Sarah Langslow – Executive Leadership Coach

Executive Leadership Coach | Trainer | Speaker

Sarah Langslow – Executive Leadership Coach

Executive Leadership Coach | Trainer | Speaker

Intentional Leadership

Do you know how to disagree?

I was reminded recently of a sequence from the TV show Friends, where Chandler goes on a date with Rachel’s boss. He ends it with “Well this is great, we should do it again, I’ll give you a call” despite not enjoying himself or wanting a second date, or having any intention of calling her. Rachel calls him out on it and tells him he has to go on another date but end it...

Five tips for having “hard” conversations

Ask anyone about their worst manager and most people will reply instantly. We have all had them, we all remember them, and not in a good way. I won’t go into the long list of behaviours that poor managers might display, honestly there isn’t enough space in this post, and let’s be honest, you’ve all seen them. But there’s one thing they all have in common: people with the power to do something about...

What do your habits add up to?

What do your habits add up to? I’ve been talking a lot about building habits lately. In one sense it is one of the easiest things out there: pick the thing you’d like to make into a habit then do it, consistently. Yet forming helpful habits (or breaking unhelpful ones) can be one of the most difficult things to do. We have such inertia in our current existence. So much of what we do...

Why you can’t afford to say “I know” – the forgotten art of curiosity

How many times today have you said “I know”? Or perhaps you just thought it to yourself, alongside an inward eye roll. The moment it happens is usually the moment we stop listening, the moment we stop seeking to understand, and the moment we stop being curious. We do it all the time. It’s a natural extension from the automatic system of our brain – designed both to protect us, but also to not...

Being uncomfortable – don’t you just hate it?

Yesterday I gave a talk at the International Coach Federation Global Conference in Prague. It was a talk unlike anything I’d ever given to an audience before, sharing some deeply personal stories and lessons from falling in love for the first time, and what I learned about creating trust and intimacy in relationships. I was so excited to give the talk. I’d thought about it in depth, considered the audience, practiced, got feedback, developed...

Why being “right” is all wrong for leadership

I love getting things right. And I love being right. If I’m not careful, a decent part of my brain at any given time is taken up working out what the current rules are of whatever “game” or role I’m playing, and then striving to follow them, do it right, be perfect. Sound familiar to anyone? For a lot of high achievers, this is what we learned to do as we grew up, and...

Support isn’t a dirty word….what it takes to ask for help

As a high-achiever I’ve always been used to things coming pretty easily to me. Not having to practise very much, or having to ask for much help. If I apply my brain I can generally work things out, and more than that, be pretty good at it pretty fast. Even writing this, there’s a part of me thinking “wow, that’s arrogant, don’t say that” but the simple fact is it’s true. I’m almost certain...

Why your biggest fears are actually inside your comfort zone

I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about my comfort zone recently. It’s a core concept in the work I do – that getting outside of it, stretching ourselves, getting uncomfortable – is access to possibility. Access to the things we really want. This week, in an exercise I have done literally countless times with prospective and current clients over the years, one client said something totally profound. “I always thought my fears...

Making friends with money…

Money. Ugh. Not many of us like talking about it, and for many people, especially entrepreneurs, it can be a source of embarrassment, worry, shame, and proof of all our fears about “not being good enough”. I’ve had a slightly odd relationship with money for a while – seeing it as both an essential security blanket to hold onto tightly AND the only way I can have fun – those two at the same...

How long can you tolerate your success?

I had a great day yesterday. A GREAT day. I had my first really big speaking engagement as a Leadership Coach, speaking at the Women into Leadership Conference in Glasgow. And I nailed it. I was confident on stage, I engaged the audience, I was authentic, I had impact, the audience each took something for themselves of value. I’d know that even without any feedback – and I had a lot of great feedback...