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The old adage “play to your strengths” is one we are familiar with. And twenty years of research in the field of positive psychology provides us with a body of evidence that confirms that leaders...

In other words are leaders born or made? There’s been much debate however now research is showing us that while we are born with a baseline level of emotional intelligence (EQ) and it is influenced by the way we have been parented, it is good old fashioned practice that really raises that ability to relate to self and others.

How do you respond to opportunities? Do you always say yes regardless of whether you or your team have the time, energy or resources to complete it? What if you could step back and assess whether this was the right opportunity (and what would make it so) for your team first?

January is the time when many organisations hold their annual reviews. It’s when performance objectives are set, and it should also be a time when meaningful development objectives are also set. A mounting body of research is showing that the old ways of focusing on weaknesses to develop demoralises employees and doesn’t actually turn around their performance and may even decrease it by as much as 26%.

Keeping your cool when conditions that are outside your control are causing stress in your life is a key leadership quality. But how can you keep anger and stress under control and use it to make a positive impact on your daily work life?

A recent study by Deloitte on the subject of performance at work claims that a third of workers were 'not stimulated by what they do' and a further 27% of employees are not 'performing their best'. Many organisations value raw metrics above allowing workers to truly understand the meaning of their role in the business and why everyone has a key part to play in the overall success of the operation. How can an organisation keep their workers engaged in what they do and keep performance high?