Speaking Up at work Speaking up at work” is the central topic of this fifth episode of "Coaching with Costas". Below are a few main pointers: Speaking up at work is an essential part of one’s career.The fear of how it could be received should not be the reason why you don’t do it.There are two categories of speaking up: sharing an opinion, and wanting to effect change. The former is usually a microcosm of the latter. Trying to effect change is more difficult and requires you to offer a series of solutions.Cognitive diversity results in better outcomes for the organisation.Remind yourself that you were hired to share your opinion.Speaking up needs to be done tactfully and in a constructive way. Most importantly it should be backed with facts.You do not need to have a perfectly formed opinion all the time. It is ok to share a partially constructed idea. This may help put less pressure on yourself.Enlist, Prepare, and Center. Our Guest: Costas Kalisperas Costas is the Founder & CEO of In Tune Executive Coaching. His focus is on helping leaders to be in tune with themselves and their environment, tap into their inner resourcefulness and manage their interactions with others more effectively. To know more about Costas, please visit any of the links below.References:Costas Kalisperas Likedin profilewww.intune-exec.comEpisode #49: Effective Coaching with Costas KalisperasEpisode #55: Coaching with Costas: The work-life conundrumEpisode #56: Coaching with Costas: Impostor thoughts or growth mindset?Episode #57: Coaching with Costas: Dealing with Difficult PeopleEpisode #58: Coaching with Costas: What's Wrong with Politics? Listen to the next Episode All Podcast Episodes

What's wrong with Politics? In this fourth episode of "Coaching with Costas", we discuss how to deal with office politics.Below are the main highlights of our chat:Office politics often have a negative connotation. However that does not have to be the case. It is not either performance or politics. One does not exclude the other. If anything, politics do affect performance, so withdrawing from it may be naive and counterproductive.Poor leadership is one of the reasons why office politics have acquired a negative connotation over time. Having a great point of view and being right is not enough. You have to persuade people and make sure they feel accountable and committed.Self-awareness is key, and can help you find commonalities with people who share similar values to yours, without feeling that you are engaging in something that is unnatural. At the same time, it makes sense to build relationships with potential adversaries who may otherwise force you to withdraw from what is perceived as politics.  Our Guest: Costas Kalisperas Costas is the Founder & CEO of In Tune Executive Coaching. His focus is on helping leaders to be in tune with themselves and their environment, tap into their inner resourcefulness and manage their interactions with others more effectively. To know more about Costas, please visit any of the links below.References:Costas Kalisperas Likedin profilewww.intune-exec.comEpisode #49: Effective Coaching with Costas KalisperasEpisode #55: Coaching with Costas: The work-life conundrumEpisode #56: Coaching with Costas: Impostor thoughts or growth mindset?Episode #57: Coaching with Costas: Dealing with Difficult People Listen to the next Episode All Podcast Episodes

Dealing with Difficult People In this third episode of "Coaching with Costas", we discuss how to deal with difficult people.Below are the main highlights of our chat: “Difficult” means different things to different people. “Difficult people” represent challenges or risks to our wellbeing, our career path and our progress. It is natural to feel stress hormones rising when dealing with difficult people or difficult situations. Remember to be kind to yourself in these situations. It is important to separate the behaviour from the person. Labelling people as “difficult” is usually not helpful. All in all, we deal with difficult behaviours rather than difficult people. Try and understand what it is about a certain behaviour that is causing you less than full satisfaction in your work life. Then, try to figure out what it is that drives that behaviour in the first place. Ask yourself: “how can I grow and learn from this experience?” Dealing with difficult behaviour can be the source of your growth as a leader. After all, some of the most trusted relationships are built in difficult situations. Move towards the conflict rather than run from it, and seek common understanding. Communication is always the answer, but “how” and “when” is the key. Figure out whether it is a one-off incident or a consistent pattern, and make a decision as to how and when to do something about it. The most important thing is to change how you describe things. Avoid confrontational terminology. You don't have to beat the other side or beat them.Keep in mind that you are likely to be somebody else’s “difficult person”. You may display behaviour that other people find difficult. Use inclusive language if you are going to communicate to the other person about some of the difficulties (e.g. use “we” instead of “you”)  Our Guest: Costas Kalisperas Costas is the Founder & CEO of In Tune Executive Coaching. His focus is on helping leaders to be in tune with themselves and their environment, tap into their inner resourcefulness and manage their interactions with others more effectively. To know more about Costas, please visit any of the links below.References:Costas Kalisperas Likedin profilewww.intune-exec.comEpisode #49: Effective Coaching with Costas KalisperasEpisode #55: Coaching with Costas: The work-life conundrumEpisode #56: Coaching with Costas: Impostor thoughts or growth mindset? Listen to the next Episode All Podcast Episodes

Impostor thoughts or growth mindset? In this second episode of "Coaching with Costas", we discuss the “Impostor Phenomenon”.Below are the main highlights of our chat:It is natural to have impostor thoughts if you push yourself towards growth.The impostor phenomenon is a symptom of success. It is often born out of a natural tendency for self-growth and self-improvement.The more you achieve, the more you might fear that those who look up to you will discover that you are not as good as you should be.Some studies suggest that impostor thoughts are born or child roles and family dynamics. Too much or too little praise can be the source of impostor thoughts in adult life.While self-confidence is a large high-level topic, impostor thoughts are driven by specific situations, people or dynamics.It is important to label Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs), in order to come up with strategies to undermine and correct them.The ABC model (Activating event, Belief, Consequence) can be a useful Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Coaching model to help deal with ANTs.If you do new things, new neuroconnections can be created, and existing ones can be reinforced (neuroplasticity).It is crucial to have a sense of purpose and a solid network for support to face our challenges. Our Guest: Costas Kalisperas Costas is the Founder & CEO of In Tune Executive Coaching. His focus is on helping leaders to be in tune with themselves and their environment, tap into their inner resourcefulness and manage their interactions with others more effectively. To know more about Costas, please visit any of the links below.References:Costas Kalisperas Likedin profilewww.intune-exec.comEpisode #49: Effective Coaching with Costas KalisperasEpisode #55: Coaching with Costas: The work-life conundrum Listen to the next Episode All Podcast Episodes

The work-life conundrum In this first episode of the miniseries "Coaching with Costas", Costas addresses the work-life conundrum. Below are a few notable highlights: Try to figure out which times of the day you are most effective at work, and in which times are best for you to carry out mundane tasks instead. Once you have done that, plan your time accordingly by time-blocking. Some techniques are very useful for you to focus and manage your time. One example is the Pomodoro technique, which helps you work in 25-minute blocks. One other example is the 3-3-3 technique. Prioritise what is important and urgent. Understand what is important and urgent for you, as opposed to what is important and urgent for the organisation. A great tool to understand yourself is called the “wheel of life”. It is a way of disaggregating the different areas of life that you care about. The wheel of life helps you visualise which areas you are satisfied with and which areas you may need to focus on. “Ikigai’ is a great concept to work out your purpose and be less distracted as a result. Overall, the key is to be kinder to ourselves.Overall, the key is to be kinder to ourselves. Our Guest: Costas Kalisperas Costas is a Londoner of Greek Cypriot heritage and has worked as a barrister, solicitor, investment banker, private equity executive, angel investor and board director across a range of industries in a professional services career spanning 30 years. He has lived and worked in the US, UK and the Middle East over that time. Now an executive coach, his clients describe his approach as one that encompasses structure and challenge on the one hand and empathy and support on the other. His focus is on helping leaders to be in tune with themselves and their environment, tap into their inner resourcefulness and manage their interactions with others more effectively. This helps to nurture greater collaboration and collective success, while having some fun along the journey. Costas has been entrusted with leadership responsibility around team cohesion, morale, mentoring and career development in all his prior roles, including as a Head of a team and as Chair of year-end review committees at Barclays investment bank for many years, as well as in senior positions at Credit Suisse, Lehman Brothers and Bank of America. He has thereby gained valuable insights into the importance of transparency, collaboration, diversity and inclusion in achieving the best results. Costas is a graduate of Meyler Campbell's Mastered Programme, an accredited coach by the EMCC, a Fellow of the Institute of Coaching and a Hogan Certified practitioner. References:Costas Kalisperas Likedin profilewww.intune-exec.com Listen to the next Episode All Podcast Episodes

The relationship between body and psyche In this episode, we welcome executive and mental coach Marta Michniewicz.In our chat, we cover a variety of topics, including: The relationship between body and psyche, and the bio-psycho-social model.The effects of treating your body the right wayTherapy as a vesselIndividual change and organisational changeThe impact of leadership Our Guest: Marta Michniewicz Executive and mental coach with extensive experience in the healthcare industry. Marta has worked in a variety of roles from providing psychosomatic body therapy to clients in clinical settings, to product development in health promotion, to working with health tech start-ups as a Platform & Partnership Manager. In her work, she uses her coaching and consulting skills to drive individual and organisational change. With Marta, you quickly experience a foundation of trust to grow within and create deep relationships with others.References: Marta Michniewicz Linkedin profile www.hifemp.com Listen to the next Episode All Podcast Episodes

Leaders and remote work Kem Boggs joins Stepsero to share her thoughts on the role of leaders in a remote work environment. Below are a few main takeaways: The changes that occurred in the past few years forced many companies into a globally distributed and remote model. Many organizations are still in the adaptation phase.Leaders face an increasingly difficult position, as they now need to consolidate their vision and communication more than ever.Technology can help leaders offer the same experience to employees, regardless of whether they work remotely or not. Technology can make it easy to arrange AMAs (Ask-Me-Anything) and Forums to address relevant questions. Face-to-face interactions, even if just occasional, can further support remote work.CEOs are likely to experience a certain degree of loneliness. It is important that they build their own network in order to create a safe space and discuss ideas.Leaders can benefit from a structured and thought-through onboarding process. Our Guest: Kem Boggs Top-performing human resources and talent acquisition leader with over twenty years of experience in positions of increased responsibility and a track record of promotions during my career. Fifteen years of experience in HR leadership. Five years of experience in leading employment branding programs. Four years on the executive or extended executive leadership team in multiple organizations.References:Kem Boggs Linkedin profile Listen to the next Episode All Podcast Episodes

A chat with Richard Turner from Employees Health Richard Turner, Director at Employees Health, joins the Stepsero podcast to discuss how to improve employees’ health and well-being.  Here are a few main takeaways:  What is the point of going through life if we aren't happy, fulfilled, and healthy? Richard’s mission is to help professionals keep an optimal health state for as long as possible. With our world being set up to be so negative these days, it is crucial that we focus on positivity, which in turn will help us achieve happiness and well-being.  Companies should strive to help employees fullfill their needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness (Self-determination theory). A lot of this depends on the culture that is promoted within the organization. Senior leaders have a great impact on their teams and can help set the example in areas such as work-life balance, self-learning and development, setting boundaries at work, nutrition, and exercise. Our Guest: Richard Turner As a personal trainer for nearly 10 years, Richard has been helping people live healthier lifestyles and improve their health and fitness. In 2019 he founded Employees Health to help businesses create a better workplace as well as help them improve their employees health, wellbeing and performance so that every employee can come to work and thrive. In 2018 Richard lost a friend and mentor to suicide which opened his eyes to the importance of looking after people’s mental health and the devastating effects of not doing so can have on us. Since then he has been an advocate for learning about and raising awareness for Mental Health which has led to him completing his MHFAider qualification and his Science of Wellbeing qualification from Yale as well as all the awareness activities they do throughout the year. Today, Richard’s mission is to help employees create happier and healthier lifestyles which improve their wellbeing and performance so both the individual and business can succeed. To do this, he always strives to help the companies he works with make positive, proactive changes that produce quantifiable, lasting results for employees and employers. References: Richard Turner Likedin profile www.employeeshealth.co.uk Listen to the next Episode All Podcast Episodes

Leadership and trust In this episode of the Stepsero podcast, we discuss leadership and trust with Leo Wang.  Here are some useful pointers:  It is important that your team members operate according to a shared set of values they adhere to and engage with. Letting your team know early on that you have their best interest at heart might help establish a baseline of trust. However, sharing your intentions is not as important as actually delivering on what you have promised. It is great to look at experienced leaders, while trying to define your own leadership style. When moving from an individual contributor role to a leadership position, it is important to help your team build bridges with other departments. Working on your communication style can help achieve better internal connections between your team and the rest of the company. Our Guest: Leo Wang Leo is a Berlin-based sales leader in the geospatial and remote sensing industry. Having started as the first salesperson at UP42, he took the company from €0 to over €4M in Annual Revenue in less than 4 years through an unwavering customer-first operational approach. He has a passion for leadership, deeply thinking about the strategies and mindset around what makes a great leader and their powerful impact on performance. Outside of work, you'll find him playing tennis, going to concerts, and spending quality time with the people he loves. References: Leo Wang Linkedin profile Listen to the next Episode All Podcast Episodes

Toxic Leadership Kasia Musur joins the Stepsero podcast to discuss toxic leadership.  Below are a few main takeaways:  It can be hard to define toxic traits in leaders. Generally speaking, toxic leaders put their image and interest ahead of the well-being of the people they lead. For toxic leaders, success is not about their team or even the company, but rather about themselves. Especially early in your career, you might think that you simply have to accept toxic leadership as part of the process. But this does not have to be the case. Toxic leadership highly depends on the company culture which tolerates it. Some businesses choose not to remove such leaders because of the short-term benefits they may bring. However, in the long-term, it is better for the bottom line if they are replaced as early as possible. Different companies have different processes, so it is important to discuss with your HR department and understand the best approach to tackle the issue. A toxic leader’s behavior may also get to the point where it affects someone’s dignity. This trauma often follows professionals into their private lives, impacting their health, social and family life as well as their next job performance. This is why it is important to spot and tackle the issue early on. Our Guest: Kasia Musur Bio Kasia Musur is a Berlin-based founder of an early-stage startup dealing with toxic leadership. Passionate about human dignity and human rights, Kasia also runs "lightup Germany", a non-profit focusing on human trafficking and sexual exploitation in Germany.  References: Kasia Musur Linkedin profile Listen to the next Episode All Podcast Episodes