Someone I know was recently passed over for promotion, even with solid performance and achievements. It was a surprise to them, but I think I can guess why. It was probably the way they spoke. Typically their speech was a long, uninterrupted, stream of words, with few pauses, no spaces and barely...

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Yesterday's kitchen/zoom dog training lesson was teaching sustained eye contact, in order to increase connection and attention It made me think about our human zoom meetings. I recently observed someone do a potentially powerful speech to a zoom group. But his eye contact moved between every...

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Labrador learning isn’t linear. One day puppy Jordan gets something. The next it’s gone and we’re starting from scratch again.Effective learning requires repetition, persistence and time. Bite-sized chunks of fun learning, that build upon the previous one, to form a coherent series. Whether...

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Everything feels easier when you’re using your strengths v. hiding your weaknessesNo effort was spared in training Ellie to be a guide dog. But she felt differently. Perhaps her skin allergies were the outward indication of internal discomfort. Being the wrong fit had become an irritationWhen...

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“All you need to do is give them some basic skills, confidence to face into challenges, some love & appreciation and an ability to think for themselves” I was told. I didn’t need to train them fully or fix them. My task was just to support them in a caring way so that in time, they could...

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Psychological Safety at Work: What is it & why does it matter? Tom knew things would get ugly if he questioned the approval stage in the new workflow process. His manager stared at Tom, sighed and jotted something down. “Head Office are going to chew us up over this” she said. “Another...

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Ellie my Labrador seems to have become my ‘Mindfulness Detection Dog’, with her behaviour showing my degree of mindfulness or presence. Now this could all be coincidence, but I have started to notice a certain pattern out on our walks and I don’t think it’s down to poor training … Keeping her...

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