How to manage your Mother Lode
A client used the term ‘mother lode’ recently. This is not a term I was aware of, until we explored and discovered all the things in the client’s head. There was work, home, children, pets, parents, holiday planning, chores, logistics, […]
Reframing from Diva to Self Care
How often do you put yourself first and really take care of what you need to be at your best? I noticed this recently as I have booked a course. One option was to attend online weekly from my desk, […]
Creating Space to Listen – The Impact is Incredible
As Coach and Facilitator creating space to listen is a core part of my job. I have the delight of being the person listening directly, to clients, while also creating the conditions for others to listen without distraction in facilitated […]
Four Years Since My Pass To Freedom
In my corporate career I experienced constant organisational change, re-structures and energy market cycles of boom or bust. I would survive cycle after cycle, but these cycles were waring. The feeling of consent change and the consequence of projects being […]
Ready to Role – The Outcome
The Ready to Role series concludes in two ways. The Offer or The Next Role. Following the Interview The primary focus for the candidate is the performance at interview. The constant review of performance. The fixation of how the candidate […]
Ready to Role – Interview Approaches
The focus of this blog will explore Conversational Interviews and Competency Based Interviews. Conversational Interviews The conversational interview, also known as flexible or conversationally flexible interview is more common now, this is due to organisations recognising your CV highlights your […]
Ready to Role – Interview Mindset
Great News – getting to interview is absolutely the expected next step in securing a new role. However, through years of working with outplacement clients on career coaching, interview dread and the fear of being judged can inhibit performance at […]
Ready to Role – CV Writing
When you recognise it is time to look for a new role, the starting point is usually considered to be the CV. I would challenge this idea, by really seeking clarity on: What you want from your next role? What […]
Hi Barbie!
Half way though the Barbie Movie for the second viewing, my daughter asked, ‘Mum, can we go to the toilet please?’ With a grump I left the movie and as my daughter always does, she started talking from the moment […]
Reflections from Changing Times
A memory popped up on social media this month. It shared a range of beautiful pictures from my last trip to Perth, Australia in September 2019. I was amid an organisational change, with my role being at risk. I weighed […]
Shop Local
Shop Local is a value I hold strongly. As the buyer of Executive Coaching for many years, I had a couple of trusted coaches the organisation had worked with in the past. If there was ever a request for coaching […]
Want or Need?
“When you need me, you don’t want me. When you want me, you don’t need me.” Nanny McPhee This quote has shown up twice for me in 2 days. This morning while trying to peal myself out for my […]
Maintaining Momentum
When clients go offsite to work on the leadership team and the business can be equally challenging and rewarding. The retreat of being away from the workplace to invest in leadership team relationships, to provide business clarity and direction is imperative […]
Get Noticed
At the ECITB Project Management Conference, I was delighted to talk about Career Transitions through the Energy Transition. Many people perceive a challenge in moving sectors, while my experience in Career Transition Coaching (Outplacement Coaching) highlights that proactive career searches […]
Joy of Missing Out – JOMO
I have just returned from five days in the North Coast of Scotland. It is our retreat. We stay in a fantastic cottage, that is home from home, we look over the sea and a scattering of islands from the […]
Are you stitching me up?
I heard this yesterday. It was said with such clarity and the direct approach was received with fun and the conversation started with ease about what was happening. The context was between a primary 7 and primary 5 at breakfast […]
Aberdeen HR Network – 1st Anniversary
The aim of Aberdeen HR Network is to create a safe, engaging and encouraging space for Senior HR Leaders to connect with peers. In May the Aberdeen HR Network celebrates its first anniversary. Over the first year, AHRN has created […]
Reflection in the Stillness
True reflection only takes place in stillness. Imagine an image of still water, when we notice a really still day, the reflection can be perfection. The reflection can mirror the surroundings. Finding stillness for Executive Leaders and Executive Leadership Teams […]
I can do it!
Have you ever been in the position when you’re the worst at something? You are brand new to something? Every move you make, you overthink? That was me skiing – Each year we venture to Finland with the most fabulous […]
Happy New Year! Welcome to 2023 Personal Goals!
A friend asked me the other day, ‘What are your resolutions?’ It was a question I have not considered for years? The concept of a resolution brought me back to the opening scenes of Bridget Jones Diary! In the case […]
Happy New Year! Welcome to Work in 2023!
I hope you had a wonderful festive break. The big question – what are your goals for 2023? Surely everyone starts the new year with total clarity and pounce off the new year blocks into the year with purpose, drive […]
You know this!
Have you ever said to yourself, ‘I know this, what has led me to do this?’ I had that moment in Greece this summer. It was the end of the evening and I was cleaning up the patio before bed. […]
Where does your work take you?
The inspiration for this blog comes as I plan ahead to an event at Edinburgh Zoo! I am excited to work with the new client and to hold the event at Edinburgh Zoo conference facilities. As I was feeling the […]
Reconnecting
After 3 years of not seeing our family and friends in Slovakia, we have just returned from two wonderful weeks of reconnecting. It was like we saw each other yesterday, we picked up at pace in deep conversation and instantly […]
Where are you going?
Where is your business going? What are you doing to get there? Some might say in business these are very simple questions with clear, structured plans that are well understood by all business leaders who are working to deliver in […]
Achieving Balance on the North Coast 500
What a delight! Scotland in the sunshine, on the North Coast 500 this weekend. If it is on your bucket list – go! Do you recognise that rush of getting ready to take a break? I have always had a […]
Aberdeen HR Network – Launch Event
On 26th May, Catriona Craig and Zia Savel launched Aberdeen HR Network. It was a delight to hear the buzz in the room as senior HR leaders came together for peer learning, sharing, networking and connecting. We captured all the […]
Light up your Leadership Team
What do you and your team need to deliver this year? How big is the stretch? Is there room to adapt and change? Imagine delivering all your objectives when your team has: clarity of the focus areas and how to […]
Light up your Career
The new year offer opportunities to do different things, to focus fully in areas that would otherwise drop into the mass of other demands on your attention and time. I spend a lot of time working with clients on finding […]
New Light
It is only 20 months later than most, but we have a home worker in the house! We are still in the novelty stage, so I notice the choice of Radio 6 cool tunes, rather than my cheesy online tracks. […]
You are here!
Every moment of every day you are here. Here in this moment, not in the past and not yet in the future. Is being right here, right now what you and your business need? Take a step back for a […]
How ready are you?
To go back to the office, to take time out on parental leave, to take on a new job, take a career change or retire? I spend a lot of my day talking about exactly this, from the perspective of […]
Things I used to believe!
I work better under pressure! I really believed this. When working on my first dissertation I was still writing the night before the deadline. I also had a bubble jet printer which took hours to print. I now wonder what […]
Chasing Chickens!
Have you ever chased something round and round in your mind? It could be work, relationships, health, the noise of the wind on the roof or anything that get stuck in our minds. I have many examples personally and from […]
When did you really take a break last?
I have had several holidays since I started Zia Savel Ltd, but all were interlaced with a lockdown or home-schooling looming. Today is the first day back to work from the Easter School holidays and wow did we have a […]
Jumping with Joy!
Yesterday I saw a grown man jumping with joy at the prospect of his children going back to school. He explained the impact schools reopening would have on his children, their social and emotional wellbeing while receiving a full education […]
Positive Destination
Have you ever found yourself in, or following redundancy, a career break, being on furlough or starting retirement and struggle to find the words to tell your story positively? I am spending a lot of time with my client at […]
Listen Up!
Coaches talk about listening to listen, rather than listening to respond or comment. Listening usually means paying attention to someone speaking, following the conversation and taking in what is being said. Listening takes concentration, effort and skill. When you are […]
The Power of Silence
What does silence do for you? I find when I am in my office alone, I put on music to fill the silence. I sometimes find myself singing along and turning the music up little by little. I hadn’t really […]
Thinking Strategically!
Do you ever look back at strategy from past years and celebrate what has been achieved? I always think about strategy as a future focus, but recently I found a strategy I created in 2018. I was amazed and elated […]
Changing Seasons
As we enter Autumn in the UK, I notice the environment changing. the farmers where I live have been persistently busy through harvest, to planting new crops for the Spring. The colours have changes from bright greens of hay fields […]
Peace and Tranquillity
How clearly can you think when there is space with no distractions? The clarity of thought that is possible by removing all distractions and being fully focusing on what is important for you can drive incredible thoughts and actions. This […]
Bicycles and Flowers!
The past week of lockdown mainly involved bicycles and flowers. My youngest daughter has found a passion for cycling. The more challenging and greater distance the better. This has resulted in the whole family touring around the Mearns on our […]
The Cycle of Uncertainty
For many years I found myself worrying about what might be in my career. I worried about organisational change, reorganisations, mergers, acquisitions, disposals and delivering a role that had a meaningful impact on the business and the people I […]
How full is your glass?
My first post of the year mentioned, finding a better balance in 2020 between work and family. I was so delighted with no morning commute. Little did I know that 2020 would bring this to so many. Four months into […]
Paying it Forward!
Mentoring at the University of Aberdeen is a true learning experience. I have had the pleasure of fantastic mentees across a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. My mentees to date have all been international students (Swedish, French, Greek/Polish […]
Being Present
More Time to Think by Nancy Kline is was a book that really drew my interest into coaching deeper than I would have believed possible. Nancy outlined the importance of being present, removing distractions and really really focusing attention on […]
Acceleration in home working.
Throughout my career I have had fabulous leaders who have encouraged home working which offered flexibility and trust in roles that were primarily office based. I recall when a new employee joined my team and asked if she could be […]