Author: Andrea Taylor-Cummings

Andrea has over 30 yrs experience as an organisation design and development consultant, coach and mentor, working internationally with “big four” and niche consultancies, as well as an entrepreneur. Together with her husband Jon, Andrea is co-Founder and co-CEO of Soulmates Academy, an organisation on a mission to reduce family breakdown by proactively equipping people with strong relationship competence. Over the last 20+ yrs they have helped countless couples to strengthen their relationships and thrive together by developing 4 simple, yet fundamental, habits as outlined in their 2019 TEDx talk – 4 Habits of all Successful Relationships.

Five boundaries for PEACE-ful working from home

A man leans back with his hands behind his head smiling as he sits at his work desk.

Back in 2004, psychologist Cliff Arnall came up with a formula for the January blues, singling out the third Monday in the New Year as the most depressing. Blue Monday was born! His reasoning – by then, the weight of the cold winter days, the guilt of already broken New Year’s resolutions, and the reality […]

Inclusion Starts With ME

2 women both wearing smart office wear and holding coffees smile at 2 colleagues.

Ultimately, inclusion comes down to the quality of our 1-on-1 relationships. This blog outlines what can be done to improve relationships, on purpose.

A sustainable work-life balance for future normal

A pile of balancing pebbles next to the words "There is no balance... without healthy boundaries" in black font against a blue background.

The latest figures (June 2020) from the UK Office of National Statistics show that anxiety amongst parents has doubled since #lockdown, highlighting the stress of having to juggle work with homeschooling and childcare responsibilities. Multitasking is overrated. It might have been effective for the short term but is unsustainable as a long-term strategy. And the […]

Supporting Employees and their Relationships through Covid-19 lockdown

A hand ticks off boxes on a screen indicating a work-from home check list

(Updated 23 Apr 2020) These are unprecedented times of rapid change and uncertainty, as everyone “battens down the hatches” at home. By now, most organisations already have a good start on the technology and practicalities to support this. Any others that plan to survive won’t be far behind. For the vast majority of employees however, this […]

Redefining Work-Life-Balance in the New World of Work

A woman in work-out gear sits on the floor surrounded by her laptop, calculator, glasses and a pen and paper.

In every challenge there is an opportunity… and the current Covid-19 pandemic is no exception. Once we have dealt with the pressing needs around moving work home (and assuming we can get past the health and financial implications), it seems we have a real opportunity to reflect, examine and choose a “new normal” for our […]

Five ways to survive WFH with your partner

A man and woman sit around a cluttered kitchen table, each on a laptop working from home.

We have been banging on for the last three years about why it is vital to strengthen home relationships so people can be more emotionally healthy and productive at work. Overnight, with the mass move to work-from-home in response to Covid-19, this message has become acute. For some people this will be the first time […]

Scheduling First Things First

A car steering wheel is covered in bright post-it notes, each indicating a different task to be completed such as "business meeting" and "training".

Purpose If, like me, you work-from-home and have a constant challenge juggling work, home-life, priorities and to do lists, then this scheduling exercise is for you. It will help you prioritise things so that you end every day/week feeling like you’ve achieved most, if not all, of the really important things without compromising your values. […]

Addressing Workplace Conflict BEFORE conflict arises

A group of four asian men sit around a conference table with charts and a laptop. Two of the men are arguing.

A quick conversation over lunch recently confirmed the impact and ripple effect of workplace conflict and why it costs UK plc upwards of £33bn per year. A friend described her intense frustration with a colleague who seemed to be intentionally dragging her feet in providing information needed to respond quickly to clients and win business […]

Inclusion to Belonging – Building Meaningful Relationships

A collection of open laptops on a table, surrounded by phone wires, cups of coffee, pens and paper.

Love the direction of travel of the conversations around diversity and inclusion towards conversations about belonging. Because that’s what it’s all about. Years ago, Maslow identified that once our basic needs for food and shelter are met, we each have this in-built desire to belong. Belonging is found in meaningful relationships, which fundamentally is about […]

Creating a Culture Of Support

Success in the future will be achieved by organisations that create a culture of support for employees through the different seasons of their lives – beyond just supporting the traditional employee life-cycle to supporting their “real-life” cycle. This is one of three blogs looking at shifts in mindsets, behaviours and cultures required for future-proofing businesses. […]