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Posted By Clore Social Leadership,
09 December 2019
Updated: 07 December 2020
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How do you keep going after 25 years in one sector? How do you know that you are doing a good job? How do you know what your purpose or ‘deepest work’ is? How do you know your next steps in your career? You join the Clore Social Women and Girls programme and you find out!
The programme inspired and challenged me at a fundamental level; being with women from the sector and learning from others’ experiences was deeply challenging and humbling. The Clore Social programme used a variety of interactive learning methods to draw out our experience. From YouTube clips, inspiring speakers, journal articles, homework, workshops, group exercises, coaching, Action Learning Sets and one-to-ones, aided by an abundance of post-its and sharpies, we trawled through a massive amount of content. It’s demanding and requires you to commit… and to juggle your workload.
However, having completed the course, I will claim several things:
- I am more able and willing to step forward knowing that I will fail. One session by Liz Peters enabled us to take big theatrical bow when we got a silly exercise wrong. I’ve taken this to the office and when I take a ‘failure bow’ I make it good. The message is, ‘It’s ok to make mistakes. It’s ok to get it wrong.’ I’ve learned to ask myself, ‘What will you do about it - wallow or learn?’
- I am still learning to say, ‘YES, AND...’ instead of, ‘YES, BUT…’ as this can be a powerful enabler to the team around me.
- I am more aware of my energy and attention and when I work best. After a one-to-one coaching session with the excellent Pat Joseph, I prioritise diary dates, planning and margins and therefore work to my strengths.
- I have accepted more speaking engagements. Using the power poses that Liz emphasised you’ll find me breathing and standing like Wonder Woman before I speak, imagining amazing women cheering me on.
- I am more aware of the strengths and the issues that women with disabilities face thanks to learning from women in our group.
- I am more aware of a ‘systems thinking’ approach after the session with Jennie McShannon. Asking key questions about the root causes of a problem and how we can work together to bring about change comes more naturally to me. I still need further work on this!
- I am more connected and able to offer and receive support from my cohort. Our Action Learning Set will carry on and the five us will keep learning from each other, thanks to Jane Garnham our fantastic facilitator. I have also taken the bold step of training to be an Action Learning Set Facilitator and I’m booked on the training course. I wouldn’t have done that before. I would have discounted myself.
Leaders face an enormous amount of issues, women in leadership even more so. The problems that I arrived with are still there, yet my perspective has shifted. I am more aware of my own and others’ strengths, our purpose and my ‘deepest work’. As a result, I think I can carry on longer in the resilient yet fragile women’s sector which deals with so much trauma and injustice. I know I’m doing a bloody good job and I want to enable others to know that too – including you! If you have read this far then I hope this is prompting you to apply... to get the dates in the diary… to talk with your Trustees...
Most of all, I’ve learned from all these women I have met. I’d like to think they have rubbed off on me, helped me to emerge and not listen to the ‘imposter voice’ that seeks to stop me before I start. What a dreamy and inspiring space to enter! I can’t recommend it more highly. But give it your all, make the most of it, stay curious, you might just find out your ‘deepest work’ and get some tools to help you be the best version of you, failures and all.
Josephine Knowles is the Co-Director (and Co-Founder) of Beyond the Streets, a charity that works with women facing sexual exploitation - and is the organisation’s only Argentine Tango dancer!
Tags:
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Posted By Clore Social Leadership,
06 June 2019
Updated: 23 October 2020
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We all know that crossing the road is easy…right? But what has this got to do with coaching? Well, stay with me and I will explain.
In coaching, we use the GROW model, a widely recognised framework designed to structure coaching sessions. It is an acronym widely used due to its simplicity and usefulness in the coaching process. It stands for Goal, Reality, Options/Opportunities, Way forward/Willingness. It's a great model for understanding your goals and how to reach them, which I have recently had the chance to put into practice.
I have recently had the privilege of going to Cambodia to do some volunteer coaching with SHE Investments, a Social Enterprise making a great impact locally by working with local business women. This was a great opportunity for me and the start of a great adventure which began with simply crossing the road.
As a coach, this was my time to literally walk my talk. Here’s how I crossed the road using the GROW model.
Goal: What do you want?
The goal was set. The Royal Palace, the destination. It was a SMART goal – it was Specific – the Royal Palace, Measurable – I could tick off that I had been there, Achievable, Relevant and Timely. I had the route mapped out and could do it and be back in time for dinner.
Coaching helps you to create SMART goals. Getting the right goal for you and understanding the importance of having this goal to you – is a critical first step to the coaching process.
Reality: Where are you now?
Ok, so I was confident that I knew how to cross the road - I had done it many, many times before. I had graduated to unconscious competence nearly five decades ago. I was good to go.
What I hadn’t bargained for was the traffic in Cambodia’s capital city, Phnom Penh. It is just crazy! These were not like any roads I had ever seen before - there were motorbikes, scooters, tuk-tuks, push bikes, cars, vans all moving …at the same time…at different speeds …in different directions. My brain went into panic mode. Where are the pedestrian crossings? Where is the green man when you want one? OMG I don't want to die! OMG how am I going to do this?
Crossing the road had just become a daunting and scary prospect.
In coaching the first step is to be aware of where you are right now. Checking your reality. What is going on for you in this moment? How are you feeling about that? What is working for you and what is not? What is important about taking this next step? What is the purpose?
Coaching is about moving forward to the next step - and my next step was going to be into a sea of oncoming traffic. I began to question just how much I wanted to see the Royal Palace.
When assessing whether to take the next step or not fear can often hijack the amygdala and stepping out of the comfort zone can seem like a real ‘high stakes’ prospect. In my case it felt pretty real. But real or imagined, the grip of fear can make that comfort zone (or the comfort of my hotel room) seem very appealing.
Options/Opportunities: What could you do?
Decision time. It was time to assess my choices.
Do I just step out with gaze fixed on the other side?
Do I wait until the traffic comes to a grinding halt (that seem unlikely to ever happen)?
Do I walk really slowly? Or
Do I walk really fast to increase my chances of a successful outcome?
Survival. The stakes were high.
Coaching helps to explore choices (and possible consequences). Once the goal has been set and the destination in sight. What then? Options considered – the only real choice is will I do it, or won’t I?
"The time for courage and trust had arrived."
Way forward/Willingness: What will you do?
At some point I needed to actually take the next step. The time for courage and trust had arrived. The edges of the comfort zone had been reached and it was time to step out.
I gripped the arms of my travel friends - safety in numbers right? (Who is around to help?), walked with confidence (‘fake it till you make it’), waited for the flow to ebb - albeit only slightly (assess the risk), reminded myself that although this was a challenge, it was one I was definitely ready for - I was well qualified to do this (substituted negative thoughts ‘OMG I’m going to die’ for more helpful thoughts ‘You can do this. Look at all the other people (including that child just out of nappies) who have managed it successfully.’
Coaching is generative. It is about moving forward. It requires action. It is ok to ponder, and explore and examine and talk out loud...but when all is said and done - what action will follow? The choice to pull back is ever present until you really commit. This stage often requires trust - a willingness to take that first step. Sometimes it might just be to test the waters and (due to some unforeseen motorbike) you might have to jump back on the pavement and wait for a bit before trying again. Sometimes it about striding bolding and committing - half way there, is also half way back - so time to keep walking. The destination is in sight.
So I lived to tell the tale. Coming out of your comfort zone, is really just like crossing the road.
"Coming out of your comfort zone, is really just like crossing the road."
If you are interested in finding out more about stepping out of your comfort zone, you might be interested in reading – Dare to Lead by Brene Brown in which she talks about the importance of choosing ‘courage over comfort’, or Emotional Agility by Susan David, which discusses ‘showing up and stepping out’
And if you want to try stepping out of your comfort zone, we have recently launched the Backpack, which includes a number of tools that offer as a step-by-step guide to tackle social leadership challenges in practice. These tools can hopefully help you cross the road on your own leadership journey.
Tags:
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Posted By Clore Social Leadership,
03 June 2019
Updated: 23 October 2020
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There’s a wonderful scene in the opening of Disney’s new remake of Aladdin where Aladdin, with a sparkle in his eye and a cheeky smile, takes his first leap across the rooftops in the song “One Jump Ahead”.
My daughters watched entranced, caught up in the magic and wonder of the film. I loved it too, and it got me thinking about the very human story of a plucky, courageous boy – fighting against conventions and assumptions and using his confidence and playfulness to help him reach his goals (with a little help from a Genie of course!). It struck me that this is what we ask of our social leaders who join Clore Social on our programmes – to take that first jump into exploring what it takes to develop inspirational, empowering and passionate leadership capabilities; to stretch themselves to take that bold step on their leadership development journey.
What we can’t provide on our programmes is Genie magic (although it’s something we are working on!), but when Will Smith’s endearing Genie says “you look like a Prince on the outside, but I didn’t change anything on the inside,” he strikes right at the heart of the Clore Social approach to leadership. Knowing himself, and being an authentic leader, is central to Aladdin’s success.
‘Know yourself, be yourself, look after yourself’ lies at the heart of the Clore Social leadership development model. Greater self awareness can help you build your resilience so that you can respond flexibly to the challenges you face. And “courageous changemaker” is one of the key components of our leadership capabilities framework. On our programmes, participants discover what it takes to lead with courage, and we have fun with it too, reigniting the playful aspect of work, with a sparkle in our eye – Aladdin style!
This summer we are setting a challenge to social leaders across the country through our #leadershipstartsnow campaign. We are asking you to take that same running jump that Aladdin did and take the next bold step on your leadership journey. We want to galvanise leaders across the social and non-profit sector to join our growing community of change-makers who are making an impact on their organisations, communities and the world around them.
To help you, we have thrown open the doors of Clore Social and through our online Backpack resource have made available our most impactful tools gathered from ten years of running innovative leadership programmes.
In the Backpack you will find some great ideas for developing your leadership capabilities; and a new series of videos featuring Clore Social staff and coaches will give you inspiration to take your leadership to the next level.
With the recent Unite survey reporting that 80 per cent of charity workers saying they have experienced workplace stress and more than 40 per cent of them saying their jobs are damaging their mental health, there is no better time to take that “one jump ahead” on your leadership journey.
Dip in and see what you can find – and share your favourite tools with your network. We hope you’ll find a bit of Genie magic sparkle in there too!
Blog by Victoria Flint, Director of Marketing and Communications, Clore Social Leadership
Tags:
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Posted By Clore Social Leadership,
23 May 2019
Updated: 23 October 2020
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The Wandsworth Innovation, Skills and Empowerment (WISE) Programme is a free leadership development initiative delivered in collaboration with the Battersea Arts Centre and generously supported by the Wimbledon Foundation and the Battersea Power Station Foundation. The programme will run over 3 years, with annual cohorts of 20 free places available for leaders who are keen on developing the resilience, confidence, and efficiency necessary to drive personal, organisational and Borough-wide change.
Commenting on this initiative, Liz Moreton, Director of Creativity and Social Change from Battersea Arts Centre, said:
"Battersea Arts Centre's mission is to inspire people to take risks to shape the future, and we are thrilled to be working with Clore Social to deliver this innovative programme for the next generation of local social leaders. This programme builds on our experience of capacity building with the Local Roots charity network, and supporting the next generation of social entrepreneurs through The Agency programme. I'm excited to see the great positive change in Wandsworth that the participants on the WISE programme will no doubt deliver.”
"I'm excited to see the great positive change in Wandsworth that the participants on the WISE programme will no doubt deliver."
Participants will be involved in a range of group and individual learning activities, action-learning sets, coaching and a mentor programme. In addition, they will have the opportunity to design and deliver a Local Challenge project, which will enable them to identify needs in the community and to achieve improvements over the course of the programme. Building on all aspects of our Social Leaders’ Capabilities Framework, the programme aims to help leaders become more empowered, focused, and generous, so that they can effectively transform the social sector to meet current and future challenges, and lead social change.
The 2019 WISE Programme participants are:
- Julie Jowett, Thrive Horticultural Charity
- Hadas Hagos, Waste Not Want Not Project
- Beth Rattigan, Citizens Advice Wandsworth
- Marcia Thompson, Women's Space
- Tracey Ford, JAGS Foundation
- Mike Dignam, Generate Opportunities Ltd
- Rebecca Wilson, Little Village
- Teresa Harris, Learn to Love to Read
- Emma Chisholm. Age UK Wandsworth
- Ellie Cusack, Wandsworth Welcomes Refugees
- Egle Banelyte, CARAS
- Eniola Akinlabi, Business Launchpad
- Marie Bidegaray, AGORA ARTS CIRCLE
- Leanne Wood, Share Community
In partnership with the Battersea Arts Centre, Supported by the Wimbledon Foundation
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Posted By Clore Social Leadership,
30 January 2019
Updated: 23 October 2020
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Blog by Louise Drake, Director of Programmes and Innovation at Clore Social Leadership
How often do you find yourself saying these things? Or secretly thinking this to yourself and feeling guilty that you haven’t achieved what you set out to achieve? Or taking work home that you never got a chance to do during the ‘working’ day?
If you say these things more often than you’d like, read on.
At Clore Social Leadership, our Leadership Development Framework starts like all great leadership frameworks, requiring leaders to learn more about themselves (warts and all) before moving on to consider the other complexities involved in leading people and organisations. ‘Know Yourself, Be Yourself, Look After Yourself’ is where we start, requiring a holistic view of the ‘leader’ as a whole person. Invariably, productivity, time management and work life balance are a few topics which arise in the ‘look after yourself’ element.
‘Productivity’ is a hot topic in many spheres, not least in understanding why the UK lags behind many other nations. Whole government departments are trying to understand the UK productivity gap and how to close it. So it is no surprise that on an individual and organisational level, it is something worth spending time reviewing. In my opinion, leaders should spend time considering their own personal productivity and that of their organisation, because it is fundamental to healthy, thriving individuals and organisations doing their best work, something everyone working for social change should aim to achieve.
As part of the programmes at Clore Social, we advise Graham Allcott’s Productivity Ninja in our top list of books you should read. This month, I have embarked on a deep dive review of ‘productivity’, attending workshops with Graham and Bat-Hen G, both inspiring individuals hacking their way to productivity. I share my key learnings and top tips below and hope it gives anyone feeling overwhelmed a sense that there are solutions, and at least some inspiration for those of you reading who may already be on the productivity journey.
1. It’s about attention, not about time. We live in an age where some of the brightest minds in Silicon Valley are working on how best to grab every inch of attention from you, mostly via your phone. Manage your attention, not your time. For more on this concept, read this.
2. Once you have conquered your attention, the next thing to realise is your attention across a 24 hour period is not equal. We are humans after all and not computers, so we have rhythms and we are impacted by our biology more than we would like to believe. Jump out of bed and love the morning? Get your best ideas at 1am? Lucky larks, the working world is built for you. Night owls, figure out the system that works for you. Watch Daniel Pink talk about time here.
3. Agility. Be OK with being agile, and by that I mean, being OK with changing your own priorities and, as a leader, those of your organisation. Tech companies have been working in an agile way for a long time and we’re all starting to catch-on. It’s still hard, if you make a ‘to-do’ list of things or goals for the day, giving them up can on some level feel a bit like failure. It’s not. We live in a fast paced work. In Bat-Hen G said in her session ‘tech start-ups are used to changing their priorities on a day by day if not hour by hour basis. You may have to review your priorities a couple of times a day, in such a fast paced environment’. I’d argue that in some social change organisations that is also the case, especially for those on the frontline. You can’t know what the future will bring and it’s OK to change your task priorities on a daily basis. Note of caution - be sure to have a structure to your agility, and communication is key here for leaders if you don’t want to leave your teams in a spin. Examples of agile working practices can be found here. An interesting review of agile working can be found here.
4. Create a second-brain system. Your brain is not built for memory - allow it to do its best work, which includes creative thinking and problem solving (the stuff you are employed for and I expect you really enjoy). Creating a ‘second-brain’ has many benefits but one I’d like to pick out for leaders is the concept of being ‘Response-able’, not responsible. Of course, as leaders you have responsibility, however it is your job to be Response-able. Leadership happens in times of crisis and opportunity. You should have a system and a second brain that allows you to know what is happening and needs to be done, so if there’s an opportunity or crisis you need to deal with, you can. You have the capacity and a second brain that you can turn to and delegate the appropriate tasks and roles. Especially in moments of crisis, if you try and remember all the other things that need to be done, you won’t. The second brain system will be your best friend in so many ways and will allow you the achieve top tip 3, but allowing you to be comfortable with being more agile. Read more about second brain here.
5. Essentialism. ‘Do the right things, not everything’. This top tip may sound like it is contradicting the two above, but stay with me. If you know the broader mission and vision you want to achieve, a question to consider personally and organisationally is ‘what is my/our highest point of contribution?’. By keeping this in mind, you can learn to say no to things that do not help you achieve your mission and vision at your highest point of contribution. You can be more agile in the day to day as you can be sure you know where you are headed without knowing exactly how you will get there. When working to achieve change, saying no can be the hardest word, but for your personal and organisational impact it should be in your top words as a leader. Read the 4 minute book summary of Essentialism.
I could go on, but in my attempt to be more ‘healthily’ productive I’ll stop now.
A lot of what we look at in leadership development is changing behaviours and habits, and some of these are heavily ingrained. Try a few of these out and if you struggle at first, try, try and try again. You won’t necessarily become a productivity ninja or time hacker overnight, but having a go at a few of the top tips may well start you on your path to feeling less overwhelmed and more productive.
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