In the last blog post I talked about the work I have been leading over the last few years and the way in which this has been underpinned by a set of core values. I also referred to two reports that we commissioned which looked at the impact of our work. As part of that … Read more
This is the first of a series of 8 posts looking in more detail at the importance of core values to guide the way we work: Over recent years, I have become more conscious of the underlying drivers to the way that I work. For example, when making complex decisions where there is no right … Read more
Another guest post from Su Fowler-Johnson (find out more about Su here): Since July I have been embarking on the journey of becoming a supervisor for coaches. You may ask yourselves do coaches need supervision? I think the resounding position is YES. For 3 reasons: Coaches need to review what they do, what they do well, … Read more
It’s the start of a new year and I am thinking about ways in which I can lift my focus for 2014 and achieve some of the goals that I set towards the end of 2013. I don’t do resolutions. You will have seen hundreds of posts on the net in the last week or … Read more
Most weeks on Twitter, when it gets to Friday afternoon or early evening I post a string of tweets with the hash-tag #3bestthings. It’s the three best things that have happened that week. This idea developed as I was looking at ways to appreciate what is happening in my life. It’s too easy to become … Read more
Facilitation as an Extreme Sport – Open Space Technology (OST) This is another guest post by Su Fowler-Johnson. A couple of weeks ago Su was the Facilitator for a one day event which my team ran in the North West of England. It was an amazing event – Su talks about the way it was … Read more
The picture with this post is a fragment of a huge canvas produced by the team I work with from a project we did with the Manchester Camerata earlier this year. If you key in “Creative Learning” into the search box on this blog you will find a series of posts written over the last 18 months … Read more
Doing a PhD is a massive challenge regardless, but when it is carried out part-time the challenge is magnified as we try to fit the research and writing of the thesis in alongside a job, family and broader life. I did my PhD part-time between 1997 and 2004. Unlike full-time students there is little opportunity … Read more
It was a business dinner. Senior leaders from across the region had been invited. One of them was standing next to me at the pre-dinner drinks, chatting intently. Then he lowered his voice, “I’m not good at this whole schmoozing thing, Stuart. It makes me feel very out of my depth and uncomfortable.” This was … Read more
