Just before I started to learn the piano in 2018 (a life-long goal), I picked up my flute for the first time in more than 15 years to try to remind myself how to read music. I found that the ability to play some pieces came back far quicker than I had anticipated. Knowing how […]
In my time as a member of voluntary organisations, I’ve learnt a lot. Some of those things are more tangible than others. Public speaking, debating, chairing meetings, facilitating workshops and writing blogs are amongst those skills which I can readily identify and have put into practice in my career in various ways. But there are […]
I have no problem when connections ask me for help. I enjoy helping people and am generally happy to help others. It’s a big part of leadership. This is something I recognise and embrace when I have formal roles. Humility is an essential trait in good leaders – realising that just because you’re the leader […]
If you’ve ever done some kind of communication training, you’ve probably heard some discourse on the relative importance of the content of what you say, how you say it (tone of voice) and what your appearance conveys (facial expression and body language). You may have seen this chart: This is based on research by Professor […]
Putting together an application for a non-executive director role recently, I was asked to demonstrate examples of when I’d used “strategic thinking”. I do love a personality test and have done quite a number over the years. In determining what might be next for me career-wise, I reviewed all my results for strengths, weakness and […]
The personal development organisations that I’m a member of have a lot to answer for. I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today without them. They have given me the skills, confidence and inspiration to take the plunge and try something new. When I made the decision to take a break and try a different […]
I am a perfectionist, there is no way of getting around that. It’s in my nature and if not managed, it can hold me back from moving forwards, due to a need for everything to be just right before finalising a report, making a decision, putting something new out there. Contrast this with learning, which […]
As a child, I really struggled with confidence. I was incredibly shy and quiet – the person in school who actually got told off for not talking. As such I’m fascinated with confidence – is there such a thing as being “naturally” confident, how does someone go about gaining confidence, what makes you appear confident? […]
Having a conversation with a group of friends about what it’s like for us all in the current lockdown situation, we thought it would be interesting to see what we could learn from each other about strategies for coping whilst we’re all stuck at home. We’re all members of Junior Chamber International (JCI) and have […]
I first joined a voluntary organisation because I wanted to do something good for my community and meet some interesting new people. As I got more involved, I was quickly drawn into attending workshops and putting the skills being trained into practice via projects and committee roles. I realised the benefits these activities could bring […]
