What's your story?

Storytelling, it appears is an art and a skill. One which I do not possess-yet, as i am discovering. If you haven't already looked up the Clore Social Leadership Programme- and the 2014 fellows- do.They are amazing people! Today, despite covering press and governance has been a very reflective day. We have explored what we can share and offer each other as a network which has been enjoyable and reaffirming of my position here. I have also explored what I might do with the fellowship and my internal challenges about whether their is a role to play in supporting others to make a change in their communities or whether I should practice what I preach and do it myself. 

As you can tell, I have not found the solution. 

Know yourself, be yourself, look after yourself

To anyone in a leadership position, the title and Mantra of the Clore Social Leadership programme is a simple concept to understand but a very difficult one to put into practice. Guilty as charged.. I work late, often, and wake up thinking of my 'To Do' list for the day.

I am learning about emotional intelligence, or EQ, emotional resilience and learning how to recognise when your batteries are running low and how to recharge.

It has been a challenging day, exploring personal boundries and experiences and exposing our vulnerabilities and thoughts in order to develop an effective environment for 'safe' challenge, peer support and learning.

My take home for today has been that I need to take ownership of my 'story' and leadership journey, accept some of my vulnerabilities and put plans into action to take more care of me and what is importnant to me. I am forever telling social entrepreneurs I work with that they can't expect to have any positive social impact if they don't build sustainability through profit making. In a similar respect, you can't lead others, if you haven't got any reserves to give.

Journeys are for X Factor, Clore is a Voyage...

Day one of the Clore residential here in Poole and today has been about learning a little more about my leadership style and how I interact with those around me. I am conscious that I don't particularly enjoy being in long free flowing meetings with no set agenda, or time constraints, and although I like and appreciate creativity- my preference is for strategy and planning. What I have thought of less is how my style or working impacts on others, which can inhibit how you get the best out of other people.

There have been a couple of reassuring and reaffirming moments in my journey already- the first of which is that focussing on your strengths allows you to do two things. Firstly, if you focus on things you are not very good at you will only ever be mediocre. However, if you focus on where your strengths lie, you can excel. Strong leadership is about having the self-awareness and confidence to recognise things you're not so good at, accepting them, and bring in the people you need around you who like doing the stuff you don't. Secondly, that although the cohort of Clore Fellows are no doubt in future, and indeed already proving to be an invaluable sounding board and support that this is a very personal journey. I am very excited and hopeful of what might be achieved within and beyond my two years with Clore and equally excited to see what the other fellows do with their opportunity. 

My take home for today is this- as a leader you need to be comfortable and aware of yourself and your capabilities, and then stretch yourself.

Missing my connections, a journey to Poole

Today marks the start of my Clore Fellowship with a longer than planned journey to Poole for the first residential. Considering I only started at Wolverhampton it has taken over 6 hours to get here, thankfully to the fantastic RNLI College.

I must get the journey out of my system so I can spend the rest of the week focussing on what I learn, so here goes! The first train was late- always a bad start when you have connections to make, hence I missed the replacement bus for the second part of the journey. After catching the next one and passing through a flooded Reading to Basingstoke I boarded the second train (the original I also missed) for the last leg to Poole. Oh, I also ordered a tea to be given milk, sugar and a stick but no tea.... and a staff member tried to divert me to Southampton to get on a train that was leaving the station I was at? No idea where that logic came from.

But.... I am here, in the wet but very picturesque Poole, in a lovely room with a view on the bay. I have enjoyed a lovely meal and brief catch up with my fellow fellows and have my badge ready for the morning, I'll let you know how it goes.