Welcome to my February review. It may be a short month, but we sure can pack a lot in, can’t we? For a little month, there’s been a lot going on….
The Knowing Self Knowing Others Podcast
On 13th February, my conversation with Síle Walsh went live in Episode 4 of Series 2 of The Knowing Self Knowing Others Podcast. We talked about the misconception that once we uncover one blindspot we think we have achieved self awareness, and that leading for results is not the same as leading for the people. We also discussed titled leadership and social leadership – they’re not the same thing and they are visible in different places. We also talked about Leader being just like you and me. They are not smarter or better, they’re just in different places in organisations and social structures. Read the full Top Takeaways article here
My conversation with Amy Gandon went live on the 27th February in Episode 5. We talked about whether the modern world is skewed towards external self awareness and whether politicians are occupationally wired to focus more on the external than the internal; the need to be self aware in order to be agile enough to deal with the future-focussed, climate conscious workplace of today; how self awareness is necessary to know what your boundaries are and what self care means for you, to avoid burnout; and we asked the question of who is appointing the strategic level executives right now. The Top Takeaways article will be live soon. Find it here. Remember, you can also catch all Top Takeaways videos on YouTube and TikTok
On the other side of the mic…
I was delighted to join the fabulous Carol Stewart MSc, FInstLM on her podcast, Quietly Visible on the 10th February. We talked about my research, what were the drivers, what did I discover and what did it all mean. It was my first time being on the other side of the and I really enjoyed it. I’ve been invited to speak on 2 more podcasts and I’m really looking forward to it. More on than in a few months….
Ready, TEDdy, Go!
This month I went to not just one but two TEDx talks. The first was the TEDx LondonWomen with my good friend Charlotte Dring OBE. We were wowed by the speakers taking us through a vast range of topics… We heard about the untapped potential of pension power, how the amazing Donna Patterson took on a corporate body and their lawyers, and won, the collective power of ‘community’ at Grenfell, that trans-joy is about the mundane, being individual and the every-day from the brilliant Ben Pechey, the impact of collective care as the strategy for influencing change, and about the brave men and women of Iran fighting for an equal future for women and girls from the equally brave Sahar Zand and much more.
The second was Tedx Croydon with my lovely husband. We had a really interesting morning listening to inspirational speakers talking about: needing to include greater outdoor and experiential learning opportunities in education (Jordan Wylie MBE); the benefits of learning from failure (Suleman Raza MBE); the important of living every day and taking every opportunity, pausing and resting to let creativity in (Neil Jurd OBE), assumptions and misinformation derailing the diversity and inclusion agenda (Asif Sadiq MBE) and overcoming personal challenges through tenacity and determination (Ruban Pillai).
It was great to finally meet Neil Jurd, author of The Leadership Book, and my guest in Episode 2, Series 1 of The Knowing Self Knowing Others Podcast!
February Book Review
In February, I read Jerks at Work by Tessa West. The book sets out 7 types of jerk at work and offers full and helpful descriptors. Each chapter also has a ‘what to do about them,’ section. This is a proper, well researched, well thought though handbook of jerks and fixes. I gave it 4 stars out of 5 – read my full review to find out why.
I also ready The Legendary Quest by Dr Ketan Kulkarni and Dr. Francis Yoo. This book sets out all the things you need to do to live a successful life. It talks about the need to work out your own values and goals to truly be authentic, the traps we fall in to when we seek to acquire material things that we think will bring us happiness, and the need to refrain from comparison with others and focus on achieving our own quest, not someone else’s. I gave it 4 stars out of 5 – read my full review here.
AOB…
February was also the month when I listened to some great podcasts like Manager Tools – Culture Chapter 1, posted some Top Takeaway videos on YouTube and TikTok, had some amazing headshots take by Clarissa Debenham at Film Free Photography …
… and started a ‘grateful board’ in the kitchen to refocus the mind and reflect on the positive, after a tough few years of family loss and bereavement. It was also my Mum’s birthday, my Dad’s birthday, and would have been the 70th birthday of my lovely and much missed Father in Law.
Forward View to March
Episodes 6 of The Knowing Self Knowing Others Podcast with Jeroen Kraaijenbrink will go live on the 13th March and Episode 7 with Sophie Bryan will go live on the 27th March. Really looking forward to sharing these episode with you!
Hope you enjoy this month’s review and look forward to having you on my learning journey in March.