Blog
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One day
One day One day I will spend more time with my family One day I will do something that I want to do One day I will catch up with all my friends One day I will get fitter and healthier One day I will leave my boring job One day I will finish that……
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Where are all the women?
Yesterday, I spent the morning at my local grammar school engaging in mock interviews for the students who will be heading off to university next year. The school organises interviews to help support students’ applications and to offer them valuable practice interview experiences. They ask people in the local community for help and then match……
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Are your beliefs holding you back?
Last night on a rare occasion I decided to watch some TV and came across BBC4’s The Cursed Valley of the Pyramids. The film centres on the Lambeyeque valley in Northern Peru where the ruins of 250 pyramids lie. It tells the story of why the Lambeyeque were obsessed with building pyramids and unearthed a culture……
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Crowdsourcing, crowdworking: the future of work?
NaBloPoMo Blog 2 In July of this year whilst engaging with the HR/OD Twitter community I noticed a Tweet from @dds180 (David D’Souza) about crowdsourcing a Book of Blogs and a call for contributors. Having never been involved in such a project I thought it was a novel idea and sent in my contribution, ‘No……
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Taking up the NaBoPoMo challenge
Blog 1 I have decided to take up the National Blog Posting Month Challenge to post a blog every day for the entire month of November. There are no themes, rules or word count. I am already 3 blog posts late and have further challenged myself to make this up by writing 2 posts on……
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Don’t just sit there: 9 tips to help women find their voice in meetings
Earlier last week, I was in a meeting and was conscious of being the lone female voice, despite there being 2 other women around the table. I knew that they shared similar perspectives to mine when I chatted with them earlier, yet neither of them spoke up to express those views. Since then I have……
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Is creativity inherent in your leadership? 9 ways to harness
My group is drifting into the first day of a leadership development programme. As they pass the tables laid out with an array of creative materials I could hear some mutterings of delight and also of ‘oh no I can’t draw, I am no good at making…’ I try to use a number of creative……
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You can teach an old dog new tricks
This summer I have been sharply reminded of my need to continue to learn and to adapt to the changes that are taking place around me. This can sometimes be a challenge when you are older with ingrained habits and entrenched mental models. It was time to move out of my comfort zone and keep up with the pace of……
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Mindless distractions
Today I went running on the moors, not having been there for a week due to my hay fever. As usual I started off being very mindful – noticing that my stride had lessened in length as I climbed the hill and that my breathing was getting quicker as I was running against the wind.……
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A tale of 2 leaders: same organisation different leadership cultures
Last week I donned my NHS governance hat and visited 2 hospital wards. They belonged to the same organisation, were in the same building, yet the difference between the 2 was so prominent they could have been in 2 different organisations. Whilst both were clean, tidy, patients cared for, looked after….it was their style, attitude……
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17
Today, 17 years ago my life was changed forever and has shaped who I have become. My eldest daughter came into this world prematurely. To say that I wasn’t prepared, was an understatement. There was not even an item of clothing, let alone a cot or a basket! Weighing just more than a bag of sugar and with……
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Coaches Connect 2013 reflections
3 years ago I wrote a blog post Thinking BIG: Turning vision into reality where I had a vision of what it would be like…. if we (coaches) came together and shared our practice and experiences so that we can learn from each other, extend our professional networks, collaborate….and from that the first Coaches Connect was born on 22……
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Will you be blossoming this spring? 6 ways to help you blossom
“The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month” (Henry Van Dyke, Fisherman’s Luck) I am reminded of this, as the 21 March is ‘officially’ the first day of spring yet we have seen temperatures plummet, heavy snow fall……
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Life can be like a bowl of spaghetti: Making sense of midlife
It has been 6 weeks since my last blog post. I have had so much that I wanted to write about and whilst have mulled them over in my head have not managed to put fingers onto the keyboard. I was very disappointed in myself that I couldn’t find the time to write which was……
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What stories are you telling to our future leaders?
Monday 21st of January was a particularly snowy day with 16 cm of the white stuff gently floating down to transform the landscape and cause the usual UK chaos. As a result schools were closed and my two children took this opportunity to have some fun time in the snow. My eldest had crafted a……
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The tale of the red dress
Today I made a bold decision and updated my profile picture. It has taken about 6 months to finally change my ‘public face’! It is a step away the former traditional image that I have used publicly. Why so long? I am now 46 years old and have never had the courage to wear red. It seems such……
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I get knocked down, but I get up again
How do you get through a meeting when everything that you say is met with opposition? This was the situation facing me last Friday. Later on this year, the community project that I am leading is putting on an ambitious event. We have aimed for stars, dreamt big, shifted mindsets and gathered support and momentum……
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What stories are you telling ?
On the evening on the 21st December, the travelling crib came to our house. The crib begins its journey on the 1st of December travelling to a different family’s home each night before returning to church on the evening of the 24th December for the Christingle service. It’s a church tradition and has been a……
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Wishing you a joyful Christmas
To my readers and connections: You have all in your own way enriched my conversations, perspectives and worldview. I am grateful that you have been a part of my world in 2012 and hope that this will continue in 2013. Vera
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Should the young be taught leadership?
I was heartened to read Jack Zenger’s HBR article ‘We Wait Too Long to Train Our Leaders’ as it echoes much of my own perspectives and beliefs. I shared these in my blog ‘Everyday leadership’ where I posed a few questions around leadership becoming more mainstream, leadership in our everyday daily actions and introducing leadership……
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Don’t leave your career to fate. 5 tips to help women manage their careers
In my last article, I shared the story of one of my clients, Susan who like many mums get caught up in the treadmill of work, family and life and don’t take time out to actively manage and make plans for progressing their careers. 3 fundamental questions were asked to help Susan get started: What……
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Everyday leadership. What does it mean to you?
I first ventured into the world of leadership back in the early 90’s. I didn’t know it as ‘leadership’ then. I landed a role which was a step up in my career and it soon became apparent that my principles, values and professional ethics were being compromised by what was happening and not happening in the department. I……
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Does what you do define who you are?
‘What do you do’, this was the question posed to me at a community event. Being in a non conformist mood, I replied, that I ‘do’ many things, have many titles and wear several different hats, sometimes more than one at the same time. I could see the look of puzzlement flicker across the gentleman’s……
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Don’t leave your career to fate: 3 questions for working mums to ask
‘I can’t believe that they have put her in charge of the team. I’ve been here 7 years, worked my socks off and they go and bring in someone from the outside!’ grumbled Susan, as she shifted agitatedly in her chair. ‘I wasn’t even consulted, or asked if I wanted the role’, she continued. As……
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No need to act like a man: 6 tips for women to develop their leadership style
‘I can’t seem to get it right,’ sighs Joanna, as she slumps into the chair next to me. ‘When I’m assertive and forceful, I’m labelled, ‘aggressive and acting like a man’ and when I’m open and ask for everyone’s opinion, I’m called soft and pushover’…. Joanna has stepped up in her leadership role and is……
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10 tips to get you started if you are returning to work after a break
It’s Monday morning, Harriet sets off with nervous anticipation for work. It is her first day at work. What’s the big deal? Harriet is not a school leaver or a graduate but a 48 year old mother of 3 children. The eldest is 18 and the youngest entered into secondary education this week. Harriet is a……
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Ditch the work life balance scales and start integrating
Yesterday I read an article giving tips on work life balance. Whenever I hear the term ‘work life balance’ I think of a set of scales with life on one side and work on the other and people trying desperately hard to keep the scales balanced and getting very stressed. Does one happen at the expense……
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How to keep the Olympic flames burning? Be a cheerleader
Since Danny Boyle’s spectacular opening ceremony 2 weeks ago, Olympic fever has spread across the nation with epidemic gusto. There have been highlights and lowlights but one thing that has consistently stood out, has been the Olympic crowd. If medals were awarded for being a crowd, Gold would surely go to the 80,000 exuberant and……