Better Thinking for Better Results

Do you think as well as you can? Does the quality of your thinking even matter? In this tool-packed practical guide, Cathy Lasher presents an exciting new way to get better results through focused thinking. Discover EDGE-it, a new approach that helps you sharpen your thinking in virtually any situation, leading to getting more of what you want, more easily. Benefit from your personal and professional experiences in a new way. Learn how to prevent that ‘why did I just do that again?!’ feeling. Achieve your future goals with greater ease and more control. Navigate the turbulent waters of the 21st century workplace with robust, research-based tools.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements Introduction Part 1 – The Case for Reflective Thinking Chapter 1 – Reflective Practice Can Help You Chapter 2 – Invest a Bit of Time to Reap Significant Benefits Chapter 3 – Yes, But… Part 2 – The Practical Map – EDGE-it Chapter 4 – Representing a way of Noticing and Thinking that can be used in Virtually any Situation Part 3 – Applying EDGE-it in Three Time Zones Chapter 5 – EDGE-it After the Fact Narrative Workbook Chapter 6 – EDGE-it In the Moment Narrative Workbook Chapter 7 – EDGE-it For the Future Narrative Workbook Part 4 – Taking it Forward Chapter 8 – An Essential Leadership Skill Chapter 9 – Establishing a Reflective Culture in Your Organisation Conclusion Your Afterword – Worksheets for Applying EDGE-it to Your Reading of this Book Appendix 1 – A Brief History of Reflective Practice, with Models Appendix 2 – Possible Further Reading About the Author Testimonials

About the Author :
Cathy has been a university lecturer in reflective practice for the last few years. She is also an executive and business coach, and leadership development specialist, working with blue chip corporate clients and professional services firms, as well as public sector and not-for-profit clients. A businesswoman with wide experience over more than 20 years of helping enterprises improve their performance through enhancing the leadership capabilities of individuals, she combines robust academic skills in reflective thinking and formal qualifications as a chartered accountant and an MBA, with formal qualification as a relational psychotherapist and outstanding skills as a coach, facilitator and developer of talent. This combination enables her to offer a pragmatic business edge, underpinned by rigorous academic knowledge and solid psychological grounding.

Review :
As a productivity specialist, whose watch-word is ‘leverage’, I am delighted to see reflective practice propelled into the mainstream. Cathy not only makes a powerful business and personal case for the efficacy of focused thinking but she also makes it instantly accessible with a practical toolkit. A must-read for the busy professional in search of better results amid the chaos and complexity of the twenty-first century workplace. After years of coaching clients for success, I have seen how those who know how to think reflectively develop that all-important edge needed to achieve their goals. To our good fortune, Cathy Lasher’s book delivers the how-to of reflective thinking with a clear voice and all the tools you’ll ever need. Continuous learning is crucial for any manager’s development. Cathy’s coaching approach is instrumental in breaking dysfunctional patterns and reinforcing beneficial ones. This book translates her insights into a highly readable and practical guide to self-development. It is increasingly recognised that focused thinking is an essential leadership skill. No longer are leaders seen to be silver bullet, supermen; a good leader takes time to reflect, to consult with others, to think, plan and learn. Indeed, in her book, Cathy quotes Harvard research (Di Stefano et al 2014) that demonstrates that ‘as little as ten minutes of reflection brings significant improvements in learning and doing’. However, too many of us spent much of our lives being told what to think rather than being taught how to think. We don’t know the skills of ‘reflective practice’. This book changes all that. With EDGE-it, Cathy takes the reader though a journey of development. Drawing on masses of well-researched material into reflective practice, she has developed an accessible model for busy professionals. The book is packed full of exercises and rich examples that come from Cathy’s many years as a consultant, coach and therapist. It is a pleasure to read and a real contribution to leadership skills. As a busy executive, I want to know what successful people do, and learn how to do it too. This book is packed with powerful examples and easy-to-do, impactful exercises. You can use it as a one-day self-coaching kit, and dip back into it over time. Learning to apply EDGE-it will really move things forward for you.