Finding your MOJO Again

November 8, 2024 Melanie Hawken

Are you feeling drained and lost your spark? When exhaustion, anxiety, and stress consume you, losing your MOJO can feel inevitable. However, reclaiming your vitality and enthusiasm is within reach. Begin by acknowledging your emotional state and granting yourself permission to rest. Allow your mind and body to recharge with rejuvenating activities. Reconnect with nature, whether a serene walk or simply gazing at the sky. Nourish your body with wholesome foods, hydrate with intention, and prioritise sleep. Revisit your goals and the progress you have made to achieve your important milestones.

Planting seeds of thought: nurturing leadership for the next generation

November 3, 2024 Melanie Hawken

Spring is in the air! Time to plant seeds. Nurture talent like growing seeds.In the constantly changing business environment, the idea of “planting seeds of thought” has become increasingly significant. This metaphor highlights the need to cultivate ideas and promote a growth-oriented culture, especially as leadership styles evolve and a new generation joins the workforce. You don’t have to be a manager to be seen as a leader, each person is a leader when they allow people around them to flourish and grow.

Expectation vs reality: how to navigate disappointment

July 3, 2024 Melanie Hawken

How has life treated you so far this year? For most people life is a mix of uneventful days, days of great joy, but then also some days of frustration, disappointment, sadness and other negative experiences. One of the most difficult consequences of life is disappointment. Disappointments generally occur because an expected outcome or expectation did not realise. A huge amount of resilience is required to bounce back from these setbacks.

Lessons from nature for humans and organisations – let your team flourish!

May 11, 2024 Melanie Hawken

Recently our training engagements took us to Malelane, a beautiful town on the border of the Kruger National Park in South Africa – one of our beautiful country’s biggest assets and tourist attractions. Over the weekend we meandered through the park and marveled at the wildlife, beautiful vegetation, and landscapes we admired from hides along our way.

Learning to find joy inside yourself

February 10, 2024 Melanie Hawken

‘ecstatic’ - adjective – feeling or expressing overwhelming happiness or joyful excitement, eg. “I am ecstatic about my team’s excellent results”

We have all experienced ecstasy (the legal version) and the feeling of immense joy. It could be due to a planned event you have been looking forward to, or an intense moment of deep happiness when a pleasant surprise comes your way. A business deal that went really well, being spoilt by a person who appreciates you, an unexpected blessing …. all these events bring about a deep sense of wellbeing, joy and happiness.

Unleash the Spirit of Giving

December 23, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Recently our training adventures took us to RCL Foods in Westville, KZN. I was amazed by the beautiful functional local art used in boardrooms, staircases and all open areas. Recycled items and nature are infused in beautiful ways. But what really caught my eye, was how many meals RCL Do More Foundation donate on a daily basis – well done! We are proud to be associated with you!

Anxiety – the latest Bully in the room

March 26, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Are you currently experiencing a difficult moment and feeling under some pressure? Or are you experiencing such high levels of tension that you lash out at people, become erratic, and possibly even approaching a physically or mentally unhealthy condition? Then maybe you’re not alone on the precipice; perhaps anxiety is there with you. The precipice can be attractive, undesirable, or both.

The last-minute.com procrastination syndrome

August 26, 2022 Melanie Hawken

Procrastination can become a lifestyle. A very unsatisfactory one, in fact. It makes us feel guilty and unaccomplished. Are you a last-minute.com expert? To be honest, I have been delaying – thus procrastinating – writing this article. My life has a renewed sense of busyness after living slow during the pandemic. There are several tasks on my to-do list that evade getting done … they even haunt me at times.

Motivation: real or rubbish? Learn some tricks to mobilize your motivation

August 14, 2022 Melanie Hawken

Did you leap out of bed this morning? It’s cold… it’s winter, Covid-restrictions limit our movements and business operations, and we’ve learnt to no longer look too far ahead. So, do you even set any goals during these crazy times? If yes, what fuels your progress? This year’s lockdown restrictions and lifestyle is a lot easier for me than last year. I like the “new normal”. Working from home, doing more online shopping to avoid busy malls (buying things we don’t need) and appreciating my own lovely home is a blessing. I’ve learnt to focus on close relationships and live more intentionally. Learnt to not sweat the small stuff.

Why Do We Buy So Much?

February 19, 2022 Melanie Hawken

The psychology of spending money…Do you sometimes fill a virtual or a real trolley of goods to deal with a hole in your soul? Making purchasing decisions can help reinforce a sense of personal control over our environment. It can also ease feelings of sadness. A study from the Journal of Consumer Psychology found that retail therapy not only makes people happier immediately, but it can also fight lingering sadness. The problem is, we spend money we don’t have on things we don’t need …(often to impress people we don’t like).

Are You a Relationship Master Or a Disaster?

November 6, 2021 Melanie Hawken

People who are good at relationships are already happy with their lives and don’t expect others to make them happy. People who are good at relationships are living happy, fulfilled lives before they even enter into a relationship. They bring their happiness into the relationship, instead of extracting happiness from the relationship.

Are you an achiever or a competitor?

May 9, 2021 Melanie Hawken

The slow and sometimes passive lifestyle of Lockdown in 2020 encouraged me to spend more time running as our escape and entertainment options were extremely limited. Teams and Zoom also have their limitations for human interaction and stimulation. I have always been a lover of the Great Outdoors, so it felt good to apply my tekkies to tar with the added bonus of becoming fitter and staying healthy. An unexpected bonus was that I was introduced to a group of running enthusiasts who I now consider my tribe, my running family and dear friends. Hours on the road invariably lead to beautiful and interesting conversations, especially for those who can run and breathe simultaneously (just for the record, due to the latter, my listening skills have improved rapidly).

Making Lemonade

January 24, 2021 Melanie Hawken

When life throws you lemons, make lemonade! We’ve all heard this before, but I had a magnificent enlightenment to make this cliché my slogan for the crazy times we all live in. A dear friend living in Dubai visited us some time ago and presented me with a lemon tree as a gift. The fruits this tree bears is a precious gift!

What does your EQ look like in everyday life?

January 17, 2021 Melanie Hawken

EQ is not natural for most people and needs to be consciously developed. Fortunately, as we grow older, wisdom also sets in. Using simple terms, EQ is being mature and wise.

Are you an impostor?

January 10, 2021 Melanie Hawken

This sounds like a nasty accusation, yet the impostor syndrome is real! Do you sometimes feel that others’ applause for you is not earned or deserved? This happens when people doubt their accomplishments or a person has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a “fraud”, despite external evidence that they are competent. These self-perceived “fraudsters” tend to be highly competent individuals. While both men and women are affected, this syndrome seems to be more prevalent amongst high-achieving women.

Managing performance in the New Distance Economy

December 31, 2020 Melanie Hawken

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The future is not what we used to think it would be…our world is literally infected with new ways of thinking and working. With so many staff members working remotely, the way organisations manage performance has to be adjusted. There should also be a bigger focus on re-skilling and constructive feedback to build confidence amongst staff. Problems and challenges need to be solved differently and creatively.

Review, Readjust, Reset, Reboot Yourself

July 12, 2020 Melanie Hawken

Review, readjust, reset, reboot – ready? Nothing will ever be the same, I hear so many people say. It may be true to some extent, but I think that many things may settle back to more or less where they were – perhaps we just would have learnt to appreciate these more. So, nothing will even be the same again, or closer to the expression – The more things change the more it stays the same?

Online meeting etiquette. Avoid embarrassing mistakes.

May 17, 2020 Melanie Hawken

Virtual meetings have become an essential part of how businesses maintain contact with staff, clients and ensure productivity and continuity. As many people internationally are a restricted form of work, few organisations and individuals can still communicate using traditional methods.

The value of kindness and generosity in all relationships

May 19, 2019 Melanie Hawken

by Marjón Meyer

Over the past few months I have been on the receiving end of a lot of kindness and generosity from the various "tribes" I belong to - family, my book (and wine) club, fellow trail runners, friends living far and wide across the globe, fellow students, clients and colleagues. Because sometimes we are in a season of giving and later again in the season of receiving.

What does success mean to you?

November 24, 2018 Melanie Hawken

by Marjón Meyer

Reflecting on the past year, when I think about success, it takes on different forms in my mind. My own definition of success has changed significantly over time. People assign different meanings to success. It could be a certain qualification, a position on the organogram, good education for your children, visiting beautiful places in the world, owning a house at a specific address, a luxury vehicle….. Although these could make you feel rather proud, these alone don’t necessary bring a feeling of achievement or accomplishment.

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