- 11Sep2013
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What it takes to succeed: academic success
- By Ian Bradley
- 0 Comments
For the last three years, I had the dream of teaching assignments at McGill University. The course content was perfectly aligned with my 40-years of clinical experience that ranged from running a treatment center with autistic children to directing a department of psychology in large Montreal teaching hospital. Besides talking about something that I knew,
- 07Mar2013
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Clinician comme Coach
- By Ian Bradley
- 0 Comments
Before specializing in executive coaching and workplace problems, I was a clinical psychologist with stints in mental hospitals and clinics in Los Angeles, Vancouver, Toronto as well as Montreal. I worked extensively with both severely disturbed patients with diagnoses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder as well as more down-to-earth problems in living such as
- 11Dec2012
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Ability to learn: what’s required in an executive?
- By Ian Bradley
- 0 Comments
For many of my clients, learning starts with a problem – not always a crisis but a problem that brings enough distress that they seek my services in executive coaching. Two all-stars of I/O Psychology, Bennis and Thomas have referred to these transforming events as ”crucibles.” Perhaps like the chemistry crucible, one hopes that the
- 16Oct2012
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A busy day: two scenarios
- By Ian Bradley
- 0 Comments
Many of the executives that I see in my Montreal practice for executive coaching talk about their hectic days. As I listen to their stories, I am quietly asking myself a key question: Are they in some measure able to control the stream of tasks, or is the onslaught occurring without a filtration or buffering
- 09Oct2012
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Working with “insurance” is stressful
- By Ian Bradley
- 0 Comments
“I’ll just run this by my boss” was a phrase that I heard all to frequently from my client who came to see about work-related stress. Laura, a young woman in her first major corporate job, worked for a boss who micro-managed. The boss, who did not like surprises, insisted upon being appraised about each
- 01Oct2012
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Stress Leave (conclusion)
- By Ian Bradley
- 0 Comments
In in two previous posts, I described the typical sequence of events that surround a workplace leave for psychological distress. I remarked on how the current system of handling such leaves is unsatisfying for the insuracne carrier, the employer, co-workers and most importantly, the stressed worker. I agree that the medicalization of the process with
- 06Oct2011
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Never at Home!
- By Ian Bradley
- 0 Comments
This title refers to the silent motto of many of my executive coaching clients who refuse to talk at home about work, especially work problems. Oft cited reasons include: I don’t want to burden my wife He’d never understand anyway. I’d be seen as whining It’s too complicated to explain. Of course, there is a
- 20Jul2011
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Coping with the Hot-Seat: lessons from Rebekah Brooks
- By Ian Bradley
- 0 Comments
In my practice as an executive coach, clients often come to see me in a crisis. Frequently, that crisis stems from a superior’s criticism of that client’s on the job performance. Whether it was a failure to meet specified sales targets or a budgetary over-run, defending oneself successfully is something of an art. Today’s televised
- 27Sep2010
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Does Working Too Hard Lead to Burnout
- By Ian Bradley
- 0 Comments
The question of excessive work leading to burnout was cited in a recent case conference that I attended. A young, but very competent, presenter described how months of working long hours led to her client’s eventual burnout. The concept -excessive work leads to burnout- was dutifully accepted by everyone around the table. No wonder, this
- 22Mar2010
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Mistakes; do we learn from them? Part I
- By Ian Bradley
- 0 Comments
We all make mistakes. Lawyers sometimes accept cases that they know they shouldn’t; teachers get into battles with kids that are unwinnable; and executives fail to consider all the variables in their strategic planning analysis. The question is; do we learn from our mistakes. Regrettably, our current culture stresses apology over analysis. In my practice