The conscious and not so conscious underpinning beliefs that I got infected with earlier than I imagined, and which now feature in my work.

Why do my beliefs matter?

You have the right to know what’s directing my approach to our work.

How does it show up in my work?

You have the right to know what’s directing my approach to our work.

What do I believe?

Beliefs are just beliefs

My beliefs are not fact or truths. They are not permanent, neither do they shift on a whim. They guide the way I live and work.  

Life is precious and fleeting

We avoid the reality that we are all temporary visitors with an unknowable best-before date. I bring urgency to the work we do.

I am optimistic about your potential

Especially when you are not. I bring grace to my work, by which I mean I start with  the “spiritual endowment and potential that everyone has” (John Heron). 

Flaws make us unique

It’s your innate wonkiness – and mine - that sets us apart. My work validates those aspects of you that you may see as weaknesses.

Mindset matters most

Our minds are our superpower, and the source of our suffering. Attaining some sort of occasional mastery is at the heart of my work.

Self-labelling is not self-knowing

We are not defined by a snapshot assessment. My work encourages you to see self-awareness as a springboard to growth.

Vulnerability is power

It requires courage to be willing to be really seen, but the rewards are many. I encourage you to work intimately with who you really are.
More about this belief

The nature of change changed

We operate in unstable times, when agility and movement trump strategy and planning. In our work we get into practice quickly.

We are made to move

Too much of modern life is a sedentary practice. We feel, think and act with more wisdom when we are in motion; this powers my work.

We are pack animals

Disconnection and loneliness are 21st century plagues. My work seeks to create connection and belonging.

Sausage sandwiches need brown sauce

Ketchup won’t’ do. Mustard doesn’t cut the mustard and don’t get me started on no sauce at all.

What other people think…

  • "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure."

    —Marianne Williamson

  • "The struggle is my life"

    —Nelson Mandela

  • "When you’re finished changing, you’re finished."

    —Benjamin Franklin

  • "Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

    —Viktor Frankl

  • "Leadership and learning are indistinguishable from each other ."

    —JFK

  • "Between stimulus and response there is a space" highlights that we have the power to choose our reaction to an event, rather than just reacting impulsively."

    —Frankl

  • "Connection is why we are here. It gives purpose and meaning to our lives."

    —Brene Brown

 

Thoughts

I enjoy sharing the contents of my mind in the hope others can get something from the stuff that occupies me. Here I’ve categorised my writing into resources, tools and models that might help, reviews of other people’s work, reflections of my own past experiences and ramblings on a variety of topics that interest me. No poor AI bots were exploited in the making of these articles.

 
Thoughts
The Benefit of Paying Attention
The Benefit of Paying Attention

Like a lot of people during the pandemic I now work predominantly at home. And often when I am working at home, I like a coffee in the morning. And often when I like a coffee in the morning, I treat myself to a couple of biscuits (especially if I have earlier been for a run). It was on one such morning, with coffee and biscuits procured and on my cluttered desk and several things on the go in my head and on my computer, that it happened. I lost the biscuits.

Universal Enquiries?
Universal Enquiries?

I’ll soon be running my fourth coaches retreat at Hazel Hill Wood.  It’s an annual event in magical ancient woodland that I’ve really enjoyed creating.  I’ve noticed that every year I bring the same set of enquiry questions for the group to work with.  We explore in different ways, always using the trees as part of our facilitation team, but the questions remain the same.  Am I just being lazy or might these in fact be universal enquiries?

Creative Writing in the Woods
Creative Writing in the Woods

I write a lot, often for my work, sometimes for this website and occasionally for no good reason at all.  There’s something about getting out of the way and setting the pen free (and yes the pen is mightier than the laptop).  It’s a pleasure that is hard to describe, ironic given that’s what I’m trying to do here.

See all thoughts
See all thoughts