In this column, we provoke fresh thinking and round up some of the weird, wonderful, quirky, surprising – and shocking – stories out there
Self-optimised at BetterUp
Coaching has finally achieved recognition from royal quarters, with the appointment of the UK’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, as chief impact officer at US coaching provider BetterUp.
Prince Harry will be focusing on four key areas: driving advocacy and awareness for mental fitness, guiding BetterUp’s social mission and impact to bring the science of peak performance and human potential into the hands of people worldwide, influencing the vision of BetterUp’s platform, community, and member experience, and expanding BetterUp’s global community of thought leadership, coaches, customers, and members through outreach and strategic planning.
On the appointment, Alexi Robichaux, CEO of BetterUp, said: “We are energised by [Prince Harry’s] model of inspiration and impact through action. As a true citizen of the world, he has dedicated his life’s work to bringing attention to the diverse needs of people everywhere and advocating for mental health initiatives: from founding the Invictus Games, a platform for service personnel to use sport as part of their psychological and physical rehabilitation, to launching Sentebale, which supports the mental health and wellbeing of young people affected by HIV in Lesotho and Botswana.
Prince Harry said, “Being attuned with your mind, and having a support structure around you, are critical to finding your own version of peak performance. What I’ve learned in my own life is the power of transforming pain into purpose. During my decade in the military, I learned that we don’t just need to build physical resilience, but also mental resilience. And in the years since, my understanding of what resilience means – and how we can build it – has been shaped by the thousands of people and experts I’ve been fortunate to meet and learn from.
“I’ve personally found working with a BetterUp coach to be invaluable. I was matched with a truly awesome coach who has given me sound advice and a fresh perspective. And because we believe in strengthening our own mental fitness, our entire Archewell team also has access to BetterUp coaching.
“As BetterUp’s first chief impact officer, my goal is to lift up critical dialogues around mental health, build supportive and compassionate communities, and foster an environment for honest and vulnerable conversations. And my hope is to help people develop their inner strength, resilience, and confidence.”
Zoom: fake your escape
I can’t hear you, I’m going to have to drop out!
Have you ever dreamt over the course of the last year or so of pretending the connection has gone as you find yourself in yet another Zoom or MS Teams meeting, peering at the screen, with a stiff neck, and terrifying hair (yes, we can see you, even if you’ve hidden self view on Zoom)? Go on, even just once?
Now you can make a very convincing escape – a whizzy, free web widget, Zoom Escaper, allows you to select from a range of fake audio effects to enable your escape. Barking dogs, crying babies, choppy audio, unwanted echoes – just what you need!
As reported in The Verge (https://bit.ly/2PlrAeL), the app was created by artist Sam Lavigne, and all you need do is download audio software called VB-Audio. It routes your audio through the website, then you simply change your audio input in Zoom from your microphone to VB-Audio, and play with the effects.
You can watch a video tutorial on how to set up Zoom Escaper and listen to a sample of the various sound effects here:
https://bit.ly/2QV9rVM
Citigroup’s video-free Fridays
Citigroup has joined the ranks of businesses seeking to tackle the fatigue many experience from participating in screen meetings, by banning work video calls on Fridays.
Jane Fraser, the new chief executive of the global investment bank, is calling the arrangement “Zoom-free Fridays.” She said the move is an attempt to help staff break free from the “relentless of the pandemic workday.”
Last year (yes, 2020 – I know…time has gone very weird with the pandemic), Texas-based SailPoint Technology Holdings banned employees from having video chats on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 10am and noon. Abby Payne, its chief people officer, said at the time, “Zoom fatigue is real.”
Another US-based company, furniture rental company Feather, according to an article in the Guardian on 23 March (https://bit.ly/3dOeccr) recommends employees disable their cameras during video chat and just have a phone call.
- Contributions to this slot are welcome.
Email: liz@coaching-at-work.com