News and articles

Mid Spring crept up on me unnoticed and I’m quickly putting together our quarterly ‘enews’ letter … and realising my blog has been neglected.

Announcing the Winners of the Coventry and Warwickshire Quality and Governance Awards.

• Best Chairperson – Representing Leadership:  Paul Nash,  Bulkington Village Centre
• Trustee Board Showing the Most Improvement: Warwick District Ryder-Cheshire Volunteers
• Best Presented Annual Report: Crossroads Coventry & Warwickshire
• Best Newcomer – Group: Art Alert

Further information on the awards and winners

Launching the new team leadership programme gives me the luxury of updating my reading and knowledge on the subject.

I whizzed through Patrick Lencioni’s 200 page book “The five dysfunctions of a team – a leadership fable” during a long-weekend looking after Mum in London.   Using a ‘fable’ to present a model, what a great idea: if only all business and management ideas were portrayed as simply and made such an easy read.

Remembering it’s fantasy, forgiving its slightly twee chapter endings and US context, the fable lends another insight into team-working and a new model to consider. Did I spot a wry smile on your face as you recognise your team mates’ reflected in the script before you or see another team leader share your own doubts and deliberations in addressing team flaws?

Three questions you might like to ask yourself as you leaf through the pages:

• Which of the five, interlinked, dysfunctions do you see in your own team? How often do they appear and how widespread are they – all present, all the time across the whole team;  some present, some of the time in parts of the team or (you’re in heaven) none present, ever in all of the team?

• What do you learn about good and bad team leadership from Kathryn? Which (if any) of  her traits do you share?

• What development ideas do you pick up for yourself as team leader or for your team to improve team-working?

Ideally record the answers and actions that emerge to continue your team development or extend your leadership skills.

Try your library first to see if you like it before splashing out: “The five dysfunctions of a team – a leadership fable.” Patrick Lencioni (2002) Joissey-Bass A Wiley Imprint www.josseybass.com

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Venue: Greener House, London

Date: May 10 2011, 10:00 – 12:45

After “very popular presentations at our events last year” (Snap), Nicky Spencer has agreed to go back to London and develop the themes in more detail. Facilitating a workshop in which delegates will be encouraged to interact with each other,  Nicky and a Snap trainer, will assist participants identify ways in which they might use Snap Survey Software even more effectively.

This is time for you to

• Get some space to think creatively about what you, your business or organisation do – and how you might use Snap to save resources and run processes more efficiently.
• Learn from Nicky’s experience in using Snap in a traditional way to manage surveys, but also how she uses Snap for everyday office data collection and as an online learning and development tool.
• Hear about other delegate’s ideas or projects in which they might use Snap differently.

More information

Price: £125 (exc VAT) including buffet lunch and refreshments.

Bookings: call 01454 280 820 or email training@snapsurveys.com

Nicky Spencer is facilitating this two hour workshop highlighting how changes in the healthcare environment may mean life or career changes for many managers

IHM East Midlands is hosting this opportunity for extra personal and professional support to:

• assess your personal situation,
• know the opportunities ahead (and the shape of organisations to come)
• shape yourself to succeed (and identify your transferable skills).

Where?   Nottingham City Hospital

When?    Wednesday 18th May 2011,  4-6pm

More information

The new Career Accomplice sessions began today.

With all the change around, a large number of participants are making a ‘shadow’ career plans – a fall back position that takes into consideration risks around redundancy, periods of unemployment, early retirement, a lower salary and so on.

I’ve noticed though that, when it comes to estimating the financial benefits required to support their situation, people often pluck a figure out of the air for the income or salary they ‘need’ to earn. On greater scrutiny, there’s rarely any facts of figures to back up their assertion.

The challenge in building any career plan is to produce a more rational yet simple ‘home-business plan’.  It involves presenting the facts around the minimum income you need as well as the ideal income you want.  To get there, three set of facts you might want to include - and address -  in your plan over the short, medium and long term:

• Your ‘assets and savings’ including loans and mortgages as well as the implications of  ’net’ and ‘total earnings, insurances and pensions,
• The impact of your choice of  job on your home ‘costs and savings’ - especially if you chose or had to adopt a different or less intensive role, a more local job, retire early, work less hours or in a different sector
• Your underpinning ‘values and ambitions’ e.g. from affording child care to university fees to adjusting the role and responsibilities you, your partner and the family have or even a transition from a ‘take-away, throw-away’ to ‘make, repair and recycle’ mentality

Yes, there will be assumptions and guesswork in your plan but it can be adjusted as new information and facts come to light.  And, at least you will see, more clearly, the range freedoms and limitations that your situation will allow you in steering your way to the future.

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It’s almost a week since I was sifting through the submissions for  Coventry and Warwickshire Quality and Governance Awards.  Both interesting and fun being the ‘other side’ of the submission.

Top three tips for those thinking of submitting for an award?  Probably little different to those you’d do for a great CV or application?

• Keep the award criteria (and assessor’s needs) in mind
• Create an easily accessible structure to present your case – aligned to the award criteria
• Stay focused on showing your results – how you met the criteria.

Who won?   You’ll have to wait til 1st March.

Okay – so I have joined the  blogging community.  I intend it to be the place where you can read about my antics (when I make time to included them) and where I throw out the odd idea that may be of use to you as I go about my journeying.

Let me know what you think – and do send me your news – nicky.spencer@accomplice.uk.com

Have spent the last week, on and off, moving the office from BioCity to the new one in Bingham.  Its my second office move in a year.

Whilst there is the down-side of the chaos (including working with ‘that’ telephone company when it loses your bookings for phone line, when it arrives there’s a sound fault on it and broadband is delayed),  it’s proved a second chance to streamline what I have and focus upon what I need, making the workplace a tidy, clear thinking as well as working space.

The new office is now nick-named the tardis:  not only is it more compact (two thirds the size of the old one and up in the gods of the building) but it’s given me a sense of  ‘future-going’.  Already looked up fellow workers and got out into the market town meeting local shop owners and souting out venues for meetings with colleagues.

Whilst I will miss the daily contact with the great folk at BioCity, this has turned out to be another new and refreshing beginning.

The office (landline) number has changed to 0194 983 1909.   This will also be the facsimile number – as we rarely, if ever,  get any these days.