Totem Talks

This is it everyone, the final Totem Talk.  After 72 episodes and 3 years, we're finally calling time on our podcasting adventure.  It's been a fascinating journey made entirely possible by you, our listeners.  We can't begin to express our gratitude to all of you who have supported, encouraged, contributed and listened to Totem Talks over the years. In this final conversation, Mark Smith & Helen Frewin review the year, some difficult decisions and our hopes for the future. As we mentioned in the conversation, Totem's marketing will look distinctly different next year and the best place to keep up to date with the shenanigans at Totem will be via our newsletter, which you can subscribe to here: https://www.totem-consulting.com/about-us/mailing-list/ And as a final hurrah, Mark has even double checked that the other link mentioned in the podcast is correct and present.   https://www.fastcompany.com/90814937/follow-these-4-steps-to-create-psychological-safety-in-your-teams As always, we hope and pray that you have a fabulous day!

The penultimate Totem Talks!  Next month is a wrap up special and will be a little different content wise, so we had to end our podcast on something dear to both of us, and the one thing that could benefit so, so many people. This month we talk exclusively about facilitation skills, how do we get people to talk to one another?  Hear one another?  And understand one another?  We cover a few top tips including "Rounds" as well as the evergreen Six Thinking Hats - courtesy of the legend De Bono. As always, you can find loads of free resources on our website or Pay as You Go tutorials in our online store: http://www.totem-consulting.com/ http://www.totem-consulting.com/online-learning-store/

In this month's Totem Talks we have a very special guest.  Helen Frewin welcomes the fabulous Sarah Creevey to the show, and gets well and truly stuck into the nuts and bolts of Positive Psychology - a phrase loaded with connotations - some bad and some er... positive. If you love what you hear and would like to connect with Sarah directly, this is the best place: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahcreevey As always, you can find loads of free resources on our website or Pay as You Go tutorials in our online store: http://www.totem-consulting.com/ http://www.totem-consulting.com/online-learning-store/ Have a great day everybody!

In the latest episode of Totem Talks, Mark Smith and Helen Frewin review the latest, greatest and inspirational in the Hybrid Working landscape.  And we come to a difficult conclusion about the New Normal* of working. We also have additional input from the research of our very own facilitator Cat Pugh, who gives us the 4 C's of effective Hybrid Working - Care, Connect, Communicate & Clarify. Links to some of the things we natter about are below! https://www.gallup.com/workplace/397751/returning-office-current-preferred-future-state-remote-work.aspx https://www.inc.com/kelly-main/amazon-tested-a-simple-3-pronged-work-from-home-policy-a-year-later-its-best-strategy-yet.html *It's not the new normal.  There's nothing new about it.  It's just normal.

We wanted to get an expert on this subject to bring a sales perspective to the conversation, so welcome Sales Leadership Guru Andy Buchanan to Totem Talks! In this conversation, Andy and Helen discuss what it means to be commercially aware and how we can all do better at this – in sales, in HR, in any role. Highlights include: • We need to think about why someone would want something, rather than how we can sell it.  • Focus on the person we want to influence and their problems or needs. • Speak the language of the person you want to influence – talk about their business, their market, their challenges. • And to do all of that, you’ll need to do your research! You can find Andy at the links below and take advantage of his sales training and sales leadership coaching!  Which we highly recommend you do! https://www.linkedin.com/in/sales-strategist-andrew-buchanan/ https://www.futureconsulting.io/

Business Partners: What makes a good HRBP, or any kind of BP? How do we develop them? In this month's podcast Mark Smith & Helen Frewin reveal the Totem Business Partnering framework and give pointers on how this comes to life. As we realise just how powerful a great business partner can be, the natural question is, how do we build these skills in our teams? So there are a few tips in here as well for developing your teams to be even stronger BPs. You can read more on this in our download guide on the subject too, but it's really, really good stuff so we'll trade you for your email address:  https://www.totem-consulting.com/business-partners-download/ As always, we love getting your feedback and suggestions for topics - so don't be shy and get in touch! https://www.totem-consulting.com/about-us/contact/

A slightly different podcast than our advertised schedule called for, but the requests for this particular topic just kept rolling in - and who are we to deny our adoring fans? In this month's podcast Mark Smith & Helen Frewin explore the psychology behind great customer service, which is actually rather simple.  Taking inspiration from the masters John Lewis and stretching the legs of our newest team member, we cover everything from empathy to allyship - and even throw in The Hero's Journey for good measure (high five to Edward Burnett Tylor) As always, we love getting your feedback and suggestions for topics - so don't be shy and get in touch! https://www.totem-consulting.com/about-us/contact/

I thought you were going to just say Therapy - what's the Hypnotherapy all about?  This month we take a deep dive into the world of CBH with our guest Sarah Makinde - consultant and coach extraordinaire! But is CBH not just the tried and tested CBT with a side serving of Hypnotherapy?  Yes and no.  Sarah explains the similarities and differences,  explaining how CBH gives us the tools to manage stress and feelings of anxiety, as well as some physical ailments.  We also peer into the “cognitive-behavioural” theory of the nature of hypnosis - which surprisingly - rejects the notion of a hypnotic “trance”... As Helen mentioned in the podcast, there are countless links that we could share with you, but here are our top two.  And if you want to connect with Sarah, here details are below: Sarah Makinde - LinkedIn Subscribe to Headspace Leaves on a Stream Exercise Huge thanks to Dr. Laura K. Schenck at https://www.mindfulnessmuse.com/ for that last one...

The belated follow up to Totem Talks Episode 32: Psychological Safety comes the aptly titled; Psychological Safety Part 2! Wrestling with the importance of learning cultures, listening to understand and challenging the word “but”. One t, not two. In this month’s episode Mark Smith and Helen Frewin delve deeper into several key components of Psychological Safety in the work place. If you would like to read Google's Project Aristotle's own research into this subject, visit here: https://rework.withgoogle.com/print/guides/5721312655835136/ And if you’d like to know more about our view on learning cultures, we’ve got plenty of freebies on our website: https://www.totem-consulting.com/learning-organisations/ And a rather fabulous download for you too… https://www.totem-consulting.com/cultures-of-continuous-learning/

Hello fabulous followers!  In this month's Totem Talks we explore the very real and pervasive phenomenon of confidence - and the ability to come across as confident - masking a serious lack of competence in any particular skill or role. This is especially true in organisational cultures that promote people on the basis that they "speak up" or "engage confidently" with stakeholders.  By themselves these are worthy skills, but in the overall context of a role?  We're not so sure. Whilst offering insights and a few ways for organisations to break this trend, Helen Frewin and Mark Smith discuss the career limiting and often prejudicial effects this phenomenon has on those who are likely to be extremely competent, but choose to listen to others', rather than speak over them.

In this months Totem Talks, Mark Smith & Helen Frewin wrestle with the issue of Assessment.  And first up is a quick description of what we mean by that, as what we’re talking about here is taking a group of people and assessing their skills and behaviour against certain criteria.  Mostly. We also touch upon the candidate experience, asking should we put candidates under extra pressure at interview?  And then meander around the ins and outs of assessment best practice, from note taking to assessor training. If you love our stuff and want to find out more, visit our website to find out more or get in touch: www.totem-consulting.com

Well well!  The first Totem Talk of 2022 and crikey it's a good one - plus we have a new jingle and a new format for the new year.  All will be revealed as Mark Smith & Helen Frewin deep dive into the utterly overlooked and business critical process of Role Profiling.  But why is this our first topic for the year? It's not uncommon at this time of year for there to be a mad scramble for new employees and conversely - a mad scramble to find a new job.  Recruitment is always a hot topic in the new year and this year, especially so. The Great Resignation is upon us, or is it?   Either way, we're here to guide recruiters and hiring managers through the first and arguably most important step in recruitment - role profiling and analysis.  Do you know the job that you're actually recruiting for?  Do you know its nuances and pain points? We share top tips on how to start the process and discover the true value that a role offers to your business.

Well that's all folks!  The podcast calendar fell awkwardly this year and we had a decision to make, finish this years podcasting whilst we're on holiday in mid December, or wrap it up early. So Santa hats and Christmas decorations abound as Mark Smith & Helen Frewin review (a little early)  the magnificence that has been 2021.  We celebrate the highs, lament the lows and look forward to the coming year. Have a fabulous Christmas everyone!

What do Totem & the FBI have in common?   Not a lot actually, but we do have a huge amount of respect for their Behavioral Change Stairway Model - which was developed by the FBI’s hostage negotiation unit.   It's a 5 step model to influencing others, and in this podcast Mark Smith & Helen Frewin cover the first 4 steps of the process, shedding light on one of the best techniques we know for engaging with and influencing others to get the outcome you want. As always, you can find loads of free resources on our website or Pay as You Go tutorials in our online store: http://www.totem-consulting.com/ http://www.totem-consulting.com/online-learning-store/ Have a great day everybody!

Perfectionism is one of those interesting character traits that many aspire too, but it can often lead to drastically negative behaviour.   Research now shows us that perfectionism is an acquired trait, we’re certainly not born with it.  How perfect were your idle doodles as a 4 year old?  Perfectionism continually points to our failures, no matter how small and undermines our achievements.  So culturally, why do we prize the perfect outcome? In this episode, Mark Smith & Helen Frewin wrestle with this curious phenomenon offering insights and practical tips to recognising the value - and detriment - to perfectionism. As always, you can find loads of free resources on our website or Pay as You Go tutorials in our online store: http://www.totem-consulting.com/ http://www.totem-consulting.com/online-learning-store/ Have a great day everybody!

As globalisation has taken a hold of business, it’s become increasingly important for leaders to understand their role and capabilities within this new global view.    You can no longer ignore the potential gain (or loss, ahem...) to be derived from a single tweet any less than from an incoherent strategic vision.   In this episode, Mark Smith & Helen Frewin discuss the role of Authenticity for our leaders as they step forward into the limelight, and how those that are commercially thriving under this scrutiny have done so by introducing a transparency and authenticity to their interactions with the world.   As always, you can find loads of free resources on our website or Pay as You Go tutorials in our online store:   http://www.totem-consulting.com/  http://www.totem-consulting.com/online-learning-store/   Have a great day everybody!

In this Episode, Mark Smith & Helen Frewin dive into the (relative) deep end of psychology in the work place - and specifically Acceptance and Commitment Therapy or ACT. ACT gets it name from it's core messages, namely to accept what is out of your personal control, and commit to action that improves what is in your control.  It's a modern mash up of CBT, Mindfulness and a few others. We once read that Action Commitment Therapy is "A therapy so hard to classify that it has been described as an existential humanistic cognitive behavioural therapy."   We're not too sure if that is an endorsement or not?  But we're certainly huge fans and would recommend it as an approach to untangling a few of the tricky situations we find ourselves in from time to time. As always, you can find loads of free resources on our website or Pay as You Go tutorials in our online store: http://www.totem-consulting.com/ http://www.totem-consulting.com/online-learning-store/ Have a great day everybody!

It's official, Helen's book has arrived!  Well, sort of...   There is a draft version in circulation, being read and edited this summer ready for publication in early Decemeber.  But what has the journey been like, how difficult is it to write a book?     Helen Frewin offers us her thoughts on the book writing process, as well as an extended peak at the content of her book - Better than Confidence!  As always, you can find loads of free resources on our website or Pay as You Go tutorials in our online store:   http://www.totem-consulting.com/  http://www.totem-consulting.com/online-learning-store/     Have a great day everybody!

In business we crave the ability to quantify everything, from our sales targets to the number of toner cartridges we use.  Why shouldn’t our people be the same?   The ability to rank our employees in a given context and to assign performance-related perks (or not) has been the bread and butter of the average HR department for decades.  Where would General Electric and Jack Welch be without them? In this episode, Mark Smith & Helen Frewin discuss the challenges and downsides to using rating scales.  Given that many of us still need to use rating scales, we give practical tips on how to make the best of them. As always, you can find loads of free resources on our website or Pay as You Go tutorials in our online store: http://www.totem-consulting.com/ http://www.totem-consulting.com/online-learning-store/

The third and final installment in our summer series on running your own business.  In this episode, Mark Smith & Helen Frewin explain how you can differentiate yourself from the competition. And it's quite simple really.  Do a good job. But what does that mean and what are the practical steps you can take to ensure you're exceeding the expectations of you clients?   As always, you can find loads of free resources on our website or Pay as You Go tutorials in our online store: http://www.totem-consulting.com/ http://www.totem-consulting.com/online-learning-store/ Have a great day everybody!