I spent a wonderful day with Linda Aspey, organised by the Association for Coaching, exploring Nancy Kline’s Thinking Environments.  If you’ve been here before, you’ll know that I’m a fan of this most person-centred approach.  I’m not about to unlearn everything else, but there are times and situations where simply giving your best attention and…

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There’s one book I come back to again and again for inspiration and grounding.  That book is Nancy Kline’s Time to Think (1999, Ward Lock). I was lucky enough to experience the magic of Nancy’s teaching first hand on my School of Coaching programme, and my copy of her book bears an inscription that never…

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I’ve been delighted at how successful the pilot group of “Space to Think” has been.  The anonymous survey has shown that the women taking part have hugely benefited from working together, and that the format is really effective.  You can have a look at the results here:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-596C7HG/ Group members’ comments say it all: here’s…

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Space to Think is a new project for women running small to medium sized charities or social enterprises.  Here are 13 tips distilled from the wisdom of the current group.  They were so good, we just had to share them: Use the probationary period Recruit for attitude – it’s easier to train people in any…

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Nourishing space for women running small to medium voluntary organisations Starting February 27th – join up now! How might things be different for you in 9 months’ time if you have regular support in an environment where everyone has particular skills and expertise that they share, and where there’s space and time to think, reflect,…

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Yesterday I went to one of those events where you get to hear about a rare new pot of money, some of which may trickle down to small voluntary organisations in order that they may make a difference to increasingly desperate people’s lives.  That’s after the big guys have creamed off all their profits….but let’s…

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A friend was describing a situation that was causing great distress to someone in her life.  It was a story of two women who had once been very close, but whose relationship had deteriorated to the extent that each was seeking police protection from the other.  As this sorry tale unfolded, I realised that there…

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As you’ll know, if you’ve been following my online activity, I work both as a CEO of a medium sized charity, and as a coach.  Oh, and I write books, too.  Working as a CEO and also coaching others, as well as having been, until recently, a charity trustee, gives me a very particular view…

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Last Wednesday I stepped down as a trustee of Asylum Aid.  I’d been on the board for 8 years, had acted as its vice chair, and even spent a year in the role of acting Chair, and it felt like a good time to have a break.  My decision was helped by the fact that…

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Many thanks to Tamara Essex for nominating me for the One Lovely Blog award.  What a lovely thing to do!  In case you haven’t seen hers, and she has two, they’re always worth reading and are practical and informative – in the case of her consultancy blog – and touching, funny, and thought provoking –…

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