

Instead, unprompted, they talked about:

·       Trust

·       Belonging

·       Navigating challenges together

·       Learning and growing as a team

·       And the difference these things made for staff, customers, suppliers, shareholders, and the wider community

Most teams focus on strategic and operational plans, especially at this time of the year. Great! They are critical to ensure activity is aligned. But there’s more to talk about…

Perhaps the most powerful planning question isn’t what will we achieve by when?

It’s who do we need to be — together — to get there?

So maybe your team needs a New Year’s resolution too — and some support to help make it stick! If you’re keen to have a chat about this idea, please get in touch.

Enjoy the break, rest well, and step into 2026 with fresh energy! And a resolutions that lasts beyond mid-January!

🐦‍⬛ Meet my new neighbour!

I’ve never actually seen him (this is a stock photo), but I sure can hear him (audio is actual recording).

He sings…

Every 10 seconds.

Every daylight hour.

Every... Single... Day!

At first, I smiled so much. Such a beautiful voice!

By day two, I was silently negotiating with him - maybe a five-minute break?

By day three… I was searching for my noise-cancelling headphones (just kidding).

Yet, when he does stop, I wonder. Where's he gone? Is he alright?

His singing habits remind me to smile, be grateful for small things, constantly refocus, be-persistent, appreciate nature, and listen to your neighbours!

If you'd like to have a chat about the impact of small things, refocusing on what's important and being-persistent, get in touch ❤️.

BTW - he's in full swing this morning... every 10 seconds!!!