As leaders, most of us know and accept that we need to have empathy for the people we lead. Whilst this is absolutely vital, and I’m one of the biggest proponents of this, we might benefit from looking at this from another angle which explores instead how essential it is to have empathy for the person who manages you.

‘Must be comfortable / highly skilled in managing ambiguity’. Could this be the most standard prerequisite when a company is looking for new employees? In years of managing and hiring, I’ve rarely encountered those who tell me they struggle to deal with ambiguity.

We’re at the time of year where in many businesses, mid-year performance reviews are about to happen. For most, feedback is an important part of reviewing performance, but, particularly in the UK, whatever we say, feedback can be a tricky subject, conducive to anxiety and self-judgement.

I am currently spending 3 days a week as Interim Global CMO at ClearScore, a fast-growing FinTech in London. I had never previously considered that a 3-day week might be for me, but, like many people who embrace ‘part-time’, it came from necessity rather than curiosity. I needed to reduce the days I was working as CMO (which was already demanding at 5 days), so that I could fit in the learning, writing and coaching I had previously committed to for my ILM Level 7 diploma in Executive Coaching and Mentoring. I’m 8 weeks into this new regime… and I’ve learned a lot.

I’m right in the middle of reading around the subject of ‘coaching in an organisational context’ for my mammoth dissertation as part of ILM Level 7 Diploma in Executive Coaching and Mentoring. It sounds perhaps a little dry and academic, but essentially, I’m unpicking the environments and context of successful coaching in business today. It’s a really interesting subject which I think deserves some discussion, so I’m breaking off to write about it.

Difficult conversations are ones we tend to avoid because they can often make us feel uncomfortable, anxious or self-conscious. Let’s face it, what can be perceived by our brains and bodies as conflict doesn’t come naturally to most people, and for this reason they’re not easy; but once you master how to have difficult conversations in a way that feels authentic to you, they become second nature, satisfying or even enjoyable! Relationships improve, self-respect and respect from others grows. Better outcomes follow.

Most businesses would describe themselves as ‘customer focussed’. What organisation, irrespective of its size, doesn’t have the mantra ‘the customer is at the heart of our business’? But what if we’re missing a step towards customer centricity that’s so simple it’s often overlooked?

It jars slightly to write these words in relation to myself. As a perfectionist, a people-pleaser at heart, it remains tough for me to embrace the idea that good enough might just actually be good enough.