Sarah Langslow – Executive Leadership Coach

Executive Leadership Coach | Trainer | Speaker

Sarah Langslow – Executive Leadership Coach

Executive Leadership Coach | Trainer | Speaker

Stories

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...

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 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...

Saying YES!

It’s not uncommon for me to work with clients who say yes when they really mean no. Who will do things for other people even when they don’t want to, or it is plain inconvenient, simply from a fear of offending or letting other people down. In that conversation it is usually they who suffer, with no time for themselves, and none of their own needs and wants being met. But what about when...

That bossy little girl with some leadership skills…

When I was ten, my teacher wrote something on my school report which has stayed with me ever since. “Sarah looks after number one before all else”. There was plenty of nice stuff too, but that part stuck. I was selfish and bossy. I knew what I wanted, and bossed everyone else around to make very sure I got it. That stung. I felt ashamed not only of being that way, but that it...

Endings and new beginnings…

I recently completed my year long Coach Training Programme as part of my journey to being a full time life coach. It has been an extraordinary year, in which I have had some of the biggest highs and lowest lows I can remember. I also have a new set of friends – best friends – who have seen me at my best and worst, and with whom I have forged connections closer than I...

Being triggered – the big red emergency button

A couple of things have happened to me in the last couple of weeks which have triggered me. Pushed a button I have and didn’t necessarily know I had. Or a button I thought was under control, aaaaand it wasn’t. How do I know? Suddenly I’m overwhelmed with different thoughts, feelings and body sensations which I don’t know what to do with. Anger, fear, guilt, confusion, excitement, uncertainty. My stomach is churning and my...

What are you waiting for?

The right time. When is that exactly? We often put off making big decisions, or changes that feel uncomfortable, because we are waiting for a better time, or the right time. And yet, somehow that right time never arrives – there is always another reason not to do it. That’s because our survival mechanism, the part of us that wants to keep us safe, comfortable and protected, will find something else in the way....