Antoinette Oglethorpe author of the COMPASS Journal blog, wearing a black shirt and blue jeans, sits smiling on a white sofa with magazines and papers spread out in front of her in a bright, minimalist room.

The Compass Journal: Navigating Careers & Leadership

Fresh thinking for forward-focused organisations

Explore practical insights, thought leadership, and real-world stories on career development, leadership, and the evolving world of work. Each article is designed to spark ideas and support you in creating a culture where people and performance thrive.

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leadership

March 25, 2024

Bridging the Gap: Strategies to Develop the Skills You Need for Career Progression

In today’s fast-paced and ever-changing job market, addressing skills gaps is crucial for career advancement. Once you’ve identified the areas where you need to improve, it’s time to take action. In this blog post, we’ll explore effective ways employees can bridge their skills gaps and develop the expertise needed to advance professionally. Here are 14

A man with short brown hair and a beard smiles at the camera, wearing a colourful jacket with blue, black, yellow, and white stripes. The blurred background features large white text reading

August 17, 2023

What Ted Lasso Can Teach Us About Leadership and Career Development

As a professional speaker and career development specialist, I’ve seen how the simplest messages often resonate the most. And few characters deliver simple wisdom better than Ted Lasso. When it comes to leadership, career conversations and people development, Ted may be a fictional football coach – but his insights are very real. They reflect the

Two women sit on a pink sofa in a cosy, colourful living room, smiling and talking. One holds a tablet and gestures while the other claps, both appearing cheerful as they discuss ways to improve emotional intelligence together.

March 23, 2023

Top tips on improving your emotional intelligence for success in your career

In my previous blog post, What Does Emotional Intelligence Mean for Career Development?, we explored what emotional intelligence is, why it matters, and how it can make a real difference to your career success. Understanding the concept is one thing – but putting it into practice is where the real transformation happens. In this follow-up, I’ll

A woman in a blue shirt smiles whilst writing in a notebook, facing another person in the foreground. They appear to be engaged in a friendly conversation, reflecting the collaborative spirit of good executive coaching in an office setting.

April 20, 2015

How to Get the Most from Executive Coaching

Let’s face it good executive coaching is not cheap. But it can be invaluable. Investing a few hours and a few thousand pounds can deliver significant increases in productivity and returns of hundreds of thousands of pounds. As long as the leader in question takes full advantage of the opportunity and makes the most of their

July 28, 2014

What’s the alternative to 360 degree feedback?

When it comes to leadership development, few tools are as powerful as 360-degree feedback. It offers a rich, multi-perspective view of how you’re perceived by colleagues, direct reports, and managers. It can be eye-opening, motivating, and – let’s be honest – a little daunting. In theory, most leaders agree it would be valuable. In practice,

Four people in business suits, two men and two women, stand in a row pulling on a rope as if in a tug-of-war, symbolising resistance to change as they lean back and work together against a plain white background.

May 24, 2013

3 Ways to Overcome Resistance to Change by Employees

Resistance to change is a natural phenomenon. At an individual level, change can create a mixed range of emotional response. A Global Survey by McKinsey in 2006 (Organising for Successful Change Management), shows that where change had not been successful, the dominant emotions were anxiety, frustration and confusion. While those emotions were not necessarily absent

Three people in business attire whispering to each other, with surprised and curious expressions, as they discuss creating a coaching culture, all set against a plain white background.

July 4, 2012

Case Study: Creating a Coaching Culture by Stealth

In my last blog post “Case Study: How a Coaching Style of Leadership Can Help Employees Take Ownership & Responsibility”, I described a Solutions Focus (SF) Coaching for Leaders Programme I am delivering that is helping employees take ownership and responsibility. The case study featured in a presentation at the Coaching and at Work Conference: