I went back to University this week. Not as a returning student, but instead to give a lecture to the current students on the Masters course I completed. I was letting them know about my dissertation, and the methodology I'd used to do my research. It was fun to revisit it, and to share it with them.
Part of my aim in setting up my own consultancy is to have more time for my own research and writing, so reflecting on that as a process for the lecture was extremely valuable for me too. I could talk all day about my research, but could I also talk about valuable insights to analyse how I'd 'done' it too? I think I did a good job - the students seemed engaged and asked lots of questions. Questions really help. Some were wanting to know more about my research. Others wanted some very practical knowledge on 'how to do' the research. Others were keen for me to wear their class 'research goggles', and have photographic evidence to share, which apparently help them to focus and see things differently. I hope I added to that. As I answered I reflected that the process was the same as I employ in many work settings too - particularly with new tasks, new contracts and with new ideas. Spending time finding out was much information as possible, being disciplined and organised in not only how I collect it, but how I organise and plan how to use information, are all crucial for me. Research is so important, especially if like me you are curious to fill in the gaps and make improvements, explore possibilities and develop a new set of 'evidence' to support future work. It can be tempting to just 'jump in' but I prefer reflection, collection and then projection. If this is something you think I can help you with, get in touch...
0 Comments
I'm hopeful that 2018 is going to be a great year. It's often the last thing you want to say out loud, just in case, but as we head into a new year I am feeling positive, curious about what will occur and determined to make the most of every opportunity that comes along.
I left 2017 behind with a fun appearance on television. Not my usual way to see out the year, but a great way to celebrate a year of change. I was asked to be part of a BBC programme looking at Scotland's changing relationship with 'going out'. The show was presented by the voice of Love Island, Iain Stirling, romping through the decades starting with the 1950s. My role was to discuss the weird and wonderful food and drink of the 1970s at a recreated dinner party in a stunning Glasgow home which has been preserved in all it's 70s glory. I'd been asked as a result of the other work in my portfolio around retro food, academia and writing. It was great fun to look back and remember Cheese Hedgehogs and strange banana dishes. On social media people responded by sharing their own reminisces of decades past as I mixed up a Snowball cocktail for the host. Thankfully, it also highlighted that things have changed in the intervening decades. Semi-dressed 'lovelies' on beer cans are not a welcome retro revival. The combination of polyester, crimplene and the naked flames of candles should never return. In my food writing and research I spend a lot of time looking back, not with rose tinted glasses but with a reflective head thinking about what we can learn from times gone by to improve the current day. This is equally important in my consultancy role too. Often things seemed better 'before' but when we examine it more closely, not everything should be revived. Reviewing the past very much with an eye on the future is crucial. If this is something you are looking to do, maybe I can help. I'm sure we've all found ourselves doing something just because it's what we've always done. In the same way. At the same time. With the same people. With the same outcome.
Sometimes it feels right to go with what we know, to be safe, to be sure that nothing unexpected happens as a result. At other times we know that continuing to do as before is not enough. Change needs to happen. For ourselves, and for others. I've been fortunate to work with so many great organisations who embrace change during my time as a Funder with the Self Management Fund for Scotland. I've also been fortunate that many of them have asked to remain in contact with me now that I am freelance. The connections and relationships we have built together are important to us both. I am delighted that one of those organisations, No Strings Attached (Scotland) have trusted me to be part of their future development by asking me to join their Board of Trustees. No Strings Attached do great work in encouraging young people living with Asthma to do exactly what many assume they won't be able to do - play wind instruments. They gain confidence, learn from others in the group living with Asthma and turn assumptions on their heads all at the same time. I've long been a fan, as well as a supporter. There are some changes ahead within the organisation, positively, that I am confident I can help them explore and deliver. As someone living with Asthma myself, I am committed to using my time as a volunteer with them to the best impact - doing something different, with different people and for a different purpose. If this sounds like something you want to do too, get in touch and maybe I can help you. Communication is all around us. We're bombarded with information all day, every day. We can filter it out, drift out of conversations, make sense of messages that don't look quite right, ignore things that we assume are not important. We're skilled at communicating, especially with people and in settings which we feel comfortable.
I'm spending a lot of time thinking about my own communication at the moment. I'm working with SASLI - The Scottish Association of Sign Language Interpreters - on an organisational review. It's a really interesting piece of work, with a passionate, skilled and proud group of professionals, who all have clear communication as their aim. It's a return to the world of sign language for me too, having spent eight years learning to communicate differently (for me) when I worked for a Deaf organisation, and then nine years re-training my brain that I didn't (always) need to use my hands to have a discussion. We adapt. I'm adapting back again. For this project, there are so many different levels of communication involved. Information about the review, discussion about the purpose, views about the future, recommendations about what next. I'm collecting information and presenting information back. Communication needs to be unambiguous. Communication with a range of people in a variety of settings with differing agendas is not always easy. I'm excited about the challenge, and confident I can find a way to balance the communication successfully. The measure of my success will be in my own communication. If communication isn't going as well as it could be within your own project, organisation or partnership, maybe I can help you. I've been working this week on a workshop for a new client aiming to encourage collaboration. It feels a little strange working on it on my own, planning out the day and designing activities to support the group to work together more effectively. It's the kind of thing I'd previously have done, erm, collaboratively. With my team.
I'm the team now. It's interesting for me to adapt the way I naturally work, and will be insightful to see how it all pans out the day. My collaborators on the day will be the people in the room. Working together seems like such a natural 'thing' to me. It's clearly not to many others, or at least not an easy prospect. I've tried to tap into some of the potential 'fears' about partnership working and then quickly turn them into positives which will hopefully enhance rather than distract from the eventual outcome. Working alone can seem easier, quicker, more efficient perhaps. You just get on with it. But working with others can bring new ideas, a different direction and support for ideas. It can take longer. If it's not natural to you, or your team, or to the people that you would hope to collaborate with, I can help you. I've always been drawn to roles where I've been able to do lots of different jobs, at different times, and in different places. I've been fortunate that the jobs I've had have been very varied from the start, but also that I've been able to develop things so that variety becomes the standard. It's helped me to stay in my roles for a good length of time, and also helped the organisations I've worked for to diversify. Win win.
Now that I am working for myself, that variety is still crucial to me. It's one of the main reasons for making the switch, and something I don't want to lose sight of. Outside of my consultancy work, I will be continuing my writing, obsession with food and food history, research and academic presentations. I'm hoping that I will be fortunate enough to get involved with a variety of clients in my consultancy role too. The clients and contracts (yes, plural!) I have so far meet my brief. They are jobs I want to do, working with people I want to support, working to make a real difference. This is important to me. It's also important that I maintain contact with other 'peers' and not become isolated 'working alone'. To bring even more variety my way, and to help me to remain 'connected' I am delighted to have been asked to join Wren & Greyhound as an Associate Consultant. I've long admired Graeme and his work, and can't wait to get started on some really interesting jobs together. The quest for variety brings with it the need to be a skilled juggler. You're unlikely to see me with balls, clubs or flaming torches, but juggling is something I've done all my career. If you're looking to develop more variety in your organisation, or perhaps you have been dropping some of the balls lately, maybe I can help. Being first can feel great. Being first can feel scary. Being first can feel uncertain.
Whichever way it is, someone has to be first. Whether we like it or not, life is full of firsts. No-one really remembers the second time they did anything, do they? Nothing compares to the first. My new journey into the freelance word is full of firsts. My first week not being employed by someone else. My first website. My first email. The first time time I said 'can I give you my business card, maybe I can help you?' The first contract I applied for. The first proposal. The first interview. The first email saying I was successful... For my first client, it's a first too - their first consultant. There's lots for us to work out together. The process hasn't been at all as I had expected, which has given me a glimpse into their organisation. I can see even before my first day with them how I can help. It feels good. I'm hoping it will be the first of many. If you're thinking about doing something differently, you can no longer be my first, but you can still take the first step. Get in touch if you think I can help you. We all have a natural tendency to look back. Thinking about the times when life or work seemed better. Easier. Less complicated. To a time when we knew all the answers. Or so it seemed.
I'm as nostalgic as the next person, but I spend as much time looking forward too. We can learn from how things have gone before, but the trick is to remain focused on how things are now, and how things are likely to be. We can't travel back in time, and the reality often is, if we do, things are quite different from our memories. Looking back helps us to focus on what comes next. I've been doing a lot of reflection as I transit to working for myself. It might seem that I have little to look back on, as I've never been self-employed before. But I do. The skills I have built up, the experience, the knowledge, the learning can all be applied as I move forward. More importantly my enthusiasm and positivity are key to making change, doing things differently for myself, but remaining grounded in the 'success' factors in the past that have got me to this stage. Reviewing can be hard. Moving forward can be hard. Seeing the connection between the two is essential. If it's not clear to you, perhaps I can help you. Change. It can be a scary word. It can strike fear into some people. Some people would rather run for the hills or bury their heads in the sand than do something different. Change is not something that features on some peoples agenda.
For others, it's something to embrace. To be welcomed. To thrive on. It certainly is for me. I love change. Throughout my career I've made sure that my roles have changed and developed as time has gone on. As a result, the organisations have changed too. Opportunities for my colleagues have changed. I always seem to have left each role just when it felt right, just when it was in a good place and just when it was time. This most recent change from 'employed' to 'freelance' is my most exciting yet. I'm sure it will take me a while to get my head round it all. This morning was the first Monday in 30 years that I've woken up not 'employed' by anyone else. How does it work? What should I do? I went out for a walk, choosing a different route than normal, breathing in the positive changes all around me. The wind was higher, the sun brighter and the leaves were blowing all over my path. Everything is changing. I am happy about that. Change. It's a positive word for me. If you are about to enter a period of change yourself and are feeling a little apprehensive about it, I can help you. Maybe you just don't know where to start. I can help you. If you're unsure what things might look like in there future, I can help you. |
AuthorHI, I'm Kevin and Third Quarter is my Consultancy. Follow my adventures here... Archives
November 2023
Categories |