Newsletter Six - October 2017 to March 2018

Retreats and Quiet Days

As I celebrate 3 years of freelancing today, I see how much of my life I've spent aiming for other people's versions of 'success' or 'excellence'.

So I'm now engaged in he thorny and rosy task of working out what satisfaction and purpose are in my terms. My aim is shifting.

I'll let you know what I discover, though doubtless some of it will get lost in translation between but, heart and brain...

Enjoy spring, which arrived here today!

Highlights

When I look back over the last six months, I’m struck by how many of the really shining moments were on Retreats and Quiet Days. I love them.

Another unexpected highlight has been the preparatory work for the 3-region Ignatian Leadership Programme we’re running from July 2018 to January 2020 (‘NW3ILP’ for short).

In pairs, the planning team visited all 25 participants in situ, in their workplaces, to get a glimpse of their leadership from the inside. The joy of these meetings has taken me aback.

 What a unique opportunity, to be able to invest this kind of time and attention into building a bespoke programme.

Milestones

  1. Tattoo - No, not Edinburgh. One of my coaching clients proudly showed me his new tattoo the other day, that bears permanent witness to a resolve from our sessions that he wants to live by. I hope I looked affirming and proud (which I was) as well as bemused (which I also was)!     
  2. Writing - My first article commissioned outside the UK was published online in March, for the Roman journal “Promotio Iustitiae”, again on the topic of Ignatian leadership.
  3. 100 Courses - I’ve recently passed 100 training courses and facilitation days in my entire career; 62 of them since going freelance. There has been a real shift away from generic management courses and towards team building, leadership, and listening and coaching skills (my favourite stuff).

What's new?

At the end of my last newsletter I mentioned four new possibilities up North. Two have already started, both walking distance from my house!  
 
We’re holding one Mindful Day each season in 2018 (this photo is from our blizzarding March event!) and will then decide how to build it up.

  1. Spa Mindful Days- Eastthorpe Spa and I are collaborating on a new kind of event, that brings together their truly wonderful 17th century setting with a holistic attention to the senses, the body and the mind. Peace and quiet, mindfulness meditations, beautiful facilities, poetry and stories, journalling, their breathtaking garden, good food…

    We’re holding one Mindful Day each season in 2018 (this photo is from our blizzarding March event!) and will then decide how to build it up.
  2. Community of the Resurrection- I’ve joined the retreat team at this wonderful local Benedictine Monastery, and I may be doing some facilitation for them also. 
  3. Humanitarian Coaching Network- I’m now a member of a network of accredited coaches that offers leadership support to humanitarians in some of the toughest development work environments.

What's next?

Coaching continues to be a key element for me.

I have lots of intriguing standalone events coming up over the next few months.

Here's a selection:

  • team reflection day for Durham University staff;
  • quiet day for people who host refugees in their homes; 
  • workshop on ‘listening with everything’ for learning and development professionals;
  • and another Mindful Day at Eastthorpe in June.

But there are 3 things looming largest on the radar: 

China Training of Trainers. After last year’s training course, the convenor and I felt clear that the future of the training would be best served by building the confidence and skill of the local Chinese trainers to lead the course themselves, and to demonstrate the model of active listening and retreat guiding we are proposing to their peers. (‘Foreign Experts’ still have a part to play, but we need to be making ourselves obsolete ASAP!) So in July we will hold a very interactive (and quite possibly very controversial) training of trainers. 

NW3ILP – July will see the launch of our Ignatian Leadership Programme in Drongen, near Ghent. Preparation for this is my biggest workload now, so it will be a delight and a relief to get started.

And this 6 months will end with guiding on the Long Retreat at St Beuno’s in October: 30 days of silence for them, steep learning curve for me (but with a great, trustworthy team). I’ve made a 3o day retreat- this will be my first time guiding on one, so I’m one part nervous to nine parts thrilled.

Thanks for reading!