What kind of person instantly comes to mind when you visualise a strong leader? Don’t think too deeply about it, just the first thought.

Is it a man? Maybe they’re slightly intimidating? Chances are a good percentage of you will have some version of this image.

Is there a relationship at work that you feel is ‘tricky’? I’m not talking about bullying or harassment that needs the intervention of management/professionals, rather the relationship or relationships that just feels a little ‘off’.

Your Comfort Zone: yes it’s a warm and safe space but getting stuck in your comfort zone stunts your growth.

So how do you step out of your comfort zone and into the world of utterly amazing, life-changing opportunities?

As the never-ending coronacoaster rides on, I think we could all do with a bit of a boost in the self-esteem department.

There is a part to deepening your self-esteem that relies on taking more control of yourself, your actions and your emotions; in the business, we call it Self Mastery.

Yesterday I had 3 coaching sessions with different women. In each one setbacks came up. Bearing in mind that these were unconnected women from all sorts of working worlds, it seemed noteworthy. As we used to say on the fashion desk at The Times: 3 is a trend.

I’m determined to help spread positivity because I recently ran a poll and the results were staggering: 83% of you said you’re feeling negative, unmotivated or stressed.

I’m going to cut straight to the chase: how optimistic are you feeling right now? Like how are you coping with: Covid life readjustments? Working from home? The kid/work juggle?

In my experience we either label ourselves as an Ideas Person, or Not An Ideas Person – and never the twain shall meet. But I would say that this division is unnecessarily binary.

What a few weeks it has been. I am of course talking about the Black Lives Matter movement, which was so overdue, but still hit me for six. First, it took time and energy for me to process everything around George Floyd’s murder, seeing the unfolding scenes in the America. And then trying to get my head around my own biases, those of my business and how to articulate all of this on social media, where I felt that women were waiting for me to speak.

If you want to make one professional advancement during lockdown, make it your adaptability. Because if you can improve your ability to adapt (don’t worry, keep reading and I’ll tell you how) you can turn plenty of this pandemic stress into personal success.