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Posted By Clore Social Leadership,
12 February 2021
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This week, we sat down with Rich Flowerdew for #CloreSocialFellowFriday. Rich is a Clore Social Fellow from our 2020 Leading Beyond Lockdown Programme. He is the Head of Strategy at Scouts Cymru, and is passionate about fostering leadership development in young people.
Can you give us a little bit of background information about your organisation and the topic that you’d like to talk about?
Scouting has been around since 1907, so we're a well established organisation working with 52 million young people around the world. The organisation’s mission has always been about helping young people develop social action for themselves, and to go out and be active citizens in the future. I support the Scouts here in Wales, where we’ve got 292 groups, and the glorious countryside lends itself nicely to outdoor adventure.
Today, I really wanted to focus on how we need to support young people with leadership and development opportunities from an early age. I keep coming back to the quote that “leaders are made not born.” Now more than ever, leadership is what employers and further education providers are looking for, so if we help young people to develop great leadership skills from an early age, why not? Within scouting, that could be as Cubs, who are eight to ten year olds, or even as Beavers, who are six to eight year olds. Ultimately, supporting young people to develop these skills can only benefit wider society in the social sector, as well as the private and public sectors – these are our future leaders in our communities, industries, organisations and countries.
What are some of the ways that your organisation has been able to create those leadership opportunities?
Seven of our 21 adult trustees are 18 to 25, so we've got young people at the heart of the organisation. We also have youth commissioners, who play their part and help with decision making. One thing that we’re always mindful of is that we don’t want to include young people in a tokenistic way, which we have seen in some other organisations. That tokenism can turn off a lot of young people On the other hand, if you genuinely support and involve them so they use and practise their skills, they often end up giving something back to the organisation as well. For example, we see that 40% of our current volunteers joined the movement as youth members. So, if you put that investment into young people, they come back to support the next generation of leaders.
At the moment, a group of our youth commissioners and our youth trustees are developing a program called Grow to Lead. The programme focuses on supporting young people to develop leadership skills and wider skills for life earlier, because why e wait until the middle of our career to start learning leadership skills, In scouting, we start much earlier Even though it’s still in early stages, we've already seen positive outcomes, including young people developing ideas around how to recruit more volunteers, how to make the organisation more accessible to Welsh speakers, and how to bring in and attract new young people. The most powerful thing about Grow to Lead is that it was developed by young people, for young people and it’s led by young people.
Do you feel like your experience with Clore Social Leadership fits into this movement of providing leadership opportunities for young people?
The Leading Beyond Lockdown course has definitely helped me as an individual leader, and has also helped the organisation look to the future. For me, the programme generated a lot of excitement, and the young people around me have picked up on that infectiousness, so it really does trickle down.
So far, the Grow to Lead pilot has been really successful, and now we’re looking at how we can enhance it. The Clore Social framework has been really instrumental in that development. One thing that we really like is that it starts with leadership of self first, and then moves outward to the support that the individual needs to be a better leader. We’re looking at building that philosophy into our program as well.
Why does fostering leadership skills in young people feel especially important at the moment?
I listened to the webinar that you hosted with Henry Timms a couple of weeks ago on the idea of New Power. From that talk, what really sunk in was that the traditional power structures are focused on trying to get back to where we were and floundering. On the other hand, you've got young people who have revolutionary ideas, are empowered, and are interested in society. Now more than ever, we need new ideas, and we can't just go back to the way we were. With COVID, we've had this opportunity to pause, reflect, improve and plan how we come out of this as a better, giving more opportunities to young people to develop great skills for life, more inclusive, and more prepared organisation with a strong and sustainable future.
There's a really nice quote from Baden Powell, who's the founder of scouting. He said “try and leave this world a little better than you found it.” I believe that if we empowered young people today, they will pay it forward and go on to empower other young people in the future. This is about helping ourselves, each other and people in our communities. We shouldn't be precious about holding onto our power because they'll be looking after us one day. And if we've prepared them from a caring and structured society, then hopefully they'll look after us as well.
You can find Rich on twitter @scoutsrich, and Scouts Cymru on twitter @ScoutsCymru
If you would like to be featured for a #CloreSocialFellowFriday, send us an email at info@cloresocialleadership.org.uk.
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Posted By Clore Social Leadership,
05 February 2021
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We sat down with Penelope D'Souza for #CloreSocialFellowFriday. Penelope is a Clore Social Fellow from our 2020 Emerging Leader: Women and Girls’ Sector programme. She is the founder of Stimulus, an organisation that offers coaching, consulting and other resources to empower everyday women, especially those from ethnic minorities and marginalised backgrounds.
Can you give us a little bit of background information about your organisation and your role?
I started Stimulus in August of 2020, while I was on the Clore Social Emerging Leaders: Women and Girls’ Sector programme. At the time, I was working for a women's charity. However, I started to realise that I wanted to start an organisation that really focused on the social difference I wanted to make. I decided that if I want to really put all of my effort into making a change, then I had to start my own company.
I chose the word Stimulus because that's how I see the mission of the organisation. I want to stimulate change within people and within organisations, but the real focus is on women, especially from ethnic minorities and marginalised backgrounds. Because that’s my own life experience, and I want to use my experience to shorten women's journeys to that realisation of what they are capable of. I’m 45, and it took me 45 years to get to this point, so if I can reduce that for other women, and they can live fuller lives because of it and experience accomplishments that they deserve, that would be amazing.
What are some projects you’re working on at the moment?
I’ve been doing a lot of work around identity. If you don't know who you are, you can spend a lot of time on that process of self-actualisation and self-realisation. I think that women from cultures where women are brought up in a traditional way, and especially second- or third-generation immigrants, can have trouble fitting into the frame of the workplace, and they face unique challenges that white women or men from ethnic minority backgrounds don’t.
I've run a values-based series of workshops with young women from ethnic minorities, called Show Up for Yourself, and there are two parts to it. The first part is called ‘Who am I,’ because it’s important to look at yourself and ask who you are and what you want, and then using that information as a moral compass for every decision that you make. For example, I’ve worked with a couple of young women who are finishing uni and are not sure which jobs to apply for, and we’ve gone through their values and the values of various companies, and made sure that they are aligned. The second part is called ‘Reclaiming Your Power,’ which is just looking at the things they can control and change in the workplace, and how to influence that space, rather than getting overwhelmed with all the noise that's going on.
Often, these women don’t see themselves as decision makers or as people who take a lead. So how are they going to suddenly say, ‘oh, yeah, I want to be on the board’? They're never going to come forward, so that middle management pool that senior executives can dip into is always going to be small. People often talk about how there are not enough BAME women in senior executive roles, but there won’t be unless you’re nurturing them from the front line, at the start of their career. If you don't nurture them, then that's where they'll stay, and people will constantly say we don't have the skill set.
Were there any ‘aha’ moments, when you realised that you really needed to start your own company?
Yes, I think that it was during the coaching sessions of my Clore Social journey. I was born in India, and had a really challenging childhood. Also, I feel that just being a woman in India can be quite confining. I survived that, but for a very long time I just felt very restless, because I always wanted to find my purpose. I was always asking the question why did you survive and not someone else, and what are you going to do with it? So, when I got onto the Clore Social programme, it was almost like, right, this is the conversation I've been waiting to have my whole life. My coach asked me about my identity, my core values, and all of those things you don't think about if you're just caught up in day to day life. Then through those conversations, I started asking some more questions: Who do I want to be? What do I want to do? What's my legacy? For me, legacy is really important, because I think it would be a shame if women in the future still came up against the same challenges that we are talking about today.
Penelope is running a leadership programme for women from ethnic minorities in Northern England from March 24th to March to 26th (COVID permitting). Please get in touch with her at penelope@stimulus.ltd if you would like more information.
You can find Penelope on Twitter @PenelopeSays2, and Stimulus @Your_Stimulus
If you would like to be featured for a #CloreSocialFellowFriday, send us an email at info@cloresocialleadership.org.uk.
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Posted By Clore Social Leadership,
29 January 2021
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We sat down with Eilidh Stringer, a 2019 Emerging Leader fellow, for #CloreFellowFriday. Eilidh is a Development Manager Working with Together Leicester to develop Leicester’s Homelessness Charter.
Can you give us a little bit of background information about your organisation?
The Leicester Homlessness Charter was launched in 2018 because there were lots and lots of different groups, as there are in every city, working towards ending homelessness. The system was working well, and people were working together, but there was quite a lot of duplication. We often had new groups popping up who wanted to do something, but actually, they weren’t always using the most helpful approaches. For example, there were lots of groups handing out sleeping bags in the city centre, which was a really well meaning and understandable response to seeing people sleeping rough. However, there were already groups who were providing practical support.
The Charter was launched really as a way to galvanize all of that well meaning effort and passion, and try and point it in a more strategic direction. There have always been the same sort of groups around the table, but the idea of the Charter was to really go out as wide as possible, and speak to businesses, members of the public, and just anyone who wanted to get involved.
How does your role fit into the organisation?
We had a successful launch in 2018, but the Charter itself didn't really have any specific resource, so it relied on people working for other organisations to find the time to contribute. People definitely did contribute and put a lot of effort into it, however, quite early on, it was apparent that we were going to need to apply for some funding to push some things forward. So when we received national lottery funding last year, my role came up. Initially, it's a six-month development post, and the idea is to try and raise the profile of the Charter a bit further, reconnect with some of the organisations that signed up in the first place, and bring some more partners on board who aren't already involved.
What are some specific projects the Charter is working on?
One of the things we’ve done is support a diverted giving scheme called Give Leicester. We get loads of queries saying ‘what can we do if we see somebody rough sleeping and, and we don't necessarily want to give them cash.’ So the Charter, led by Charter members BID Leicester and Leicester City Council, helped set up around 15 contactless donation points in the city. It raised £27,000 in its first year, and has been pretty successful.
And then the other thing that we feel is missing is lived experience representation. There isn't really a group in Leicester that people with lived experience can come together and share their insights in a way that meaningfully feeds back to organisations. The idea is that the Charter would have a lived experience panel that different organisations could approach and consult with when new services are being designed. We've looked quite closely at the Manchester Charter, and what they've done really well is bringing in the lived experience. That's something we'd really like to do as well.
The theme of collaboration has been a real driving force at Clore Social Leadership this year. Can you tell us a little more about your experience with collaboration?
It’s definitely not always been easy. I mean, back at the start, there were some quite frayed relationships between different groups. And there still are, I'm sure, but there's now a kind of shared ethos for what needs to happen. And in the city, working together just gives us a bit of strength. If certain activities pop up, and we feel that they aren't helping towards that goal, it just gives us a framework to be able to talk to people and try and bring them on board with what's happening. I think what’s helped people come along with it is that people feel that they're part of this bigger shared effort. When the different specialised charities work together it almost means that each one can be more focused on what they're delivering, because somebody else is picking up the other part of the puzzle.
Has your experience with Clore Social Leadership had an impact on your career so far? If so, how?
It definitely has, and I think for me, a lot of it is around my confidence and belief in myself, and just having that time to focus on that. Moving into the Charter where I’m technically the only employee means that I am very much at the forefront of it. I think that without the experience with Clore Social, I perhaps wouldn't have felt able to take that on. It has given me the confidence to move into a new role and take a leap out of my comfort zone.There’s also the network that the programme has given me. I'm still in touch with lots of people that were on the development programme, and it just gives you that backing to know that you can do it, and that you can go for things that you feel passionate about.
You can find Eilidh on twitter @stringereilidh, and Leicester’s Homlessness Charter @HomelessCharter
If you would like to be featured for a #CloreFellowFriday, send us an email at info@cloresocialleadership.org.uk
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Posted By Clore Social Leadership,
19 November 2019
Updated: 08 December 2020
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Victoria Muir is one of our Forces in Mind Trust supported fellows who completed the Clore Fellowship Programme in 2017. We had the pleasure of interviewing her to learn more about what the experience has meant for her and her leadership development journey in the context of the Armed Forces Charities sector.
Looking back, what are the 3 most important skills you learned? How do you implement these lessons into your organisation?
One of the most important aspects for me was learning from the other fellows. Often, from my experience within the Military Charitable sector, we work very closely with each other but not always across the social sector as a whole so it was extremely beneficial for me to learn how people from different sectors worked. By completing the Clore Fellowship alongside having the validation of FiMT’s support, I have gained confidence in my abilities and learnt new skills. I certainly feel that where I might not have put my voice forward before, I am much happier to add it to the debate.
""If there’s something that is challenging me now, I will go back to the principles I learned through the programme, step back and reflect."
Did the course help you to become a better leader, and if so, how?
Definitely and one of the areas that I found most helpful was going through processes that I had not been through or was possibly not aware of previously. For instance, I had never taken part in, and was a little sceptical of the Action Learning Sets. I quickly learnt that the process allowed me to really think through situations or challenges and learn that often, I did in fact have the answers, I just needed to take time to challenge myself, reflect and find them. We don’t often get the time to step away from everyday life and everyday work and to be able to take that time to learn more about ourselves and move forward. There were things about myself I may not have realised without going through the Clore process. If there’s something that is challenging me now, I will go back to the principles that I learned through the programme, step back and reflect. This has been particularly valuable when starting a new role.
What would you say are the key leadership issues the Military and Service Charity sector is facing? Can better leadership development address these issues?
The Military sector can often appear to be quite small and a number of people will often move directly from a Service career into working for a Military charity. Whilst it is important to have that knowledge and understanding, it can sometimes mean that organisations don’t always attract people from the wider social sector with the different skills and knowledge that this brings. Having access to and learning from people working in different specialities is certainly something I and my colleagues have found to be beneficial. I think that sharing information and skills both from within the military sector across the wider social sector and vice versa is something that is vital for development. It can often be very easy to stay working within the Military sector which can mean that new skills don’t always come in. Looking at my own experience, once I started working for a Military Charity over ten years ago, rather than moving to a different area of the social sector, I stayed within the military circle albeit it in different areas of delivery.
"Take every opportunity you can to learn from as wide an area of the sector and be completely open-minded about learning new things."
What advice would you give others starting their leadership journey?
Take every opportunity you can to learn from as wide an area of the sector as possible and be completely open-minded about learning new things. I can say this from my own experience as the initial thought of an Action Learning Set was terrifying but it turned out to be one of the most valuable parts of my Clore experience. Sometimes we have preconceptions and it’s important to overcome them and see where that takes us. I know we all have an image of where we want to get to in our careers or leadership journeys and how we think we are going to get there, but, looking at my own journey, I have taken so many unconnected turns. If I look back at myself aged 18 and think about my plans for the future and where I wanted to be compared to where I am now, I would not change anything. If I had followed my original plan rather than taking every opportunity that came my way, I doubt that I would have learnt as much as I have and I certainly wouldn’t be the person that I am today. I think it is important to stay open-minded, and if that takes you off on a tangent, be brave and go where it leads you.
What would you have retrospectively changed in your leadership journey?
I am actually not sure if I would have changed anything. My original plan years ago was to go to University and study Law. For whatever reason, I decided not to and trained at Norland College to be a nursery nurse. This led to working all around the World, followed by volunteering in Bosnia which led to entering the charitable sector and working with the Armed Forces. If I had followed my initial plan, I doubt very much that I would be where I am now. I may not have always made the right career decisions, but I can honestly say that I have learnt from them all and they have brought me to where I am now.
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Posted By Clore Social Leadership,
25 March 2019
Updated: 23 October 2020
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How often do we take the time to think and understand the beliefs and assumptions limiting us from moving forward? Or to hear our own thinking and get a step closer to turning thought into action? And what role does coaching play in helping us get there? Coaching provides the opportunity to create the time and space to do so, says Dr Jeremy Hinks, a leadership development coach for Find a Coach, our new coach-matching service.
Jeremy’s journey into coaching sprung from his experience as a University tutor when he saw how positively people respond to being trusted and empowered. Witnessing the number of people needing assistance in their middle and senior management roles, he decided to pursue a coaching career to help develop the leaders of tomorrow. He has 36 years experience of using a coaching approach in a leadership setting and has a wealth of experience from coaching a wide range of people working with the social and voluntary, public, and private sectors.
"Coaching is about creating the time and space to think and hear your own thinking."
For Jeremy, coaching is about creating the time and space for you to think and to hear your own thinking. “It’s about having that thinking heard by someone you can trust, and having your thinking and feelings being supported and challenged without judgement,” says Jeremy. “It’s about you seeing new perspectives and then deciding on your own plan to make things happen. My coaching process implies embracing trust, support, challenges, and change - not necessarily in a linear sequence, yet always in alignment with my coachee’s agenda.
“The power of coaching, for someone experiencing it, lies in the opportunity it offers to have the time and space to challenge assumptions and beliefs, especially if they limit them in moving forward, or stop them from building even more effectively from a position of strength. Hearing our thinking is a major step in developing awareness and consciously thinking about habits that might not have been evaluated for years. The responsibility for action, however, always lies with the coachee. Breaking the dependency on background, environment, and challenging a deterministic belief is hugely powerful. “
"Coaching will play a part in the journey from hierarchy and team membership to one of a truer version of collective leadership."
Through coaching, leaders can bring others along on a lifelong journey of learning of development. "Coaching creates leaders who create leaders,” says Jeremy. “It has the capacity to create solution-finding communities whose capability goes way beyond the sum of its parts. It can break the mould related to a model of power and influence that encourages isolation in thinking and fear of failure. It has the potential to deliver lasting benefits rather than quick fixes, as it is an intervention that takes a ’whole of life’ view. With the future of work being one where success depends on relationship building and on shared endeavour, coaching can play a major part in supporting wellbeing as well as being a positive influence on the mental health of the coachee.”
Witnessing the transformative effects of coaching on his clients, says Jeremy, is extremely rewarding. “The longevity of coaching benefits is often ignored. What is satisfying is bumping into clients months or years after coaching and hearing them talk about how they are still practicing the use of the ‘thinking and emotional muscles’ that they had discovered during their coaching. A successful coaching programme can lead to benefits that have a positive influence over a considerable period of time, even a lifetime.”
Considering taking your next step on your leadership journey through coaching? We asked Jeremy to summarise how to approach and what you can expect from a coaching relationship in which you play a full part:
- Enjoy the time and space to allocate to yourself, without any distraction
- Appreciate what it is like to be listened to, without judgement
- Expect to think and feel in equal measure and to reflect on meaning and significance – it can be hard work, but so fulfilling
- Expect to get a clearer understanding of what makes you tick and how that influences your environment
- The value of being supported while exploring territory that will need courage and commitment
- The strength to change habit that are not serving your purpose
- An appreciation of the power of choice
- …and all throughout increasing awareness and personal responsibility for turning thought to meaningful action.
Dr Jeremy Hinks is an accredited professional coach with the International Coach Federation, a member of the Association of Coaching and a founding member and coach with Know You More. He is passionate about people development, and is a coach for our Find a Coach pilot initiative.
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