Journal

My journal is a place to express my thoughts about what I do. The entries you see here are prompted by client scenarios or the ideas that inform my work. I hope they may be useful to those who are trying to find out about me or who want stimulus for their own thinking.

Lucy Ball Director of Lucy Ball Consulting

On striving

Striving: Trying hard; making one’s way with effort; straining; exerting yourself. What’s your relationship with striving? I see striving as neither good nor bad in itself,…

Why leaders need their coach to be supervised

Good coaches know that their craft requires supervision. In fact evidence suggests that the more mature and experienced a coach is, the more likely they…

The emotionally intelligent leader knows their body

Emotional Intelligence is now firmly accepted as a vital enabler of leadership. In Daniel Goleman’s model, Emotional Intelligence comprises Self Awareness, Self Management, Social Awareness…

Archetypes: What leaders and coaches need to know

What is an archetype?  An archetype is a character that we know in our culture and in our stories. It is the King, the Queen,…

How are you feeling about… climate crisis, biodiversity collapse and mass extinction?

I would like to share how I’m feeling and see what we might have in common. I didn’t glue myself to Oxford Street with Extinction…

None of us is perfect, so why is negative feedback such a minefield?

Today I’m revisiting the topic of feedback. Specifically, why negative feedback is hard and what we can do about it. Hands up if you think…

The craft of team coaching

An Executive Coach works 1:1 with a leader, a Pairs Coach works with two leaders at a time and a Team Coach works with a…

The guilt of a working parent

Does any of this feel familiar? When I’m at work, I feel guilty that I’m not with my kids. When I’m with my kids, I’m…

Ways of listening

Being aware of our ways of listening can transform our conversations and therefore our impact. A mentor of mine from many years ago used to ask…

Overcoming resistance: 7 tips

Resistance to change can be very frustrating for leaders. It happens up and down hierarchies, across functions and between individuals. Individual and team coaching clients…

How do you respond to a grumpy authority figure?

This week I’ve had many causes to think about how I, and my clients, respond to a boss, peer or stakeholder who is disappointed, critical,…

How can men and women talk about feminism?

MeToo, Mansplaining, Everyday Sexism, Women in the Boardroom, ‘Stupid Woman!’ My amateur lip-reading inclines me towards believing Jeremy Corbyn that he said stupid people not…

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