Inspiration, empowerment and Freedom
Video Credit: The Kea Conservation Trust. The Kea in flight is a potent symbol of power and freedom. This inspiring majestic bird, along with many species, directly rely on our proactively saving biodiverse regions. Corballis Communication is a supporter of conserving biodiversity in our threatened natural environment, giving regularly to three named organisations that undertake Earth defence battles. Read more.
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The Growth Mindset
The Growth Mindset
We tend to choose one of two pathways when facing a challenge – those from a fixed mindset or a growth mindset. Given his Higher Education work and teacher training, Tony Corballis draws on many experts for his coaching, such as Carol Dweck, who in her book Mindset explores these two.
Forget Affirmations!
Forget Affirmations!
Positive thinking? Just envisage-manifest-voila! No, this isn’t holistic and it may do the reverse. What we fear is exactly what we must do, guru Tim Ferriss says, along with author Susan Jeffers. Coaches Susan David and Tony Corballis agree. Attack your beliefs before gently facing your demons.
Surviving the C-Suite
Surviving the C-Suite
Recently Tony Corballis coached an MD for a rigorous leadership assessment with the amazing organizational psychologist, Renee Bellamy Booth, who co-wrote with Keith Wyche a guide to senior executive life. For those aiming at the top, here’s their fascinating and insightful advice.
Combine the Senses
Combine the Senses
For interviews, people think hard about their hair, handshakes and ‘due diligence’ by scripting sample answers. And on the day? A blank mind. The higher the stakes, the worse the freeze. Why? The answer lies in what cognitive psychologist Michael Corballis describes as combining the senses.
Break from the Flock
Break from the Flock
Don’t be a sheep. Break from the flock. Audiences are selfish, interviewers are bored. They don’t want platitudes or to drown in context. Your ‘gripping’ narrative: they’ve heard a million times. So differentiate with personal branding. Vivid narratives to tease with just selective glimpses.
Normal? No such thing!
Normal? No such thing.
What’s a normal brain? Normal behaviour? Do we over-pathologize? Yale psychology experts show that ‘normal’ wouldn’t work for evolution, and mental health practice should be more subtle and contextual. This is exactly what coaches and educators have known for decades. It’s our ‘social contract’.
Brave Conversations
Brave Conversations
We don’t just de-friend trolls online. Our echo-chambers of the like-minded also occur in real life. So conversations should not be just about niceties and social cohesion. Active listening democratises. When adversaries honestly try to understand each other, the world changes a little for the better.
Trustbuilding begins with Trustworthy
Trustbuilding from Trusthworthy
Interview stories about trust-building? I assess indicators for evidencing such competencies in role-play, scalable according to your seniority. It’s time to cross-map them against what the gurus’ say – a Harvard Business School professor and a philosopher. Our aggregate? Take a look.
Four Tendencies Driving Us
Four Tendencies Driving Us
What exactly drives us and the decisions we make through our lives has had us debating for centuries. A new way of seeing this seems to resonate with many, not just in understanding ourselves but our colleagues, reports, managers and families too. Are you an Upholder, Obliger, Questioner or Rebel?
Teams like Swirling Starlings
Teams like Swirling Starlings
What is it that makes a flock of starlings twist and turn in perfect harmony? What is it that makes any group instinctively work and identify in a unified way? To the long list of the modern world’s experts on teams and groups, we introduce Daniel Coyle and his ideas about culture in teams.