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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
Coaches Connect reflections: Strengths
Today’s reflections from CoachesConnect which took place last Friday in Leeds, comes from Susan Ritchie, coach, trainer blogger, writer…at You Time Coach and can be found on Twitter @susanjritchie This year saw me attending Coaches Connect again – a great conference at which to meet fellow coaches, make connections, learn and share good practice. The…
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…
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…
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…