Matthew Payne Coaching

Matthew Payne Coaching Supporting clarity, confidence and high performance.

ILM Level 7 Executive Coach & Mentor helping leaders and business owners strengthen leadership, sharpen strategy and drive sustainable growth. 25+ years’ senior commercial experience.

Wake up every day with your focus to catch people doing things right, not wrong. Note mistakes and build training and d...
12/05/2026

Wake up every day with your focus to catch people doing things right, not wrong. Note mistakes and build training and development plans around them, save the feedback for 1 to 1s when they can be camouflaged in a general review.

When every small mistake is highlighted, people become cautious, defensive and disengaged.

But when effort, initiative and good judgement are recognised, confidence and performance grow naturally.

Try it, set yourself a target of 10 "catches" a day and see after a couple of weeks how people in your business are feeling.

Many managers are criticized for showing leniency in performance reviews for low performers. But new research finds that may actually be a rational response to a costly problem: employee retaliation. When negative evaluations trigger gossip, slowdowns, or even sabotage, the financial and cultural da...

This was a transition I found hard to make in my head at least, understanding in leading my business - I didn't have to ...
10/05/2026

This was a transition I found hard to make in my head at least, understanding in leading my business - I didn't have to be the hero every day, be the best, the centre of attention, the big cheese.

Once I fully grapsed and adapted into my new role as the MD, I spent all my time creating the right conditions for my teams to be brilliant, let them hog the limelight, take the credit every time we succeeded, whilst I became the grey man in the background, in row 10, watching and reminding myself this was my raison d'etre.

Where are you in the room when the success happens?

The rise of “founder mode” and “main-character energy” as approaches to leadership has pushed many executives toward self-centered, top-down styles that research shows are deeply counterproductive—eroding trust, stifling performance, and ultimately leaving leaders themselves less engaged a...

A good leader will always ask seaching questions.An even better leader, like any trained mentor, will actively listen to...
09/05/2026

A good leader will always ask seaching questions.

An even better leader, like any trained mentor, will actively listen to the answers and reflect on what they are being told.

One of my mentors once told me, we have 2 ears and 1 mouth for a reason, using consider using them in the same proportion.

Use team building questions to uncover trust, clarify expectations, strengthen communication, and help your team grow with greater alignment and purpose.

Don't forget leadership isn’t about surrounding yourself with easy people. It’s about creating an environment where stro...
08/05/2026

Don't forget leadership isn’t about surrounding yourself with easy people. It’s about creating an environment where strong personalities, different perspectives and difficult conversations still move the team forward.

The real test of leadership is not avoiding tension — it’s managing it without losing trust, focus or momentum.

Some of the best management teams have their differences, that's what leadership is about.

Boards often struggle not because of strategy or information gaps but because one director’s behavior disrupts how the group works. There are three main types of difficult directors: passive passengers (who remain silent), dominators (who crowd out other perspectives), and misguided experts (who m...

That Sunday night feeling used to haunt me. Not about Mondays, but about the huge "To Do list" I had as the MD of medi...
07/05/2026

That Sunday night feeling used to haunt me. Not about Mondays, but about the huge "To Do list" I had as the MD of medium sized business which as a younger leader I foolishly thought I would get done one day.

Then, with the help of my mentor at the time Peter, I realised and more importantly accepted that I would never ever get anywhere near doing everything on the list, it was no different to trying to sail to the horizon or find the foot of the rainbow, all impossible.

From that point on I relaxed and was all together a different person, and instead started from zero every week as this article suggests, with the added element that I picked my priorities, and didn't try and complete tasks.

Running a successful business is hard enough without creating a load of unnecessary stress for yourself.

Your to-do list isn't a debt to pay off. It's a menu to choose from.

Don't take my word for it, here's why an executive coach works for many people.
07/05/2026

Don't take my word for it, here's why an executive coach works for many people.

Executive coaching can feel intimidating, particularly if you've never experienced it before. Here's how to approach the process with clarity and confidence.

Do you try and get your people to deliever by constraining them with endless reportage, KPI, processes, feedback, contro...
06/05/2026

Do you try and get your people to deliever by constraining them with endless reportage, KPI, processes, feedback, control and micromanagement?

Or do you give them the freedom, trust and empowerment to get on with their jobs?

Which do you think will create the accountability you are looking for?

Great leadership is defined by the constraints you choose. Fear-based ones limit growth. Love-based constraints build trust.

Really interesting reminder. Leaders often undervalue the power of rituals in their business or even what they actually ...
06/05/2026

Really interesting reminder. Leaders often undervalue the power of rituals in their business or even what they actually are.

Whether it’s the haka, celebrating wins together, nights out, training days, how a team starts meetings, or simply checking in properly with each other — these things build identity, connection, a togetherness and culture over time.

Good teams aren’t just built on targets and processes, but on shared habits that make people feel part of something unique and special.

As shown by the rugby champs, rituals matter not because they are dramatic, but because they reinforce values, regulate emotion and connect people to something bigger than themselves.

Delivering feedback constructively, and having someone leave the meeting feeling positive and empowered, is a skill, an ...
05/05/2026

Delivering feedback constructively, and having someone leave the meeting feeling positive and empowered, is a skill, an art form even that takes years of practice to fine tune and develop.

One to ones aren't about what you say, it's about how you manage the meetings, and how you deliver the feedback.

Many leaders either avoid the conversation altogether or attempt to use techniques like the s*** sandwich and just go through the motions to tick boxes.

The best feedback is defined by a desire to often genuine support, and are delivered in a way that haves them feeling cared for and valued.

Get it wrong and you lose people. Get it right and you have a rock star culture developing.

Feedback conversations with your team need to be conducted with dignity, writes Katy Myers Allis, who offers four strategies for leaders.

"Being accountable" is a freely used phrase in most businesses. I hear used all the time by leaders and managers, telli...
05/05/2026

"Being accountable" is a freely used phrase in most businesses. I hear used all the time by leaders and managers, telling their teams that they need to be accountable.

Don't forget, accountability should not be confused with surveillance, reporting, KPI, pressure, targets, delivery, performance, or responsibility.

Accountability is the willingness to take ownership of outcomes and to answer honestly for them.

Most importantly it has to be volunteered, no leader can force somebody to be accountable, but I see a great many trying to do it.

Are you one?

When things go wrong, efforts to hold people “accountable” in an organization rarely produce what leaders actually want. Instead, they see compliance without commitment and weakened performance over time. The core issue is: Accountability cannot be mandated; it must be chosen. Leaders frequently...

People are far more likely to open up, be honest and trust each other when they know conversations won’t become gossip o...
30/04/2026

People are far more likely to open up, be honest and trust each other when they know conversations won’t become gossip or office politics five minutes later.

Once confidentiality and respect disappear, people start holding things back and culture suffers very quickly.

Good leadership is often just creating an environment where people feel safe enough to speak openly without worrying it’ll be used against them later.

You would be suprised how many people in leadership positions don't get this.

Explore ways to respect confidentiality while handling sensitive topics in team discussions and ensuring safe dialogue.

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