End of Summer Self-Awareness Homework Hope you are getting some well deserved R&R and be ready to hit the ground running for the busy Autumn period. It is now a perfect time to do a little self-coaching homework with a clear mind. Here’s a worksheet I have created...

If leaders really want to make others feel included, it is vital to spend some time focusing honestly on themselves. That means accepting the fact that luck, privilege and friends can shape their careers as much as merit. In a workplace of glass ceilings and...

This month I am focused on giving practical tips to help people become more aware of their personal values, and use them in the workplace. This exercise will help! This coming week, take a note about a decision at work, and ask yourself: #1. Could I have achieved a...

Living aware is the key to finding the right career role, whether that means reviewing your current role or deciding what you want from a new one. It’s the start of recognising your personal values, and finding your purpose. Which sounds great, but how do you actually...

Right now, inflation, climate and conflict dominate the news. It is having an effect on our collective mood, and there is no inspirational quote or clever life lesson to banish those blues. All humans feel deflated sometimes when that Monday commute comes around....

The month of May is dedicated to Mental Health Awareness and you may have missed it with so many of the stories dominating the news making everyone feel more anxious and less resilient. Ironically, if ever we needed a mental health check-up, it is now. This month I am...

Onboarding - the process of orienting new talent with their new workplace - can be a very mixed experience. We all know that simply giving new hires (in particular emerging professionals) a tour, a staff handbook and an ice-breaker drinks event is not enough!...

The 3 simple principles to enhanced onboarding that would support KPI improvements and boost your bottom line! 1. PURPOSE: Develop staff engagement by coaching your employees to become more independent. 2. INCLUSION: Link teamwork and productivity to social rewards...

Time for a mental workout? Everyone knows you can coach physical fitness. You can increase stamina, build muscle, lose fat and train for events and endurance. The same is true of your mindset. The problem is we don’t have gyms and running tracks for our minds, like we...

​Most organisations know on-boarding processes are vital for new professionals - but many fail at effectively planning for what happens next. New hires don’t churn during on-boarding they churn in the year that follows, so what happens next is important! This is why...

​"We live in an age of rapid change. It feels like many of the workplace conventions we accepted without question for the last 30 years are turning on their heads on a daily basis. I am not talking about digitalisation; I am talking about the human experience of...

There are many metrics and KPIs out there, and I use these with clients. EQ (Empathy Quotient) - measuring how much you understand the unique pressures of new hires and emerging professionals (rent, travel, COVID, fears etc.). Is there a support system? LQ (Listening...

There are a few quick wins to increase your talent retention, but here are a couple of ideas that are relatively low impact for most organisations.... Show your understanding of the financial pressures of emerging professionals by creating company benefits to suit...

If you need to support new talent remember stress and tiredness are the enemy of good management. Being in good mental and physical shape is vital. Easy wins: Break from mobile and laptop screens for 1-2hrs before bed, to quieten your busy mind and help you to sleep...

I used to lead teams for S&P500 and FT100 organisations, where HR processes were mostly spreadsheet driven. We tracked skills, competencies and experience to help with internal staff moves but the flaw was obvious - if we did not capture the right information on...

I used to be a championship swimmer in Cyprus and I won a lot of competitions. But I will never forget the first time I lost one, I was 12. I thought I would win easy and I cried all day. Failing built my resilience and taught me to forget winning and focus on my...

The #Finito bursary programme is making a difference to emerging professionals in the UK. I feel honoured to be one of the mentors at Finito Education and it’s given me a chance to follow my coaching passion - supporting new talent. It is such a privilege to be able...

Today I am going to take you back to 1989, 32 years ago when I experienced gratitude from one of the most profound leaders of his time, Lord King - dubbed Margaret Thatcher’s favourite businessman and who was responsible for turning British Airways to one of the most...

When I coach and mentor emerging professionals, it highlights the universal needs we all share in our early careers - and how we can use them to become more effective as leaders. Everyone wants to feel valued. Everyone wants reassurance that we are on the right track...

When I first met Luciano Pavarotti in 1990, it was at The Savoy where I helped his PR team set up a last minute interview. Whilst I was waiting to welcome Pavarotti, I was so surprised to see him walking down the corridor leaning on his bodyguards. Following the...

Talent Retention Coach (She/Her) - Helping Leaders support Young Professionals Earlier this week I gave a lecture at University of West London (UWL) on The Art of Client Relationship Management - and it was a real pleasure to meet such an engaged and talented...

Pre-COVID19 networking was easy. Client relationship building over a casual lunch, a Friday night drink or a friendly round of golf were normal ways of developing new business. Now that familiar world seems far away. Virtual meetings can make personal contact feel...

Ambition is a tricky one. It is our desire to win, to grow, to develop and to change. If we use ambition positively, it can lead to major transformation in our lives. If we don’t learn how to manage our ambitions, it can become the cause of performance problems....

People remember Leaders in Crisis! This week I am taking a deep dive into the key value of Integrity. In business, we hear this word on a daily basis. However, how does integrity impact leaders, and promote positive change in businesses and people? Integrity is the...

Authenticity is a key value that is essential to successful communications and building sustainable business. It is the value that we associate most with trust, and trust increases talent retention and customer loyalty, and builds lasting client relationships. What is...

We are now six months into the year and what a year it has been. It has shaken us to our core and we have all had to get into a sort of survival mode, adapting to new workplace realities and fundamental changes to our way of life. As we get slowly back into normality,...

It is calculated job-hopping millennials cost the U.K. economy annually approximately £72 billion and the US economy $30.5 billion. Millennials (now mostly 30-something) might have started the disruptive habit to change jobs more frequently - LinkedIn estimates twice...

Sophia Petrides: International Life Coach for Executives and acclaimed author - unlock your potential – Published on LinkedIn 19 June 2020 Most of us spend our lives thinking about the future, planning, worrying and facing the unexpected. But have you ever considered...

Sophia Petrides: International Life Coach for Executives and acclaimed author - unlock your potential – Published on LinkedIn It is important as we adapt to the uncertain times, we are living through with the coronavirus health crisis, that organizations do not let it...

Sophia Petrides: International Life Coach for Executives and acclaimed author - unlock your potential – Published on LinkedIn The world is geared to make us afraid in every aspect of our lives. No matter where you look, society is telling you to be cautious, to be...