Exciting meeting with @DavidSteeds & @Maddiemum @JCPinSthLondon yesterday planning @Growing_Talent 2023. Four programmes will run throughout the year enabling forward planning for all involved. Targeting London based employers and unemployed people looking for a different journey into work.
In these challenging times, now more than ever this unique collaboration is needed to deliver positive results to all.
Thanks to all involved over 9yrs Growing Talent has run changing lives by delivering real social mobility
What will the next year hold for Growing Talent?????
Who knows! One thing is for sure, we’re ready to roll that bowling ball!
Last week was the 28th Orientation and Holistic element of Growing Talent! We covered a lot including:
Communication
Emotional intelligence and behavioural impact
Conflict styles and management
The power of body language
Nutrition on a budget – the perils to avoid
Wellbeing windows and non-negotiables
Basic finance tips and tricks
Workplace ettiquette
Case studies – what would you do in these real situations?
Facing fear and overcoming procrastination to move forward
Fake it until you become it
Automatic habits
Challenging thoughts
Schedule in self-care
Working from etc venues in Fenchurch Place, London Monday – Thursday last week, we enjoyed an energising breakfast, mid-morning break, full on lunch with hot and cold options, desserts and cheeses. Smoothies, vegetable shots and tea, coffee (in many different compilations) as well as water!
On Thursday Paul, Ella and Suaad’s prospective employer was able to join us for a networking lunch along with Anna and Mick from DWP. Ella, Florence and Suaad shared some of their experiences over the week and questioned Paul, Anna and Mick on how they had dealt with a range of things from Covid to conflict both at work and in their personal lives. I sat and listened with pride at how their confidence had grown over that few days. Our guests were very generous in sharing past and present experiences. Mick’s previous life in the Met Police gave a lot of insight that maybe we don’t always think about. It was a powerful reminder that everyone has a back story we usually know nothing about.
After the ‘grilling’, We had a sumptuous lunch together before departing for the week.
The feature photo above shows Ella, Suaad and Florence completing their @I-act Managing and Promoting Positive Mental Health and Wellbeing ready to use some of the tools and learning to empower their resilience in the workplace as well as support those around them where they feel safe to do so.
So what did Ella, Florence and Suaad think of they journey so far?
“I enjoyed all of the workshops and found them very informative- I didn’t necessarily have the most open mind (I generally don’t about lots of ‘work training’ things) in advance of attending but Jane’s attitude and openness made me want to attend. What I enjoyed the most (besides the food which was phenomenal) was being able to openly share my background, hopes and fears, experiences with others in such a safe and encouraging environment. So much about looking for work requires us to be constantly positive in attempts to oversell ourselves. What Jane does so well, and what I enjoyed the most, was being able to be a whole person- with room for improvement but a clear pathway to that improvement. It was such a boost to my self-esteem and made me feel that there were practical steps to moving forward that didn’t involve berating myself for not having achieved them yet.”
“I found the ‘five second rule’ very practical- I could definitely recognise that in myself and the way my brain talks me out of doing things I am worried about. I also found the discussions around confrontation and interpersonal workplace relationships (and outside) really helpful. Also the continual emphasis on maintaining good channels of communication is definitely something I am trying to keep permanently in mind until it becomes second nature.”
“Personal well-being and learning how to structure your work day to make sure your mood is optimal and you’re making the most of your day. If you take a proactive stance and not react to what life throws at you, you can be in control and change the quality of your day to day experiences.”
“Jane has been wonderful over the week. The way the programme was delivered over the week shows this is something Jane deeply cares about and enabling participants with the right information and boost of confidence/morale is just as important as securing a job. After facing unemployment you have to mentally prepare yourself before starting a job, you may feel out of the loop or in a low mood. By completing a holistic short course beforehand, it allows you to evaluate how you are doing on a scale and gives you insight to what to work on going forward.”
“The I-Act course is a great source to keep around and use as a reference, it provides a great summary of different types of mental health issues and illnesses. Once again, it is a tool you can use to see how you’re doing on scale and can be used to advocate for yourself and others. Courses such as this are needed to destigmatize the issue of mental health, a simple heartfelt conversation may change the trajectory of someone’s health and even their life.”
“I am very grateful and happy to be given this opportunity, it is a unique and lovely programme that would not be possible if curated by someone who didn’t understand how to genuinely help people (to help themselves!). It’s clear this is a labour of love and it really shows in the quality of the programme and the impact it has on me over just one week. Bravo, thank you!”
“Jane made us feel very comfortable and secure enough to share our personal stories as to what led us to Growing Talent. I also enjoyed the company of the other people on the journey with me. There was nothing that I didn’t enjoy. I looked forward to each day!”
“The whole concept of having a “Holistic Employment Programme” is such a great idea and perfect in my situation. It provides a level playing field for everyone. Thank you!”
If you are unemployed, live in London and interested in a different route to employment – check us out and or speak with your work coach at JobCentre Plus.
If you are an employer with permanent jobs in London which you are willing to train in, why not consider Growing Talent? Like Ella, Florence and Suaad you will have empowered, resilient, enthused, empathetic new talent before you formerly hire them with qualities you wouldn’t usually see in traditional recruitment – and it’s free. Get in touch to discuss.
Thanks to Netflix, I watched this brilliant film over the weekend. I was struck by many things. Yes, it had all the emotions – happy, sad, courage, loyalty, generational parallel lives, hope, adversity, ignorance, acceptance, bullying and likely many more. Overall, it left a feeling of hope, that’s it’s ok to be your authentic self and life can be fun if we drop the judgements we give others – without even speaking with them.
I originally wrote this for my LinkedIn in page. Why? because the film is a place of work comprising actors, camera crew, runners etc as is the school central to the film’s theme. Without the Emotional Intelligence to accept all work colleagues – direct reports, peers, line management, clients, supply chain etc in all sectors, as well as recognise and understand how our emotions, thoughts and behaviours impact others, businesses and their people will never thrive.
As the credits to the film rolled, we see the ‘real’ Jamie Campbell and his mum Margaret from County Durham who the film was based on. A three part documentary in 2011 featuring Jamie and his mum’s fight for him to be allowed to wear a dress to his secondary school prom.
For me, the most poignant feeling I got from the film was how little has changed. Ten years since the documentary on Jamie’s fight to be authentic yet we don’t seem any further forward. In the film, Jamie’s guide to becoming a drag queen is Hugo played by the brilliant Richard E Grant. Snapshots of Hugo’s life as a drag queen during the explosion of AIDS, had parallels with Jamie’s fight and illuminated the lack of acceptance today.
With training in how our behaviours impact ourselves and those around us, change is possible – but only if we want it.
Final thoughts – the film ended with a real shift in change of attitudes by many. I wonder how much more businesses would grow if they looked at the behaviours and impact of all within…..
Do we ever really know everything about someone? Do we take the time to get to know them – or just accept the surface we see as all there is to them?
I’ve long thought we allow our assumptions about someone’s behaviour, actions, words etc to form perceptions about them without questioning what evidence we have to back this up. That doesn’t sound too fair does it?
Prince Philip is a case in point. How many formed an opinion about this individual without ever speaking to him? Taking what was reported by the press as fact? How would we feel if we were judged the same way?
As humans, we tend to judge others on their actions but ourselves on our intentions.
We make assumptions about others actions without considering what their intentions were. Does this sound fair? To me, it doesn’t. I’d hope people would check their perceptions of my intentions on any action I do was factually correct by asking me. Of course, those in the public eye can’t be approached to ask BUT we can check our thoughts and make sure we have evidence to back these thoughts up. If we don’t, shouldn’t we keep a non-judgemental open mind?
What has surprised me is the lack of coverage during Prince Philip’s lifetime of his achievements away from his ‘job’. Across different media since his death, we have learned a little more.
Amongst the nuggets of information revealed about him, was he painted and wrote 14 books. Trying to find a list of these books, I came across the 1984 publication of ‘Men Machines & Sacred Cows’ – hardback copies on Amazon for over £69 – a leap I suspect to what a copy would have cost prior to the prince’s death. This book is a collection of works focussing on science, technology and design.
The following exert is from Huffington Post’s coverage – and, for me, captures an insight to the character of Prince Philip especially his dry humour – in his own words from Men Machines & Sacred Cows…..
“Some optimists tend to assume that once you have learned the lesson that horses bite at one end and kick at the other, there is nothing further to worry about. No such luck, I’m afraid.
“The horse is a great leveller and anyone who is concerned about his dignity would be well advised to keep away from horses.
“Apart from many other embarrassments there is, for instance, no more ridiculous sight than a horse performing its natural functions with someone in full dress uniform mounted on its back.”
According to a piece in the Sunday broadsheets, Prince Philip started a truffle farm on the Sandringham Estate in 2006 and was reportedly the first person to successfully grow French Perigord black truffles from British soil! Apparently, this is a big deal especially to truffle aficionados. It’s impressive to me trying to grow some chillis and squash indoors!
Various charities and individuals have spoken about how Prince Philip kept in touch with them, showing an interest in their progression long after his retirement from public life from Dame Floella Benjamin to Shakespeare’s Globe theatre shows me an integrity and empathy not shown in any press reporting prior to his death.
Talk about hidden depths.
So what thoughts has the death of Prince Philip exposed for me?
Our perceptions about someone/something should be based on factual evidence not gossip, social media etc.
If we can’t find the evidence to determine if our perceptions are correct, we should keep a neutral, open mind.
Above all, it should be remembered everyone has hidden depths
At this time of year, many of us have abandoned well-intentioned resolutions we set at the start of a New Year. There’s many reasons for this. In my experience, I set unrealistic goals. Usually, I get disillusioned as the results I desire don’t appear super quick!
However, one mid-year resolution I started a couple of years back, and have kept to, is switching to Seedlip. Granted you do need to add some flavourings, but it’s so worth it. You can drink as much as you like and still be able to drive! It’s the only non-alcoholic drink out there that isn’t over sugary/over gassy.
By adding mint and lime to the garden flavour or orange, cinnamon stick and star anise to the spice I really feel like I’m having a lush cocktail!
What I’m trying to say here are two things.
If you want to cut down/out your alcohol intake – make the switch. You won’t feel deprived
Switching to Seedlip was easy for me because it’s a small, ‘doable’ change. Illustrating, if you want to see big changes, start with small ones.
I run a platform – Growing Talent – devised by business for the free use of business to identify and grow their potential new talent before hiring them cost free.
This is a mutual ‘test drive’ for both the employer and potential new employee to ensure a confident, sustainable match.
This is the 2nd week of a two week run on overground trains on – Southern, South East and South Western – over 1,500 carriages in all.
Over the last four years, more than 125 unemployed people from all backgrounds have secured permanent roles, grown in confidence and – in their own words – changed their lives.
But do employers really want to try something different? Something innovative that delivers results or just keep doing what they are doing using time, money and other valuable resources but not always identifying the right person.
What are you thoughts? Is Growing Talent a good or bad thing….. please let me know your thoughts……
Reading The Metro on the train this morning, there was a small piece on a group supporting offenders completing their sentence to be given a £1K package to include grooming costs, clothes etc to enable them to make a great 1st impression when meeting prospective employers.
A great idea. But are 1st impressions still appropriate?
I’ve noticed more and more, in the corporate world especially, how dress code has changed to become almost non-existent.
It almost seems unacceptable now to give personal image guidance to increase someone’s chances of making a great 1st impression.
I hope the group trying to support the offenders are successful. People leaving prison clearly have a number of hurdles to get over if they are going to make a successful transition.
Personally, I know that I perform more confidently if I’m dressed appropriately for the situation/event.
So just how important is ‘dress to impress’ ‘no 2nd chance at a 1st impression’ now?
I run a platform – Growing Talent – devised by business for the free use of business to identify and grow their potential new talent before hiring them cost free.
Jane James's Consultancy Limited 