Julie Allen Consulting

Proud to renew my Chartered Membership with the CIPD this year, marking over 25 years of Chartered status with the institute.

This designation continues to reflect the ability to lead strategic thinking, drive change and create value through people solutions, principles that remain central to the work I do supporting leaders and organisations across Ireland.

As Ireland's only Certified ACT and ProSocial Matrix Facilitator, staying current and Chartered underpins everything I bring to my clients, from leadership development to psychological flexibility training.

Thank you to everyone who continues to place their trust in me and my work.

A recent global survey of 37,000 workers found something striking.

AI-driven change is now the number one workforce concern, ahead of pay, ahead of job security in the traditional sense, ahead of almost everything we used to worry about at work.

I am hearing this in conversations with leaders and teams constantly at the moment. Not panic exactly, more a quiet, background unease that does not switch off.

The usual advice, try not to worry about it, rarely helps. Telling someone to stop worrying about something real and ongoing tends to make the worry louder, not quieter.

In my latest blog, I look at this through the lens of psychological flexibility and what it actually offers people facing this kind of uncertainty. Not reassurance that everything will be fine, but a workable way to respond when it is not fine yet.

I cover:
→ Why AI anxiety is different from other workplace worries
→ Why trying to suppress it tends to backfire
→ What psychological flexibility offers instead
→ What this means for how leaders support their teams right now

https://julieallenconsulting.com/psychological-flexibility-and-ai-anxiety-at-work/

Psychological Flexibility and AI Anxiety at Work | Julie Allen Consulting AI anxiety is measurable and growing. Discover how psychological flexibility and ACT can help your employees and leaders navigate uncertainty and keep doing what matters.

Tonight I had the absolute pleasure of attending the opening of Music Room on Church Lane, Belfast's very first hi-fi listening bar dedicated entirely to vinyl culture.

This is the vision of the brilliant Janine Kane of JK Pubs. From the moment you walk through the door, you feel it. This is not just a bar. It is an experience. A deliberate, intentional, beautifully curated space where music is the main event.

Janine, you have created something genuinely special for Belfast.

Are your leaders the loneliest people in your organisation? 💙

It sounds like an odd question. Leaders are busy, visible, and surrounded by people.

But new research from Gallup shows that while leaders are the most engaged group at work, they also experience higher levels of stress, sadness, and loneliness than the people they manage.

The people holding everything together are quietly struggling, and most of the time, nobody thinks to ask how they're doing.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately, and I've written a blog exploring why leadership can feel so isolating, what emotional intelligence has to do with it, and what organisations can do to genuinely support the people at the top.

Because when leaders are struggling, it doesn't stay at the top. It ripples through the whole team.

I'd love to know if this resonates with you, whether you're a leader yourself, or you work alongside them. Drop a comment below or share with someone who might find it helpful. 👇

Emotional Intelligence in Leadership: Why Your Leaders May Be the Loneliest People in Your Organisation How emotional intelligence in leadership can tackle the hidden loneliness affecting leaders and why it matters for your whole organisation.

Your amygdala can hijack your brain in milliseconds.

And when it does, performance suffers. Fatigue sets in. Decision-making deteriorates. The people around you feel it, even if you don't.

An overactive amygdala isn't a character flaw — it's a very human response to pressure. But left unchecked, it gets in the way of the leader you want to be.

So what can you do in that moment?

Take a slow breath. Then ask yourself: who is important to me right now?

That single question shifts you from reaction to reflection. It reconnects you with what actually matters — your values, your relationships, the kind of leader you've chosen to be.

This is the essence of what I work on with leaders using the ACT Matrix — created by Dr Kevin Polk. Not suppressing difficult emotions, but learning to notice them, and then choosing a response that moves you towards what's important.

Because when you can do that under pressure, everything changes.

What's your go-to when pressure hits? I'd love to hear. 👇

On Friday, I had the privilege of a conversation with Dr Kevin Polk, the clinical psychologist who created the ACT Matrix and ProSocial Matrix frameworks that sit at the heart of everything I do.

He reminded me that:

💬 "As ACT or ProSocial Matrix facilitators, we engage people cognitively to look at their behaviours objectively."

That single sentence captures why I believe this work is so powerful for leaders.

Most leadership development asks people to change their behaviour. ACT takes a different approach; it helps people *notice* their behaviour first, without judgement, and understand what's driving it.

When a leader can do that, when they can step back and observe themselves clearly, even under pressure, everything changes. Their decisions improve. Their relationships improve. Their teams feel it.

It's the difference between being caught up in a situation and being able to see it.

As the only certified ACT and ProSocial Matrix Facilitator on the Island of Ireland, I use this foundation to work with leaders and teams across Northern Ireland and beyond.

If you're curious about what this could look like for your organisation, I'd love to have a conversation.

Life throws a lot at us. This course gives you something to throw back. 💪

*The Art of Living a Satisfied Life* - seven short modules and a one-to-one coaching session - helps you build a genuinely workable tool for navigating the hard stuff.

Two people who've done it:

💬 "Really useful course for you to think more deeply about dealing with the unwanted things in your life."

💬 "Very practical for all industries… uses a workable tool. Sits well in health care to nurture the right culture in care homes."

Until the end of June, you can access it for half price - just £34.99.

👉 Use code HALFPRICE50 at:
https://julieallenconsulting.com/courses/the-art-of-living-a-satisfied-life/

Offer ends 30th June. Questions? Drop me a message. 😊

The Art Of Living A Satisfied Life - Julie Allen Consulting For Professionals Who Feel Stuck: Learn the Missing Skill That Makes Change Possible You know what you should do - have the difficult conversation, start the project, set the boundar...

💚 This is why I do what I do...

I recently received this lovely feedback from someone who completed The Art of Living a Satisfied Life:

"Julie presents these modules in such an easy to use format, so each person can review their unique work and life balance, using a workable tool. Very practical for all industries but sits well in health care to nurture the 'right culture' in care homes."
And that really is the heart of this programme — it's not one-size-fits-all. Each person works through it in a way that's personal to them, exploring what satisfaction looks and feels like in their life and their work.

The seven bite-sized modules take around an hour in total, and are followed by a 75-minute individual coaching session with me. It fits around busy lives — and it works.

If you're an employer who wants to offer your team something genuinely meaningful as a wellbeing benefit, I'd love to have a chat.

📩 Drop me a message or email [email protected]

An organisation recently offered The Art of Living a Satisfied Life to their staff as a wellbeing benefit, and over the past few days, I've been meeting with people one-to-one for their ACT Matrix coaching session.

Every conversation has been different. Every person has arrived with their own version of the unwanted stuff that life throws at us, the thoughts, the feelings, the situations we'd rather not have. And yet, what strikes me every time is how willing people are to look at those things honestly when they feel safe to do so.

One participant left this review this week:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Really useful course for you to think more deeply about dealing with the unwanted things in your life."

Simple. Honest. And it says everything.

Because that's what the ACT Matrix invites us to do: not to fix, fight, or push away what's difficult, but to get curious about it and to notice what it costs us. And to ask ourselves what we actually want to move towards instead.

We spend so much energy trying to make unwanted thoughts and feelings disappear. What if the more useful question is: what do I want to do, even with these showing up?

If your organisation is looking for something meaningful to offer your people, I'd love to have that conversation.

Thoughts? Happy to adjust the ending or the tone anywhere.