Inspire Me

Still Here!

Last year Inspiring Change celebrated its fifth year in business, without having had to do anything embarrassing or distasteful to remain so ... Hurray! Many thanks to everyone who helped make this possible.

Such Sweet Sorrow

A generous spirited and courageous client the other day asked me to facilitate a completion session for him and his team. The team will no longer be together next year, and some of them are happy about this, others very unhappy. Some have new jobs to go to, others don't. A mixed emotional bag. I was impressed and moved by the individuals there, who took the opportunity to laugh, cry, challenge, celebrate - and to let each other know those inner icky things that make all the difference yet which we often don't feel safe enough to say. My client and I felt that this attention to the completion phase of the team will help everyone there to move on with greater optimism and wisdom.

Leader, Love Thyself

A big theme this year has been that of self-love and its connection to the ability to support and empathise with others. Corporate cultures have begun to move towards an understanding of this, but oh so slowly (the tanker turning round in the ocean springs to mind) - so individuals leaders are still faced with the painful task of reversing their own self-sacrificial habits and embracing the principle that self-care is the primary allower for effective care of others. This involves moving into greater vulnerability, whilst attracting the attention of others who have not yet grasped this principle - a tricky combo. But it's worth it in the long run when subtle yet powerful positive shifts in interpersonal working relationships start to come about. Maybe if more of us took on this idea we would have a better time.

To Boldly Continue

Last time I told you about a courageous team recently embarked on an eighteen month journey towards mastery in 'Humanistic Leadership'. These are capable businessmen, facing the difficult challenge to process re-engineer their business, including closing sites and opening new ones, and build morale and well-being in their staff at the same time. Their progress is impressive - although surrounded by, and admittedly authors of, much change and disruption, they are managing to keep morale high and address problems imaginatively and wisely as they arise. Their standing with the 'troops' is higher than ever, and the best people are not running for the exits. Along the way they have begun a revolutionisation of the way the organisation runs its conferences - no longer a two hundred slides one way marathon - no, that is now a thing of the past - now they hold interactive sessions that people actually enjoy and get huge value from.

The Power Of The 'Neutral Zone'

What with organisational restructurings, redundancies and other general uproar, many people I work with have found themselves in a 'neutral zone' - they know something's ending, and that in theory something new will begin, but don't know what it is, and hate the feelings of uncertainty and self-doubt in the meantime. We've been exploring the nature of a neutral zone and how best to navigate it. The best thing about it is that everything is possible - all futures are open. Trouble is, knowing that doesn't necessarily make the feelings any easier to cope with. Here's the potted advice ...

1. Take your time.
2. Arrange temporary structures.
3. Don't act for the sake of acting.
4. Recognise why you are uncomfortable.
5. Take care of yourself in little ways.
6. Explore the other side of the change.
7. Get someone to talk to.
8. Find out what's waiting in the wings of your life.
9. Use the transition to learn and grow.
10. Recognise that a transition takes as long as it takes.

Having Fun Yet?

Is this just me - or did people party more over Christmas than usual? Several people have mentioned that there seems to be an increase in people saying 'well, they might be about to bomb me, so the best plan is to - party while we can!'. Not a bad thought, perhaps, going into the New Year.

Thank you for reading