As businesses in the Western World start to return to their central offices, leaders will have to navigate a number of challenges. From considerations including safe working environments to articulating organisational culture, leaders will need to carefully consider the impact of their individual actions and company policies over the coming months.

New research by The Preston Associates has polled the opinions of senior executives, drilling down into the concerns of some of the world’s leading organisations in light of the advent of widespread hybrid working.

Today, I’m joined by TPA coaches Luciana Nunez and Lee Mears to look at some of the findings of the research, the processes and behaviours that will underpin the return to the office, and how leaders can articulate culture in this new working paradigm.

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New research conducted by McKinsey suggests that the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have affected women more than men. Their Women in the Workplace 2021 report found that one in three mothers have considered leaving their role, or reducing their responsibilities due to the difficulty in balancing their professional and personal lives.

Companies are at serious risk of losing their female leaders, at a time where typically feminine traits will be required. Research by the University of Liverpool has found that female leaders are more likely to identify risk, promote clear and precise communications, and build better working relationships thanks to a greater ability to empathise.

We're joined by TPA coaches Jill Watt and David Scotland to discuss the pressures affecting female leaders in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, the traits of female leadership, and why these skills may be sought after in the future of work.

Building relationships is an integral part of our working lives. Knowing what makes our closest colleagues tick, how they like to receive feedback or criticism, or even what their biggest bugbears or pet hates may be, are little nuggets of information that form the basis of an effective partnership.

Of course, how we build those relationships has profoundly changed.Water cooler chats and end of meeting natters, have been replaced by zoom meetings and slack messages. For many of us, we haven’t even met partners, clients, or colleagues in the flesh, conducting our working relationships entirely in the virtual realm.

How has this made relationship building more difficult? Have the heightened emotional stakes of the Covid-19 pandemic actually made us more open with new contacts? And what does this mean for peer-to-peer networking?

TPA coaches join Christian Cullinane and Michelle Bramley join the podcast to discuss how they’ve been advising coachees that have struggled with this phenomenon, and how we can forge successful connections in our new working reality.

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The giving and receiving of feedback is a necessary part of our working lives. It’s also something that the majority of workers welcome, a 2017 study found that 65% of respondents wanted to receive more commentary on their work from their colleagues.

That doesn’t mean that people and organisations are naturally good at it, or that the feedback received is necessarily effective. The recipient may not be open to change or willing to be vulnerable. The feedback itself could be the issue, especially if it's not specific, authentic or delivered from a reliable source. These factors have a profound effect on whether feedback can lead to a change in working behaviours.

This podcast features three TPA coaches based in the US, Luciana Nunez, Eileen Cassidy and Jackie MacLeod. They discuss the importance of effective feedback, and how involving your colleagues in the process can improve your performance going forward.

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Digital startups are responsible for some of the most influential innovations of modern times. They are responsible for revolutionising the way we bank, travel or entertain ourselves.

Cities such as Helsinki, London and Berlin have become hubs for fledgling businesses, with 19,000 new jobs being created in the German capital in 2019 alone.

TPA coaches Vanessa Cox and Marc Lafeuille have been working with startup leaders for the past three years, helping a number of ventures achieve growth across Europe. They join the podcast to talk about the scaling up phase, and how founders can benefit from executive coaching.

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The ongoing COVID-19 crisis has brought sharper focus on the need to take care of ourselves.

Being forced to mix the personal and professional can lead to a myriad of challenges in both parts of our lives, and have a knock-on effect in our ability to spend enough time on our physical, emotional and mental health. This is particularly true of senior leaders, whose responsibilities to their people and organisations can further distract them from their own wellbeing.

In this episode, we're joined by six TPA coaches from around the globe. They share their experiences during the lockdown, and break down the six components of a tool they are using to help their clients manage their wellbeing.

Finding the time and space to think strategically is challenging when faced with global, prolonged uncertainty. While Covid-19 has changed the pace of life, remote working, home-schooling, ‘Zoom’ fatigue and the added anxiety around finances and job security has provided further hindrance.

Coaching can prove a vital aid by providing a trusted confidant with whom you can talk through challenges or ideas to gain clarity. Of course, high level executive coaching is not readily available for the majority of the working population.

Coaching in Action is a virtual coaching experience created by The Preston Associates. It encourages you to think about the what, how, who and when of any given issue by answering thought-provoking, open and objective questions.

TPA CEO Tom Preston joins the podcast, to discuss the reasons for launching Coaching in Action, the methodology behind it, and the benefits of using the virtual coaching software to think through our burning questions.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has created a crisis like no other. What makes it different is its global impact, the speed of change, the constantly evolving circumstances and the fact that there’s no end in sight.

Given this extraordinary level of uncertainty, how do business leaders help their people to retain perspective and remain calm?

Flemming Morgan is a TPA mentor and executive coach, who was formerly the global CEO of a major FMCG organisation. He joins the podcast to share lessons learned from his career, and give his thoughts on how leaders can manage crisis.

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We are living in truly unprecedented times. At time of recording, there have been close to 400,000 positive cases of Covid-19 recorded globally, with more than 16,000 confirmed deaths.

Business leaders now face stark decisions on the future of their teams and organisations. Looking after your people has never been more important, as many employees will be anxious not only about their own health, but that of their colleagues, families and friends.

TPA’s Julie Stokes is an expert in bereavement, having started her career as a psychologist in palliative care. She then founded Winston’s Wish, the UK’s leading child bereavement charity. Julie joins us to describe how leaders can manage this difficult time and help employees deal with loss.

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For decades, Hong Kong has been one of the world’s most prosperous and peaceful centres of business, enjoying links with the biggest economies in both the Western and Eastern hemisphere. However the past 12 months have proved challenging for business and society alike.

At the time of recording, there have been over 75,000 cases of coronavirus reported in the region, with close 2,000 people losing their lives to the epidemic. The spread of coronavirus has exacerbated the growing unrest with Hong Kong’s establishment, with pro-democracy campaigners still taking to the streets to demonstrate against the local, and central Chinese government.

With so much in flux, how has business in the region fared? How can leaders regain trust, when civilians are so disenfranchised with the establishment? Catherine Eidens and Nadine Slater from TPA share their experiences in living and working with leaders in Hong Kong.

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