WELCOME TO MY WEBSITE

After a career as a policy-maker and adviser in Whitehall, I trained as an organisational psychologist and executive coach, working with clients in the public and private sectors, particularly the creative and knowledge industries. Both roles have taught me how illuminating it is to have an understanding of the psychological dimensions of the many different types of interaction involved in our working lives. 

I've learned a huge amount from the many talented clients I've worked with. When I coach, the client and I apply psychological theory and evidence to the issue they've brought, devise a practical strategy which the client tries out, then reflect on the results. It's been extremely satisfying to see how often these strategies have made a difference. But the effects of a successful coaching session are confined to the client and their immediate colleagues. On this website I want to capture and disseminate more widely these lessons from the dialogue between the literature and the real challenges of working life.

We think of ourselves as rational beings, particularly at work. But it’s our unconscious processes – our intuitions and emotions - which are the dominant drivers of our thoughts and behaviours in all aspects of our lives. They work in a completely different way from our conscious minds: holistically, by storing away simplified models of our experience, and looking for matching patterns. They can do things our conscious minds can’t: they are, for example, the source of creative ideas and new insights. But they can also seriously mislead us. Fortunately, our conscious, rational, analytical minds provide a foil. The trick is to understand the way our two different intelligences work and to use them together. This is my theme: how to get the best from your hidden unconscious intelligence, and avoid its pitfalls.

The topic areas I will explore are the role of intuition in decision-making; how to maximise your own creativity and that of your team; empathy and influencing; finding personal fulfilment; the way in which our unconscious emotions can undermine our performance and happiness at work; and personality. My research ranges across cognitive, evolutionary and personality psychology, neuroscience, management and leadership theory, and the psychotherapeutic literature, and I relate this to real life case studies from my own experience, my coaching practice, science, culture and public life. I hope you will find something of interest, and I would very much value your perspectives, thoughts and experiences about the themes raised.

I will regularly add new articles and occasional shorter posts. If you would like to be notified when I post, please subscribe below. I would also particularly welcome any thoughts or comments you may have. You can leave comments at the end of the articles, or email me at janet@janet-evans.co.uk.

I really look forward to hearing from you.

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