There’s a common assumption that if you bring the right people together, with the right expertise, things will naturally fall into place. But experience tells us otherwise.
Just because you put a group of people together doesn’t mean they’ll work well together. Teams don’t succeed by default. They succeed when people understand how to communicate with one another clearly, honestly, and with intent. And yet, communication is often the one area we assume will “just happen”.
In many organisations technical expertise is rightly prioritised as it’s measurable, tangible and feels productive. But over time, something else becomes far more defining … your human skills, for example:-
These are the skills that don’t date. They travel with you, from role to role, and often determine how effective you truly are so it’s important to not let them fall by the wayside as your career progresses.
“Difficult conversations” is a topic that comes up time and again amongst our clients. Most people want to know how to handle them better, but the bigger issue is that many of us avoid them altogether.
We soften what needs to be said. We delay. We hope the situation resolves itself, yet left on its own, it rarely does.
When things go unsaid problems tend to grow quietly in the background, and by the time they surface, they’re harder, more emotional, and more complex than they needed to be. In reality, the most effective conversations aren’t dramatic or confrontational. They are honest, genuine and clear.
Another misconception we often see is around negotiation. It’s frequently framed as something combative — a win/lose scenario. But in practice, the most effective negotiators approach it differently in that they see negotiation as a trade.
It’s about, for example, understanding what matters to both sides and finding a way forward through conversation. When you shift your mindset from “winning” to “trading”, communication becomes more open, more constructive, and far more productive.
Strong communication isn’t about saying everything, all the time. It’s about knowing:
That balance isn’t always obvious. It requires awareness, confidence, and experience and I find it’s often where individuals and teams need the most support. In fast-moving environments, where teams are under pressure and expectations are high, communication can easily slip down the priority list. When it does, the impact is felt quickly:
The opposite is also true, so when communication improves, even slightly, everything else tends to follow.
Communication isn’t a “soft” skill. It’s a foundational one and in many cases, it’s the difference between a team that simply exists… and one that truly works.
If this resonates, and you’re noticing similar patterns in your team or organisation, it may be time to take a closer look at how communication is really working in practice. At Sharpstone Skinner, we support individuals and teams to develop the confidence and capability to communicate with clarity, especially when it matters most.
You can listen to the podcast here.
Everyone is talking about gut health and its link to wellness – our social media feeds are full of it (well okay, mine are), we’re bombarded with products aimed at maintaining a happy gut and if we’re not careful, we end up swallowing so many different supplements, we start to rattle when we walk.
What on earth does any of it have to do with effectiveness at work? As it happens, quite a lot. In a world powered by facts, data and intelligence - artificial or otherwise, you should never ignore your gut feeling.
Here’s the medical bit. The enteric (think all things intestinal) nervous system that regulates our gut is sometimes referred to as the body’s “Second Brain”. Although it can’t do long division or write a report, it’s an extensive network using the same chemicals and cells as the brain, to help us digest and alert the brain when something is amiss. So, the gut and brain are in constant communication. But we aren’t always listening.
When things are out of whack with the gut, we can experience symptoms that hamper our effectiveness at work. It might be fatigue, lack of focus, mood changes or just feeling unwell generally. Any of those things affect how we show up and how we contribute. The way we work now – from a range of locations, non-traditional hours, tech driven, online meetings – can be fantastic for our work/life balance yet lousy for our gut health.
If you’ve fallen in to a pattern of long hours in front of a screen, rarely taking a break and jumping from one meeting to the next without a breather, you’ll know the impact this can have on your general wellbeing, yet you may not have considered that this is linked to gut health. But it is. In the same way our working practices can negatively impact how our gut feels, small changes can equal a happier, more settled gut.
Here are a few to get you started – gold star if you’re doing them already:
One of the team at Sharpstone Skinner, Juan Carlos Herrera, is a specialist in this area and runs workshops and sessions about gut health and wellbeing at work. He’s based in Spain and visiting the UK in April, around World Health Week. Lots of our clients have booked him to come and speak as part of their commitment to workplace wellbeing.
Do get in touch with us if you’d like to run something similar in your organisation. Your team and your gut will thank you.
We’re really pleased to share that our new Sharpstone Skinner website is now live, alongside a refreshed brand that better reflects who we are and how we work.
The new site highlights our approach to development more clearly, from how we support leaders and teams, to the values that shape everything we do. It’s more human, more focused, and designed to give you a real feel for what it’s like to work with us.
At the heart of everything we do is a simple belief: real development starts with real people. We don’t believe in off-the-shelf solutions or surface-level change. Instead, we take time to listen, understand your world, and ask the questions that truly matter. It’s this approach that helps leaders grow, teams work better together, and organisations perform at their best, while keeping wellbeing, humanity, and the future firmly in view.
While our look has evolved, our purpose hasn’t changed. We’re still about listening first, tailoring our work to real contexts and settings, plus helping people and organisations grow in ways that genuinely last. You’ll also see more about who we work with, from charities and purpose-driven organisations to professional services firms, SMEs, public sector teams, and household names. What unites them is a desire to learn, connect, and lead with purpose, often at moments of growth or change.