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Navigating the Transition to the Senior Leadership Team

Navigating the transition to the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) is one of the most challenging steps in a leader’s career. It involves a shift in mindset, responsibilities, and influence. Leaders who excelled in their previous roles can find themselves struggling with this leadership transition. In fact, research shows that nearly 60% of new leaders fail within their first 18 months in senior roles (Corporate Executive Board/Gartner), largely due to the rapid learning and adaptation needed. So, what makes this transition so challenging? And what can organisations do to support leaders… Read More »Navigating the Transition to the Senior Leadership Team

Making Workplace Wellbeing a Reality

Employee wellbeing is essential for a resilient and productive workforce. When people are genuinely supported and valued, they’re more engaged, motivated, and loyal. Historically, most workplace wellbeing initiatives have focused on Support, offering help only once employees start experiencing challenges. While support is essential, we’re seeing that this reactive approach alone isn’t enough to create a resilient workplace culture. To make workplace wellbeing a reality we need to embed it into the core of our organisations – and we find our Prevent, Enable, Support model helps provide a continuous, structured… Read More »Making Workplace Wellbeing a Reality

How to Tackle the Biggest People Challenges in Your Organisation

As Willow & Puddifoot launches our new website, we’re excited to offer a range of services designed to help you navigate the complex people challenges that come with managing teams. People challenges can make or break the success of your organisation. Whether its leading teams, keeping employees engaged, or dealing with stress and uncertainty, these issues can slow down progress and cause frustration. But with the right approach, you can turn these challenges into opportunities for growth and high performance.  Here are some of the most common people challenges businesses… Read More »How to Tackle the Biggest People Challenges in Your Organisation

Managers Make or Break Wellbeing

In today’s work environment, where stress levels are high and uncertainty is the norm, the role of managers in supporting employee wellbeing is critical. It’s no longer enough to have a few token wellbeing initiatives in place – what really matters is the day-to-day impact that managers have on their teams. Whether it’s managing workloads, creating a positive work environment, or being a supportive presence, managers make or break employee wellbeing. Why Managers Matter We often hear that people leave managers, not companies. This is backed up by research showing… Read More »Managers Make or Break Wellbeing

Team Building: Eight Ways to Build Exceptional Teams

There’s a lot of buzz about teamwork and endless models on how to achieve it. However, this blog is all about eight simple, practical things you can do to build exceptional teams in your workplace. These ideas are easy to implement and make a significant difference. What is Team Building and Why Does it Matter? Team building refers to various activities, exercises, and practices that aim to enhance relationships between team members and improve performance. The benefits are numerous: improved communication, increased trust, better problem-solving, and a stronger sense of… Read More »Team Building: Eight Ways to Build Exceptional Teams

Let Us Be Your GUIDE: Going Beyond Training Needs Analysis

Effective development programmes are essential for your people and your organisation to grow and achieve success. Conducting a thorough Training Needs Analysis is just the beginning. At Willow & Puddifoot, we have designed a robust process called GUIDE to ensure that every step of our training and development is tailored to meet the unique needs of our clients. Whether you partner with us or use this process independently, the GUIDE framework can significantly enhance your organisational development efforts, providing a clear path to improved performance and growth. What is the… Read More »Let Us Be Your GUIDE: Going Beyond Training Needs Analysis

Management Development: Essential Skills for Manager Success

The role of a manager is vastly different from that of a regular team member. Managers need a distinct set of skills to lead effectively, which requires targeted management development. Surprisingly, many organisations fall short in adequately preparing new managers for their roles. This blog will delve into a six-step process we call STICKS, designed to ensure your managers are well-equipped to succeed. Step 1: Selecting the Right People to be Managers Choosing the right individuals for managerial roles is crucial. It can be tempting to pick those who have… Read More »Management Development: Essential Skills for Manager Success

How to select the right people to be managers in a fast-growing business

Developing Leaders: How to Develop Leaders in 12 Steps

The development of effective leaders is crucial for organisational success and growth. This blog post delves into a comprehensive 12-step process for developing leaders, ensuring your efforts in leadership development are as impactful and efficient as possible. Preparation Step 1 – Define Leadership Competencies or Behaviours Start with a clear definition of the competencies and behaviours your organisation values in leaders. These could include strategic thinking, effective communication, emotional intelligence, change management and the ability to inspire and motivate teams. Tailor these competencies to reflect the unique values and goals… Read More »Developing Leaders: How to Develop Leaders in 12 Steps

Are your employees Closet Quiet Quitters?

Quiet quitting: have you heard this buzzword being touted around recently and wondered what it means or whether it applies to you? It’s really a catchy soundbite label for an age-old phenomenon in the workplace – the idea of an employee not actually formally quitting their position, but losing the motivation to go above and beyond; putting in the bare minimum required and becoming a lot less productive as a result. The likelihood is most of us will have experienced the feeling of quiet quitting at some point, even if… Read More »Are your employees Closet Quiet Quitters?

The Five Characteristics of Wellbeing

Do you ever think about what it is in life that really, fundamentally, makes you happy – or indeed unhappy? ​In 2010 Gallup (the American analytics and advisory company) did a comprehensive study on wellbeing covering 150 countries globally, asking people hundreds of questions about health, wealth, relationships, jobs, and communities. Across borders and nationalities, they identified five universal elements that are seemingly essential to wellbeing the world over – whatever your age, social class, employment, nationality, and race. Of course, these broad categories don’t cover every nuance of what’s… Read More »The Five Characteristics of Wellbeing