Your Time With James Sweetman

Episode 165 Harnessing the power of not knowing

This week, in the last in the current series, I’m posing the question - what if your effectiveness as a leader expands from not knowing? I look at the

dangers of managers thinking they know it all and why delighting in the unknown is the secret sauce of leadership. I also share 12 tips for harnessing the power of not knowing, including suspending our desire to be the smartest person in the room and accepting that confusion is part of the process of unlearning.

Episode 164 Are you in the home stretch of your career?

At what point do we accept that we are no longer climbing a career ladder, but on the final rung? When does the finishing line of our working lives first come into view? At what point do we shift down the gears of ambition? These are some of the questions I’m pondering this week. Over the last 20 years I’ve helped countless clients navigate a career transition, often from roles where they’ve achieved success, to roles they find more fulfilling. I explore the concept of encore careers, a second act that tends to be more aligned with our passions and skills. I also speak about job upcycling and role crafting whilst sharing plenty of questions to help you refresh your career, contemplate your next chapter, your final chapter or even the epilogue.

Episode 163 The shackles of perfectionism

I’m James and I’m a recovering perfectionist. That’s the declaration I’m making upfront this week. Perfectionism can be a point of pride, but under the surface of high achievement often lurks a need to control and ultimately low self-esteem. We can endeavour to do our best and set high standards, but we can also sacrifice too much at the altar of perfectionism. This week, I look at the different types of perfectionism, how and why perfectionism takes hold, as well as the symptoms of perfectionism. I also share 11 ways to loosen the shackles of perfectionism. The perfectionist in me was aiming for 12, but 11 is good enough!

Episode 162 My cancer journey

This week I’m stepping outside my comfort zone, because I’m speaking about a personal topic – my journey with cancer. Thankfully, earlier this month, I received some great news, all my tests were clear and my consultant doesn’t need to see me again for a year. Over the last 7 years, I’ve attended hospital for tests, operations and treatments every few months, so it’s such a relief to be able to forget about something that has occupied part of my mind for so long. Now that I have a little perspective, I talk about the highs and lows and how cancer changed me as a person. I also share the piece of writing that helped me with my journey of healing, not the physical healing, the trickier part, the emotional healing.

Episode 161 The neuroscience of well-being - in conversation with James Parnell

This week I’m joined by James Parnell to chat about the neuroscience of well-being. Amongst his many qualifications, James is a mental fitness coach, is an expert in the area of applied neuroscience and brain health and he’s the founder of The Wellbeing Gym. James shares many tips, techniques and insightful acronyms, including ‘PROMISE,’ a way to achieve balance across the different dimensions of well-being. He takes us through the characteristics of the lifestyles that support longevity, ways to quieten a busy mind and even what’s required for a daily ‘dose’ of happiness. It’s a fascinating and fun conversation, an episode not to be missed. And I have to say James cracked me up when he shared his personal motto. Find out more about James Parnell at www.jameseparnell.com

Episode 160 Am I addicted to self-improvement?

This week I’m pondering the question – am I addicted to self-improvement? It might sound like an odd question for someone who has worked full time in the personal development industry for the last twenty years, but too much of anything is not so good, and there is a dark side to self-help, one that presupposes that who you are isn’t enough. I’ll take you through some of the warning signs that suggest your self-improvement may have become self-defeating. I’ll share with you the antidote for over reliance on self-improvement too. This week’s episode is a reminder that we should never trade happiness for the pursuit of happiness.

Episode 159 How to present confidently to senior managers

As someone who has worked as a professional motivational speaker for 20 years, and who has delivered countless presentation skills workshops, this week I’ll show you how to present confidently to senior managers. In addition to best practices around opening strongly, handling questions and using visuals, because delivering presentations is also about self-belief, exercising courage and moving beyond the limitations we place on ourselves, I share some self-management techniques, also known as ways to keep those presentation nerves in check.

Episode 158 The 6 different types of courage - how many do you recognise?

What role does courage play in your life? There are six different types of courage and this week, I’ll take you through each one, so you can see how many you recognise. I also look at why being brave is not the same as being courageous. Courage is often associated with grand acts of heroism, but in reality, courage is more nuanced and deeply personal. Courage underpins so many facets of our lives. It’s the quality at the heart of all change, it’s a vital leadership trait and it’s found on the starting line of every goal, desired result or success.

Episode 157 Self-Confidence & Worthiness - the key to enhancing both

Most of us operate a belief that goes something like -one day when I achieve enough, earn enough, am successful enough, slim enough, spiritual enough, loving enough, qualified enough, or selfless enough then I will feel worthy. On my podcast this week, to that limiting belief I’m saying, enough. I’m delving into the topic of worthiness. I’ll take you through what has been a gamechanger for me when it comes to self-worthiness and why, if you wish to enhance your self-confidence and feelings of worthiness, that it is vital to understand the difference between the two.

Episode 156 The life draining power of habits

This week I’m exploring the topic of habits and how even well-intentioned habits can be the hidden cause of boredom in our lives. Just as organisations apply kaizen techniques to enhance productivity, we can personalise that drive for continuous improvement in our quest for greater prosperity, or success. But life is not an assembly plant and we are not machines. So this week, I posing the question is your over-routinized life draining your spirit? I would have to answer yes, so I’m also sharing what I’m doing about it.