Fortem Coaching Blog
Thoughts on leadership and career issues from ILM qualified coach and mentor Clare Harris.
At Fortem Coaching, based in Bristol, we empower leaders to unlock their potential through the transformative GRACE framework. GRACE stands for Growth, Respect, Acceptance, Compassion, and Empowerment—key principles that foster self-awareness, build resilient teams, and create a positive workplace culture. Whether you’re striving for career growth, team alignment, or personal development, our leadership coaching programs guide you to lead with confidence and purpose. Start your journey to becoming a more compassionate, effective leader today. Book a free consultation to discover how GRACE can transform your leadership approach.
Struggling with confidence in your leadership role? You’re not alone. The confidence gap—the disparity between your actual abilities and your self-belief—can hinder your effectiveness and career progression. This blog explores practical strategies to bridge this gap and enhance your leadership presence. From embracing continuous learning and challenging negative self-talk to celebrating small wins and seeking feedback, discover actionable steps to build confidence and unlock your full leadership potential. Read on to transform self-doubt into empowering leadership.
As we head into the summer, it's the perfect time to reflect on the power of mindset. Summer brings an abundance of light and warmth, making it an ideal season to cultivate a mindset that supports our growth and well-being. This isn't just about thinking positively but about fostering a growth mindset that enables us to thrive in both our personal and professional lives. This blog will explore the power of a positive mindset in more detail.
As a seasoned Leadership and Career Coach, I have spoken to many professionals and leaders who often choose to avoid what they see as conflict, rather than confronting matters that bother them with their superiors. They often feel it would be a difficult conversation, or that they don’t want to hear the wrong response as it could lead to more frustration. I encourage people to speak up about their issues, in a measured and professional way, in order to give leaders a chance to respond. When team members don’t speak up, the problems can grow way out of proportion and escalate internally causing stress and burnout.
Explore pivotal moments between ages 35 and 45 when a once-thriving career may hit a rough patch. Learn to identify signs of stress, diminished passion, and stagnation, signaling a time for change. Discover the importance of aligning personal values, maintaining work-life balance, and nurturing professional growth. As a Leadership and Career Coach I offer support in navigating these transitions.
As a leader, identifying and understanding what makes your team tick is vital. Here are how you can identify and apply love languages in the workplace to enhance team performance.
In my experience as a Career and Leadership coach I have spoken to many leaders who find it hard to keep up with the constantly changing business landscape and how to keep their team members motivated and feeling supported. You can train the technical expertise and ever-changing skills of a leader, but empathy, and leading with empathy, is a human trait that not everyone has. Even people who have a good level of emotional intelligence can find it hard to find the headspace in a busy work environment to always lead in this way. That said, it is crucial to harnessing the real power of your team to perform at their best.
Every workplace is likely to have a leadership structure so that people have a clear understanding of who makes the decisions and sets the goals. This creates a structural power dynamic that is generally easy to follow.
There is also an organic power dynamic, often less obvious, usually among people at a similar level who practice power play. Remember times at school or work when you are split into smaller project work groups and individuals establish their natural roles. Some will take charge and then the rest of the group responds to the leadership, some may try and take over and some will happily go along and follow instruction from those stronger leader figures.
You have a great job, maybe middle management, you’ve worked towards this for a long time. You are qualified, capable and your manager has complete faith in you…
…so why is it that you are terrified of every presentation you make to your team? You find yourself not speaking up in case you sound like you don’t know what you are talking about…your sleep is suffering, you are snappy and irritable from working longer hours than necessary and you never feel satisfied with your performance.
One of the most important traits of a good leader is providing good feedback to team members to help them improve their skills and work to their best productivity, but it’s one of the hardest roads to navigate and not every leader gets it right. The differences between the personalities in your team can be huge and not every person likes to receive feedback. Some may always see it as criticism, and if the deliverer gets it wrong to this type of person, it can be counterproductive and damaging.
It’s a brand new year. Full of opportunity and hope. We are all picking our way through a difficult time here in the UK, but it is still important to set yourself some goals to focus on, be it in work, or home or with yourself, to give yourself some sense of achievement when you reach them. Call them resolutions, call them goals, call them whatever you like. However you wish to frame them, if it’s a new career goal you have or you are at a crossroads in your chosen job and are looking to make a big change, as a Career and Leadership Coach, I’m here to help you make it more achievable. The advice I can offer could also stretch across other personal goals as it’s all about how to get there and what the journey will look like.
Have you ever found yourself in a drama triangle? Where, in the workplace, blame for a situation is just shifted around. People take on different roles in order to gain control, with no ownership or accountability being taken when things don’t go as planned. I offer career and leadership coaching and can help unpick situations like this. I offer 1-2-1 or team coaching sessions.
As a manager, do you really make the most of the great minds of your team to solve problems and improve the business? Really? It is common for managers to feel it is entirely their job, or the job of leadership team, to make all the important decisions and make the most difference but this is far from the truth.
As we get older, we may not have realised that we are still holding on to beliefs about who we are as people and as achievers that are simply not true. They may never have been true, but how we view ourselves is often what we have picked up from comments that people have made to us in our upbringing that we have believed to be true.
“Like many people, the stresses of working from home and trying to keep my career on track during the pandemic had taken their toll, but the experience had also strengthened my conviction that if I was to fulfil my career ambitions, I needed to change jobs. I was working for an abusive boss in a toxic work environment and I knew that this was unsustainable, not just for my career but my own personal wellbeing…”
You may have been in the same career for a long time. It was your dream job when you started. The industry, the environment, the progression opportunities, the salary. All of the reasons you started in your chosen career were relevant at the time. So how do you know when it’s time to completely change direction, and what direction do you go in next?
Mindfulness has always been a very important life practice but is especially important in times like today. We are collectively scarred from the pandemic, whilst war is happening around the world and mental health issues are as prevalent as ever before. You may hear the phrase ‘Workplace Mindfulness’ used often and wonder what it really means.
Leadership and career coaching is highly rewarding and can have a huge impact on your professional and personal life. It can help you overcome obstacles that have been holding you back and allow you to move forward to reach your goals. At Fortem, our mission is to make you feel empowered and confident to thrive in your career. But how do you know if you are ready for the challenge?
Do you ever wish you were in fewer meetings at work?
Or that you got fewer emails? Do you really need to be cc’d into everything?
It is important to safeguard your productivity and creativity, and not to burn out at work. When you’re next invited to every meeting or feeling the pressure to reply instantly to every email, try these top tips…
Letting go can help us to move forward in our personal lives and our careers. Bristol based ILM qualified Career and Leadership Coach Clare Harris shares her tips on letting go this Autumn and looking forward in your career.
What Skills for Success do you need to enhance your career? Career and Leadership Coaching with Clare Harris in Bristol can help you to find career clarity and reach your career goals.
We have spent the last year navigating the changing of rules and expectations caused by the development of the pandemic. For many of us, this has affected our careers and career development. Check our Fortem Coaching's top tips on managing change in uncertain times.
We have all heard of mindfulness and being mindful, but do we truly understand what it means and what the benefits to us are? This blog explores the benefits of mindfulness and the top tips to practising it in your everyday life…
Thinking about hiring a coach? Who better to get some top tips for selecting the perfect coach, than a coach?
In this article, Clare Harris, Leadership and Career Development Coach shares the powerful questions you need to ask yourself and a prospective coach before you decide to proceed.
Do you ever feel you are compromising yourself? Agreeing to things you don’t want to do, or trying to ignore behaviours that make you uncomfortable? Do you sometimes find yourself resentful of how others treat you?
These are some tell-tale signs that you may not be holding your boundaries and the chances are, it has a more significant impact than you realise.
In this article, we are going to explore what boundaries are, how to set and honour them and why they are essential.
How do you know when your work is good enough?
Perfectionism can get dialled up in times of stress, but it doesn’t always serve you well.
This article explores how to recognise it and what to do.
We lead busy lives and set ourselves high standards - so it’s understandable to feel overwhelmed. The danger comes when we accept it as part of the norm and don’t take action or get help. This article is about recognising the signs and coping.
The Hidden Power of Reflection: Why Leaders Need Time to Think
In today’s fast-paced work environment, leaders often find themselves reacting to challenges instead of leading with intention. Taking time to reflect is one of the most undervalued tools for effective leadership. This blog explores how reflective space, guided by Fortem Coaching, can reduce stress, increase confidence, and improve decision-making for leaders. Learn how stepping back can transform your leadership approach, align your actions with your values, and create a high-performing team. Discover why setting aside time for reflection isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity, and how Fortem Coaching can help you prioritise this powerful practice.