integrity

The ‘Internal Supervisor’……

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I heard this term for the first time on the ASIST 2 day workshop in Brighton.  A fellow delegate was a psychotherapist and used it to explain a technique used professionally.

 

When speaking with a client, she uses her ‘Internal Supervisor’ to highlight the occasions to dig deeper.  If she found herself getting bored, was her client getting monotone and repetitive.  Often people do this when they are trying to avoid the real issue.  As she explained this, I realised we all have an ‘Internal Supervisor’ or ‘gut instinct’.

 

I must admit, I had never questioned my moods when listening to someone else but I will from now on.  It’s a logical tool to use in supporting people to ensure we dig deep enough to get the entire story out.

 

Are you intone with your ‘Internal Supervisor’?

Shennell – what an inspiration……

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An elated Shennell sent me the feature photo of her graduation on 21 November 2017.  The smile says it all.

 

I first met Shennell on Growing Talent 5 over two years ago.  She had left university due to peer pressure, amongst other things, just one term short of completing.

 

Her self-esteem was low and she couldn’t see which direction to go in.  Gradually her confidence began to Grow through the workshops, mentoring and positive peer/employer support.  She completed Growing Talent and joined Iron Mountain a document management organisation.  After a few months she applied for and secured a front of house role with Portico.

 

Completing her degree was always in the background.  Eventually she chose to leave Portico to return to uni – but life doesn’t always go to plan.  She worked for various organisations and looked at some training in marketing before finally returning to uni this year.

 

Shennell is an amazing role model for never giving up.  I am so proud of her achievements and look forward to the next chapter………..

 

Go Shennell!

What an honour!

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Running Growing Talent, it’s my responsibility and privilege to mentor and support vulnerable people to successfully complete and secure the permanent job on offer – literally changing their lives.

 

Like most things we experience vulnerability is on a scale.  People on Growing Talent come from a wide range of backgrounds. Some will be very vulnerable others not so.

 

This support doesn’t end with the programme.  I continue to mentor and support long after the programme has finished.

 

It’s been a difficult few months for one graduate of the programme from seven programmes ago.  Still employed and doing well at work but experiencing some personal issues.  A pendulum of events and emotions over the past few months will continue a while longer.  I have no doubt the person concerned will conquer this period and be a much more empathetic force.

 

I am very proud to have received this award and know that I do make a difference.

 

We should follow Action for Happiness’s view on automatic living.  We bundle through live without actually living it.  Taking a breath to take in our surroundings and live in the moment is so key to our wellbeing and strength.  I personally believe affirmation every day and a reflective period on what we have done well at the end of each day boosts out self-esteem and positivity.

 

I’ll look at my award every now and then to remind myself I do make a difference and do a good job.  Why don’t you try it and see how your self-esteem increases?

Holistic Week – Growing Talent…..

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This is the ‘soft skills’ section of Growing Talent’s 12 week programme.  Usually carried out halfway through.  It’s a time for the Growing Talent Associates to meet up again and encourage each other face-to-face as well as learn some wellbeing techniques and ‘kick back’ a little from their usual work timetable!

 

We returned to Southwark Cathedral were we held the Orientation Week back in early February!  At least no more presentations before senior managers!

So what did we cover?:

Monday – parts 1 & s of Mental Health First Aid – a global course resulting in a qualification as a MHFAider.  This is an intense four part global programme so we lightened the learning a little with Lesley’s 3Rs!

 

Lesley, seen above, is part of the Health & Safety team at PwC.  Her 3Rs are Refuel, Recycle and  Refresh. It’s all about what to eat, how much sleep, exercise all the usual things we need to consider when making choices.  It’s especially difficult doing this on a strict budget!

‘I got a lot of information which I’ll put into practice!’ ‘Another important segment that allowed growth within the unknown.’

Tuesday – saw parts 3 and 4 of the MHFA programme be completed.  This time, Healthy Bites  Nutrition was sandwiched  between the two sections.  This invaluable workshop by Kate from HBN (www.hbnutrition.org) dispels myths around diets, the latest fads and new guidelines – such as only 7 tsp of sugar a day.  Kate shares the cost savings in making your own food, cost comparison and ingredients as well as how to eat quickly prepared nutritious meals on a budget!

 

Kate below preparing the Associates for making their own Pot Noodle!

 

‘A good workshop for sustaining health both in and out of work” ” I know what food groups are now!’

 

Sharing why recycling waste is so important was Dan from Suez, on the left below, on Wednesday.  This got everyone thinking.  A quick roundtable showed the difference between residential recycling across boroughs.  Indeed one of the Associates who has never recycled was inspired to go through her bins!

 

 

Thursday we talked finance.  Covering the basics we should know around debt, regular payments budgets, and so on. It’s surprising how well received this workshop is but on reflection maybe it shouldn’t be so surprising.  After all, where do you learn this stuff if you don’t have supportive, informed parents? Does the Education system have the time to do this?

 

‘The 3 x thirds will be really useful’, ‘I learnt about saving money and ISAs – really useful when we start earning’, ‘this was the most important topic covered for me’ ‘I learnt how to plan ahead’ ‘One million % worth it.  I understand now how to be financially stable.’

In the afternoon it was off to do an Art project!  Terrifying for some!  Their task was to visit Tate Gallery in Bankside and select an item that ‘spoke’ to them.  This could be in a good or bad way.

 

Left to right above inside the Tate are Mokhtar, Leon, Zainab, Ilamathy, Stefan, Ashley, Sebastien & John.

 

Friday morning we had a good discussion on their visit to the Tate, why they selected their piece of art and what they would ask the artist……… then they had to draw it!  You can see the results in the feature photo.  So much laughter in the room.  For some it ignited a childhood love of drawing for others it opened their eyes to a possible new creative way to feed their soul during lunchtime break and outside of work.

 

After some paperwork we finished up the week at lunchtime.They guys presented me with a lovely gift before going home for a well deserved break!

 

On Monday they returned to their employer sites:  Zainab, Ashley & Mokhtar – Harrow Green, Craig, John & Ashling – Iron Mountain – Ashling had to work this week, Leon – Pertemps, Ilamathy – Red Personnel, Stefan – Mitie Connect and Sebastien at Invest In Buy To Let.

 

The Metro showcases a story of pregnant women being incentivised to stop smoking with vouchers – Is this a good or bad idea?

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What do you think?

 

Should having a healthy baby be all the incentive someone needs to stop smoking?

 

What happens if family members smoke around the baby? we all know the solid evidence of passive smoking.  Will the Council extend the incentive vouchers to family and friends?

 

Is there an element of sexism here?  Maybe ageist too?

 

It states ‘pregnant women’ which infers it excludes transsexuals – who born with female sex organs are still capable of carrying a child even though they are now male.  Can they claim the vouchers?

 

I can’t see an older mum shopping in New Look so are they aiming the vouchers at young people who know little of sex education, health and nutrition?  Would it be better to spend the money on target education earlier in schools?  Or is it right to reward bad life choices?

 

How do you monitor someone to ensure they have stopped smoking?

 

With all the pressures on local councils’ budgets, has Stoke-on-Trent Council spent this £16,900 wisely ?

 

Or do you think that this is value for money?

 

Maybe it isn’t as black and white as you might first think……  Thought provoking though

Employers…Recruit a better way…

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We all know that growing our own fruit and veg is something special.  Nurturing it through all the stages from seed, seedling, shoot to full grown crop.  There’s something special about the effort to create something ourselves.  Of course, the taste is always far superior to shop brought.

 

I’m a firm believer people are the same as crops.  When they are invested in,  nurtured to their full potential and taught business skills from scratch, they learn quicker, better and deliver commitment for the opportunity received.

 

Growing Talent enables both the employer and unemployed potential new talent to grow and learn together.  Over a maximum 12 week period, invaluable lifelong skills are taught on the Orientation and Holistic weeks. A maximum of 10 weeks learning the vacant role in situ ensures a confident match.

 

Why pay recruitment fees?  Why recruit from a cv rather then actual knowledge on potential and attitude?

 

Growing Talent is free.  Why not give us a try?  The next programme commences in April.  Contact me for more details of your London based recruitment.

 

 

The pitfalls of sharing too much knowledge with potential clients……………..

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It’s a difficult balance when meeting a potential new client between giving them too much insight to your expertise and not enough.

 

I have worked in employment for decades – well, 2 at least! and the mental health arena for 6+ years.  So I think I’m a good judge of character – but am I?

 

Over the almost three years I have had my consultancy I’ve openly and readily shared by ideas and knowledge.  This approach has gained good relationships with new clients.

 

A few months back, I was approached to meet with a software organisation who wanted to increase their training and support for their time challenged staff.  We discussed various options and I left them with three pages of workshops I run, tasks and challenges as well as links to bespoke videos and websites.

 

My intention was to showcase my knowledge and the diverse tools I use.  Unfortunately, with hindsight, I had actually left them with the tools to run something themselves!

 

After hearing nothing for a couple of months, I got in touch to discover they had put something together and would get in touch if necessary!

 

Of course, they haven’t got in touch.

 

What is the answer?  I’m not sure there is an answer that covers all clients.  Consultants need to show what they can do and will always risk their knowledge being used against them.  Happily there is more integrity in business than this one particular organisation.

 

One happy thought I have is my knowledge is still helping their staff – even if I didn’t get paid for it!