In Pursuit of the Better You

Talking about 'we can do hard things'. This year, both Becki and Fay have done some 'hard things' and it's good to recognise what we can actually do because we don't always give ourselves the credit.  What are you doing that's a 'hard thing'? How are you coping, managing, getting on with it? Do you believe you can do these hard things? It's important to remember that we don't know what's going on for other people - and what hard things they're dealing with at any time - and so remembering to show people some grace if it's needed.  Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk    

Are you having a break for the summer? Or are you powering through? In this episode, Fay and Becki are talking about their summer plans which seem to be a mix of work and a much looked forward to break.  We talk about the science behind why it's good to have a break and how this can re-energise us - and this led to a bit of a chat about sleep and how we both have and do use sleep for that energising factor.  Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

Is stress real or do people create their stress? Perhaps a better questions is to ask what stress means to those involved if we're talking about their stress because people will have different tolerances to stressful situations.  Becki talks about two different types of stress: Eustress is challenging but manageable and leads to growth Distress is difficult and has a negative outcome.  Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk    

What even is an accidental manager?  It's the transition we make from being a team member to a team manager.  Perhaps you're now running the team you used to be a part of. How can you make the best of this situation? You've probably got the job because your leadership potential has been identified. But how do you navigate this change? This is what we're talking about this week - tune in to find out how we managed this in our careers.  Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

Are you askinng me if I'm not prepared to be successful? No!!! On the contrary. Failure is a big part of success. Going through the motions - doing new things - stepping out of our comfort zone means that things may not always go to plan. There are risks to be taken that might not pay off... at least the first time.  The key is being prepared to fail - but learning from the failure. All of our best lessons come from those failures.     

In the training or presentation space - what are you delivering? Is it 'Death by Powerpoint'? Some hints and tips for deliverers - or feedback you can give if you're a participant.  1) Where are you designing your presentation and what images/design points can you use? 2) Have a 'hook' 3) Keep your slides clean - minimal content 4) Make your audience feel like they matter 5) Is a slide even needed? 6) Be a subject expert Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk        

The rider, the elephant and the path! A concept to help you think about change.  If we want to make some change, our brain has to get involved. Our emotional side of the brain is more powerful than the rational side of the brain. The rider is the rational side of the brain - riding the elephant, the emotional side of the brain. The path is the clear direction for the elephant to follow, with the rider on its back.  Here's the link to watch the short video on YouTube https://youtu.be/X9KP8uiGZTs?si=kS6ryKOjfMAKPTN7 Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk    

People can forget what you do and what you say - but they'll never forget how you make them feel. Feelings stick with us - our emotions are strong. How do the people you're surrounded by make you feel? We're responsible for how we feel - other people don't create those responses in our emotions - that's our response. And then we realise we have agency on changing our minds - we have control over how we feel.  People can try to make you feel a certain way - but how you feel ultimately, is on you. This can be empowering but also quite a confronting concept.  Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

What are your top skills?  And are you putting yourself in situations where you can use them? Are you considering them when your in situations that push you out of your comfort zone - i.e. how they might be able to help you? Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

If you could wave a magic wand - what would your life be like? What a question! What are your big dreams and where are you now in terms of making those dreams come true? We have this one life and it's our own responsibility to make sure we make the most of it, because one thing is for sure, Prince Charming isn't riding in to save us! How often are you checking in on your dreams and making sure you're on the right track? Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk  

Are you feeling the stresses and strains of working a lot - burnout perhaps? Workaholism is what it's been called in other media.  Workaholism is making headlines at the moment in the same way as alcoholism and/or drug abuse would impact lives.  Referencing The Guardian article that we talk about in the podcast https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/mar/15/how-workaholism-can-leave-lifelong-scars-burnout?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

How are you positioning yourself in the workplace to be seen - perhaps for promotion purposes - or to be 'seen' in your role? Do you feel that, to do this, you need to mask the 'real you' and exploit other behaviours that don't come naturally? For example, if you're an introvert, do you feel you need to show up with more extrovert behaviours? In this episode, we're discussing how you can be visible, but still be authentically you - or not feeling like you're showing off.  Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk          

We can only meet you as far as we have met ourselves! Meaning:  When we're working with clients in coaching, we can go deep, if we've explored these deep areas with ourselves beforehand - so that we understand what it means to know ourselves in a deep and profound way.  The iceberg is the metaphor - we have those behaviours and traits that sit above the water line and this is what people see - what we know and see about ourselves too. Below the water line is unconscious behaviours and traits that we may not see - and others may only see glimpses of. But if we know what's there, we can make transformational changes.  This podcast explores what's below the waterline and what that might mean for you when, in coaching, we just start to chip away at the iceberg a little bit.  Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

Do you feel confident to give feedback to others? This can help to reduce difficult conversations - however, many people don't feel comfortable having these conversations or even know how to give feedback well.  Giving positive feedback is often more easy - but what about the not-so-positive? Ideally, feedback should be given when it's required - don't wait for annual reviews! Consider what would happen if you don't give the feedback because you're not confident to have the conversation! Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

Are you dreaming big? When we dream big, we might wonder - is it all a delusion of grandeur? I wonder what would happen if all entrepreneurs thought this way. But they don't. When met with failure, Richard Branson would say 'dream bigger - and go again!' When we're dreaming bigger, how are we thinking about our self worth? How do we plan and strategise to meet our dreams and aspirations? What can help us? Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

This episode explores a common theme in leadership coaching for Becki and Fay - "I'm not a manager, so what I say doesn't matter!" Is this something that's true for you? Do you feel that your voice doesn't matter in a room? That your views aren't valid? As we explore this, we wonder if it's a cultural issue - or, what's in a title? This impacts people in terms of their frustrations, development, innovation, building relationships, and fostering leadership... Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk  

Today it's Fay's turn to have a rant! Do you follow Gurus on social media and take them at their every word? People set themselves up as 'experts' and we follow them - but then I see people losing the ability to think for themselves around the 'experts' subject. Asking questions like 'is this allowed?' Critical thinking and making decisions is our responsibility. If you really want to look for something, there will be evidence for something, everywhere - for and against. This is great because it means we don't have to take things at face value - we can read more into the subject, query what we're learning, check the facts, and make our own decisions.  Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

Do you find yourself saying that people never listen to you? Or they never take you seriously? Or you have some other thought about someone that you take with you - maybe they often wind you up, etc.  Here's something to consider: if we only base the things we think about people from their past behaviours - they're never going to grow in the present. We can all change - and if people never allow you to show who you are now - then they will only ever know a previous version of you.  Human nature means we have perceptions of people, hold grudges, have bad experiences, etc. Still, we have to remember that we can all change because we continue to develop based on our experiences and learning that we want to take on board.  It's important to understand the impact we have on others as well as the impact they have on us.  Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk  

Can you do everything? This year, so far, (2024), Fay has been making a jigsaw of her diary to get 'on top' of everything.  Subconsciously, she has seen messages from 'everywhere' saying 'you can't do everything'! What happens as a result of taking everything on board - where does this leave us as people? Before we know it, all our spare hours can be taken up with things we need to do - so we end up with no space to just 'be'. We can get into a habit of feeling that we must always be 'doing, doing, doing'.  But, here's the thing - just 'being' is enough! Just with yourself without distractions of tv, music, a book, a podcast, etc.  Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

Becki wonders 'Is nothing good and pure anymore in and of itself?' Things like: fiddling the algorithm on social media to your advantage; manipulating stories; getting one over on others for your own means, etc. Technology enables competition and allows us to get ahead. Subsequently, this takes away the purity we may once have taken for granted.  As consumers of technology and information, we must do our due diligence to ensure we're not being hoodwinked and manipulated. It certainly makes it very difficult to know what we can believe these days! Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

Are you in alignment with your personal values? Perhaps you're not sure. Let's face it, how often do we outwardly consider our values. But you will know when you're out of alignment because something will just feel off. So, take this opportunity to think about your values – how are you feeling about them? Do you need to reframe them in any way to help you make meaning of where you are right now? Are they even still current? Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk  

How do you think you're perceived at work? This episode is inspired by a few different female clients who have talked about being perceived as a bitch - either because they have something to say or because of their way of working.  This is something Becki talks about having experienced in the workplace herself. Do we need to worry about how others perceive us? It's about: taking on the role and doing our job putting the boundaries in place that enable us to do this being able to speak up in meetings understanding we have the expertise Feeling comfortable in our professional shoes - self-confidence and self-worth and being assertive.  Let's not forget 'Bitch' =  to make spiteful and critical comments. Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

Talking about the Window of Tolerance concept - coined by Dr. Dan Siegel, MD - how we understand and describe our body and brain reactions.  To have 'tolerance'. We all have a window for tolerance that can get bigger or smaller depending on what's going on in our lives.  How wide is your window of tolerance? What's happening in your life that might affect it - and how? What might you need to do to open up your window of tolerance and how will that impact you? To have a window of tolerance - we need to have our needs met! Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

Is 'Coaching' becoming a bit of a buzzword in Leadership Development? Leadership development often talks about different leadership styles - and a coaching style is one. Still, we wonder if leaders are adopting a true coaching style or paying lip service to it! Coaching is different to advice and mentoring - and we often see some confusion here.  Key coaching skills that can be missed here are: deep listening; time for thought; letting go of the need to have the answers; and when and when not to use a coaching approach.  Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk  

How do you let your team know that they're important to you? Do you value them? Strong relationships are important with your team regarding productivity, performance and profits.  Everyone needs to understand WHY they come to work - how THEY make a difference - and if you're not valuing your team, that understanding can quickly disappear (on a personal level). You'll then start to see issues arise - absenteeism, productivity, etc.  Have listen to this episode for some ideas you can implement to show your team how you value them. Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk  

Things can easily become stressful situations - sometimes they're little things you feel shouldn't be stressful.  My stress will be different to yours.  What matters, is what we do about it.  At this time of year, we take on quite a mental load and there are expectations put upon us that we have to deal with. All of this can add to our stress bucket! It's important to recognise these little things, so that we can explore the reality of our situation and help ourselves through so that they don't add to the bigger things.  Remember: there are no gold starts for those who have the most stressful things going on in their life.   Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

Are you busy being busy - busy keeping occupied doing things that you think are important - but are these things actually moving the needle for you? Do you know you're busy? Are you always busy? What are you achieving whilst you're busy? This then can lead to overwhelm - where are you with regard to this? All of this comes back to organisation? What is it that you actually want to get done? How can you make sure you do just that? We share some strategies for helping you to be focused on what you need to do. Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk  

Bad leadership - when do we see this and what does it mean? Toxicity - and the toxic culture - why does this happen? Egos! Are leaders making leadership about themselves? Is it even leadership if it's not working? Have a listen to see what we think - and of course, we'd love to know your thoughts too. Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

In this episode, Becki poses the question "what would we be if we weren't coaches?" So we ponder on this - chat about what we've done before and what our interests are now - and what lights our fire.  Tune in to listen to find out! Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

Does working on your own hamper your personal and professional development? - Talking about what we pick up from our working environment and working with other people.  We pick up so much from just being around other people - quick, short, sharp conversations or even listening to other conversations. Do we therefore struggle because we're not around other people so much? We're noticing people are happy to be socialising more again. There's also the fun element - bouncing ideas around the desk, which can lead to another level of conversation.  Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

We get a bee in our bonnets about communication! And so, this episode is about 'clear' communication and why it's important.  People's expectations can be managed with clear communication when we take responsibility for the messages we're giving.  Think - 'What do I need to communicate?''Is my message consistent?' 'What have I said before about this?' 'How can people find out more information about this? - or FAQs.' Also, consider what's easier for you - verbal or written communication. And consider who is receiving your communication - and what's best for them. Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

What are you willing to give up in order to get what you want? What a great question! Do you really need to give anything up - why can't you just have it all? But don't assume that you need to give up something good! Also, is it us trying to have it all that leads to chronic stress and burnout? We share an exercise to help you prioritise your goals - Warren Buffet's 'Danger 20'. Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

The weight and responsibility of leadership - inspired by mine and Becki's clients.  Leadership training, courses, books - don't really cover what the role of leadership really means. Bringing leadership to a human level means 'who and I and where do I sit in leadership?' 'how can I lead and inspire people?' - it's a weight and a responsibility.  When we get into the nitty gritty of leadership roles, there's so much we weren't expecting to be there.  We don't want to be dragged down by the role - we can't operate at our best from this level.  In this episode, we explore what leadership can look like for you and how you can play around with different styles of leadership and make the role your own.  Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk  

How can hobbies help you with your development of yourself? Do you have a hobby? I talk about the fact that I don't have anything that I perceive to be a hobby. But do my hobbies look different to how I perceive other peoples to be? We talk about how hobbies can help you to regulate your nervous system and why that's important.  Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

An episode inspired by the sitcom 'Schitt's Creek'! And we're talking about - can you trust your instincts? Where does the message come from when we feel we have instincts? The brain or the body? Past experiences or something new? We have data within our body that we can rely on - but we need to know how to access it and interpret it. So we give you an idea of how you can start to do this.  Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

Today, we're talking about taking a different view of 'luck'. Is it really 'luck'? If not luck - then what is it?  We're talking about the choices we make as individuals. Sometimes when we observe others, we might think they're lucky if they have things that we don't.  But is it really luck, or a different lens, or choices that others make that we don't even think to make? Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

When you feel you're stuck in a vicious circle - you're doing things that perpetuate where you are. But you can't always get off the circle.  When you break the actions, do new things, take different action, things change and a chain of change can start to happen - all of a sudden you can find yourself on more of a virtuous circle. - This is where positive thinking tends to happen.  What vicious circles are you on and what changes do you need to make? Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

Knowledge is empowering - once you know better, you have the ability to do better.  But - sometimes we wish we didn't know certain things - because that means we have to make a choice: Ignore the new knowledge OR implement the change - and embrace the impact the change will bring.  Is this a barrier for you if you want to develop yourself further? Once you know new things - are you ready to implement the change and are you prepared for that change? We talk today about managing that change - perhaps we need to give ourselves permission to go slowly, to get things wrong, and feel annoyed by the responsibility of the new knowledge... Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

How you do anything is how you do everything! - This statement gets us thinking - is this true? Perhaps on a very big picture level - but certainly not when you get into the nitty-gritty of a situation.  Perhaps this way of doing things comes in waves throughout our lives - it's not linear, depending on what we're doing at any given time.  What are your thoughts? Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

Personal branding - perhaps not something you think about unless you're a business owner. When you work in an organisation, you may not often think about your personal branding in the role you have.  Personal branding: what do you want to be known for?  Personal brand is about knowing your purpose - what are you here to do? How do you visualise that? And how does that sit with your values? And this can be helpful in terms of how you climb the ladder of your career; the types of jobs you do; the types of organisations you will want to work with/for. Understanding your personal brand will ultimately help your self-fulfilment.  Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

In this episode we're looking at making the best of situations - acceptance of what's going on for ourselves.  When things happen to us, our sympathetic nervous system is activated - our fight, flight and freeze response. Accepting what happens in our lives can help to bring our nervous system out of the fight, flight, freeze response and back to our executive functioning so that we can get on with our lives in a healthy and sustainable way.  In order to do this, we can accept. Feel the feelings and think the thoughts, which will help us to move on.  Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk  

Talking about being ready to do something. Being ready is actually a decision that we make! What does this mean? It means we make a decision to do something - rather than waiting for the motivation to start. Sometimes we get out dopamine from things that fly in the face of the things we want to achieve - so making the decision to do something means that you have to be aware of what could stop you, how it makes you feel, think and behave - and what needs to be different.  Keep the end result in mind! Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk  

A special episode. This is number 100! A milestone. We're celebrating being in pursuit of the better you! We're re-visiting the essence of the podcast and chatting about what it means to us to be in pursuit of the better us.  Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Tony Cerella ACC, who talks to us about transitioning from a long standing service in the US Army. How this is, when 23 years of your life and identity is one thing, to then being in a whole new world.  Tony talks about navigating his feelings, his meaning, his worth - for himself and his family.  He talks about being coached at the start of his transition and how coaching changed his life - so much so, that he is now trained as an ICF accredited coach, to coach others. You can connect with Tony on LinkedIn here.   Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

How can we have difficult conversations in a healthy and productive way? Often we avoid the difficult conversation - but in doing this, we're not helping ourselves - it doesn't make the issue go away.  Difficult conversations and situations will always exist - and subjects might be emotive, so we need to consider how we need to be in order to sort them out well.  Understanding the person we're having the conversation with is vital and setting up the communication so that it's objective (perhaps processes need to be in place). Simon Sinek says it's important to lean into having these conversations - he has a model - FBI - it sounds really effective, you can learn more here. Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

What happens when you don't feel creative? When you're not on it. How do you turn those feelings around? What does creativity even mean to you? We're talking here about how creativity may look different to how you think it should - perhaps we need to be creative about how we're creative. Are you giving yourself permission to think that you can have good ideas and be creative? Creativity doesn't always come when you want it to. You likely won't be creative when you're sat at your desk. Your brain needs some downtime in order to fire those creative thoughts - doing different things helps.  Have a listen to hear our thoughts on how you can ignite your creativity.  Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

We've realised we actually disagree with each other on something! Shock horror! Fay is very much an 'all or nothing' kind of person. Becki is more 'slow and steady wins the race'. We both have the same goal at the moment - but we're approaching it from different ways. We'll have to wait to see which may work better - if any! But when you consider how you approach your goals - which way works best for you? Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

Talking about jealousy today in this episode - what does this mean for us when we're feeling all the feels of jealousy.  Becki and I invite you to think about when you last felt jealous and what was going on there? What was it all about? Often, we can feel jealous because we're feeling 'I wish...' 'I want to do that too.' Wishing we'd done something that we're seeing others do.  We explore if it's healthy to be a bit jealous, but what happens when it gets more than just a bit.  Questions you can ask about your feelings: Why am I feeling like this? What do I want to do about this? What's feasible for me to do right now? How might I like to feel differently? Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

How are you at speaking up in meetings? Are you shy? Do you not like the sound of your voice? Do you think your opinions aren't valid? What would give you the confidence to speak up in meeting? Facilitation of meetings is important to consider when being or feeling able to speak up in meetings. How are you being included? - How are you including others? It's important to have your voice heard in meetings - this is where innovation happens, collaboration, getting known for who you are - and also to be able to support your team so that you can be effective as a team. In this episode, we share tips to help you start contributing in meetings - giving you the confidence to do so.  We reference Greg Ballard  - Agree & Commit, Disagree & Commit - you can watch the clip here.    Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

How clear are you on who you are and what you do so that you can be impactful and influential in your role? Are you trying to influence someone - who maybe can't be influenced? How much time are you spending here? What might you need to do or think differently? A useful tool to help you understand how you can think and do differently, is Stephen Covey's circles of influence. It helps us realise what we can control and what we can't. And as such, what do you need to let go of? When we shift the external want inwards, we realise how impactful we truly are. We're letting the negative energy go.  Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk

Talking about failure - thinking about reframing our thoughts here - and the idea of embracing the possibility of failure.  How does failure fit with 'fixed' and 'growth' mindset - the work of Carol Dweck? Becki asks the question - what are you willing to fail at, as a manager or a leader? Fay responds to that question in that she's not 'willing' to fail but she's accepting that she's not always going to be 100% - and has the ability to sit back and reflect on what didn't go right.  What does your failure mean to your self-belief. Do you instantly crash when something goes wrong - or are your resiliant and able to bounce back up? Contact Fay - https://www.fayblakey.com  Rebekah - https://www.quest4est.co.uk Thank you to Jon at Wahhoo Media for our production: https://www.wahhoo.co.uk