I went to a great seminar in Brighton last week. It was run by an associate of mine Glen Poole. Glen specialises in working on not‐for‐profit projects and campaigns that are designed to make a BIG difference by getting more people, to take more action, more often.
Glen got David Cameron to back the campaign to say NO to a third runway at Heathrow airport, developed the Bounce your Balls for cancer campaign and was behind the publicity for the Fathers 4 Justice campaign.
One of the most important things that Glens campaigns need is people who are prepared to take a lead and make things happen. These people are often not formally recognised as leaders but they are the ones who take it upon themselves to take the lead.
Without this campaigns to make a difference fail, as often there isn’t someone to take responsibility for an issue in government and councils or the other authorities that we tend to look to take a lead.
There is a need now for grass roots leaders both in business, and society.
Leading isn’t about having a title, it’s about making a difference. The next time you catch yourself thinking “someone should do something about that” just think, maybe that someone could be you?
Showing posts with label authentic leadership. Show all posts
Showing posts with label authentic leadership. Show all posts
Monday, 10 May 2010
Wednesday, 27 January 2010
Socially acceptable.
I was interviewed today by an academic group from Yonsei University in Korea who are working on a project for the Work Together Foundation. They are researching social enterprise in the UK in order to report back to Korea and help better establish a third sector.
I coach a number of social entrepreneurs and so gave my views on the issues and successes that social enterprise is having from that perspective.
I was asked how I thought social enterprise would develop further in this country. My answer was that I hoped it would come to be the norm as opposed to being a niche separate sector of the economy.
Is this a pipe dream?
It depends on your definition of social enterprise. Is it ‘social good creation and profit’ or ‘profit with social good creation?’
If you use the second definition then Social enterprises do not always need to start from scratch. It is entirely feasible that many private sector organisations can move towards a model of working that allows a good proportion of profit, energy or expertise to contribute to the development of communities, society and the environment we all live in.
Many organisations already have very active CSR policies and are developing fair trade policies.
The advantages are that many people (particularly in generation x and y) now actively want to be working for organisations that have in their heart more than simply making a profit for their shareholders. Talent therefore flows and stays with organisations that are able to demonstrate a broader meaning to the work they do.
Customers are also making buying decisions on the ethical make up of companies.
Unfortunately CSR or fair trade policies are sometimes seen as being not at the core of a business, more of a nice add on or a marketing ploy.
The question is ‘in order to make social enterprise mainstream what more can leaders of organisations do?’
I coach a number of social entrepreneurs and so gave my views on the issues and successes that social enterprise is having from that perspective.
I was asked how I thought social enterprise would develop further in this country. My answer was that I hoped it would come to be the norm as opposed to being a niche separate sector of the economy.
Is this a pipe dream?
It depends on your definition of social enterprise. Is it ‘social good creation and profit’ or ‘profit with social good creation?’
If you use the second definition then Social enterprises do not always need to start from scratch. It is entirely feasible that many private sector organisations can move towards a model of working that allows a good proportion of profit, energy or expertise to contribute to the development of communities, society and the environment we all live in.
Many organisations already have very active CSR policies and are developing fair trade policies.
The advantages are that many people (particularly in generation x and y) now actively want to be working for organisations that have in their heart more than simply making a profit for their shareholders. Talent therefore flows and stays with organisations that are able to demonstrate a broader meaning to the work they do.
Customers are also making buying decisions on the ethical make up of companies.
Unfortunately CSR or fair trade policies are sometimes seen as being not at the core of a business, more of a nice add on or a marketing ploy.
The question is ‘in order to make social enterprise mainstream what more can leaders of organisations do?’
Tuesday, 1 September 2009
Authentic Coaching
I have recently been asking myself if it is possible to be an authentic coach.
The CIPD defines coaching as "developing a person’s skills and knowledge so that their job performance improves, leading to the achievement of organisational objectives. It targets high performance and improvement at work, although it may also have an impact on an individual’s private life." http://bit.ly/ei0PI
I agree with the CIPD definition but would add the worlds of business and life are never separate, they always overlap and coaching will have an overlapping impact. Coaching should not become counselling but you have to take the persons life as a whole life into account.
Coaches are trained to be non judgemental and respectful of others models of the world. To enable this clean language is used and coaches keep their opinions and personal models out of the coaching session.
I define being an authentic coach by being true to who you think you should be coaching and why. It also means giving an opinion when asked, and that might be uncomfortable for the person being coached to hear. There is also an element of allowing your own life story to become part of the dynamic, within reason. After all storytelling and metaphor are powerful methods of enabling change when used respectfully.
The CIPD defines coaching as "developing a person’s skills and knowledge so that their job performance improves, leading to the achievement of organisational objectives. It targets high performance and improvement at work, although it may also have an impact on an individual’s private life." http://bit.ly/ei0PI
I agree with the CIPD definition but would add the worlds of business and life are never separate, they always overlap and coaching will have an overlapping impact. Coaching should not become counselling but you have to take the persons life as a whole life into account.
Coaches are trained to be non judgemental and respectful of others models of the world. To enable this clean language is used and coaches keep their opinions and personal models out of the coaching session.
I define being an authentic coach by being true to who you think you should be coaching and why. It also means giving an opinion when asked, and that might be uncomfortable for the person being coached to hear. There is also an element of allowing your own life story to become part of the dynamic, within reason. After all storytelling and metaphor are powerful methods of enabling change when used respectfully.
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