Ladies of the London Symphony Chorus

About Dorothy, ,

Having my own business allows a degree of flexibility and still there are choices to be made. Months ago, in the midst of a busy singing schedule, I opted not to sing this week in two concerts of Mahler’s Eighth Symphony at Saint Paul’s Cathedral, recognising the time commitment involved and the challenges of juggling these demands with my work schedule. Still, I opted to support the chorus by travelling today to Tewkesbury Abbey to sing in Vaughan William’s Sinfonia Antartica, knowing ahead of time how exhausted the choir would be today.

So, my coaching schedule has been condensed and I start the day early in order both to prepare for my day trip to Tewkesbury and to be fully present to my coaching clients before I leave. As I travel to meet my singing colleagues I savour the progress of my clients, enjoying the sense of privilege that comes from our work together.

As I board the coach there is much talk of the Mahler concerts and I experience the slight flutter – a sense of loss – that comes with knowing I have chosen to miss two important concerts. Four hours later, the ladies of the London Symphony Chorus arrive in Tewkesbury just in time to rehearse the ethereal siren-song which emanates from the rear of the Abbey at the beginning of the Sinfonia Antartica. We have time to rehearse and to catch a bite to eat at My Great Grandfather’s across the road before returning to hear the orchestra play Ravel’s Le Tomberau de Couperin and Bruch’s Violin Concerto Number 1 before we sing. Alina Ibragimova plays the solo violin with a commitment and assurance beyond her young years.

22 years into my membership of the Chorus I know that whilst we sing together, our memories of concerts are often strictly personal. I have my own special reasons to enjoy singing in the Abbey, and I enjoy these associations as well as the evening’s spirited performance.

We travel into the night to get home. I blog. It’s already time for bed.

Getting up early for school

About Dorothy, Developing as a leader, ,
“The Teaching Awards provides a unique opportunity
for us to celebrate those who, tirelessly and often selflessly, dedicate their lives to securing a future for the next generation”
Lord Puttnam of Queensgate CBE

5 a.m. is not my favourite time in the morning.

My alarm goes off at 5 a.m. this morning. Perhaps I should say alarms: I have set my mobile phone and, at the same time, Marvin Gaye springs into action. I text Alan (“wakey, wakey”) and then get up to shower and get ready.

Today I take off my hat as business woman and executive coach and put on my hat as judge on behalf of the Teaching Awards. The Teaching Awards provide an opportunity for anyone who chooses – parents, pupils, colleagues and so on – to say thank you to a favourite teacher.

Already, our judging colleagues have been busy visiting schools around the country to identify the finalists at regional level. As judges at national level we have the – almost impossible – task of identifying the “best of the best” in our category, the The Royal Air Force Award for Headteacher of the Year in a Secondary School. Today we make our first visit to one of our shortlisted schools. We meet a variety of children, parents, governors and staff who all share their special stories and celebrate their headteacher.

As a visitor to schools I am often struck by the simple vision, passionately held, that headteachers have: to do what’s right for the children in their care. The headteacher we meet today is no exception.

I am moved when she talks of her own reasons for feeling so passionate about the children in her school.

London’s 7/7 bombings

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Wikipedia records how, on July 7th, 2005, at 8:50 a.m., three bombs exploded within fifty seconds of each other on three London Underground trains. A fourth bomb exploded on a bus nearly an hour later at 9:47 a.m. in Tavistock Square. The bombings killed 52 commuters and the four suicide bombers, injured 700, and caused disruption of the city’s transport system (severely for the first day) and the country’s mobile telecommunications infrastructure.

Londoners were already used to the effects of war and the threat of violence. Remembered for their “blitz spirit” during the Second World War, they had also witnessed bombings and threats of bombings by the IRA (Irish Republican Army) between 1971 and 1999. The 7/7 bombings of 2005, detonated by suicide bombers on crowded commuter trains and buses, took violence in the capital to a new level. Wikipedia records: The series of suicide-bomb explosions constituted the largest and deadliest terrorist attack on London in its history. I remember a strange moment when I suddenly looked back on the IRA’s telephoned warnings with gratitude, recognising that lives had been saved by these warnings and by the evacuations that followed.

Today, Londoners remember the bombings of 7/7. Amongst the acts of remembrance is a documentary in which survivors and their loved ones talk of their experiences. The documentary closes with images of Gill Hicks on her wedding day, walking down the aisle just five months after both her legs were amputated below the knee.

Watching their testimony I am filled with love for my fellow human beings. Without exception.

On drinking your (Super)greens

About Dorothy, Alternative approaches, Coaching, Your personal and professional well-being, ,

Whew! What a weekend! I am just home from two days with Janet Switzer, who has been sharing information with a group of entrepreneurs on how to create and market their business. Janet has been the “secret marketing weapon” behind a number of significant successes: she’s worked with Jack Canfield, for example, author of Chicken Soup for the Soul and she also co-authored a book with him. I am grateful to my friend Rob who sent information to me about this seminar and to the School of Personal and Professional Development who organised it.

I keep my brain well-lubricated during the two days – two litres of Supergreens each day to help me absorb all this information. Because the green powder settles in the bottle, I shake it every time I drink any and this soon leads people to ask questions. Some ask me about the benefits of drinking it (these are prodigious). Some ask me how I manage to drink so much in one day (and other, more intimate, questions about the consequences). Some people ask me where I buy it.

So here’s a link. I buy my Supergreens via Jem Friar, who has a keen interest in health and runs retreats where people can detox. His website is at http://www.balancedpath.com/ and the link to buy Supergreens is at http://www.innerlightinc.com/EUROPEEN/Family_SuperGreens.aspx?ID=balancedpath

Celebrating the day

About Dorothy,

Friday.

I wake early with a busy day ahead. I am at my local supermarket just as it opens, knowing I won’t get time to shop over the weekend, and I’m back in time to prepare for my first coaching session with a new client. We have two luxurious hours together and I know I’m going to enjoy our work together.

Shortly after she leaves I also leave. My nephew, Edward, has his final concert as part of his MA and I travel to central London, to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama to join him. His mother (my sister-in-law) Judy and my mother also join us and we enjoy the work of Edward and his fellow composers and the instrumentation which includes an accordion and alphorns. The steps of the Recital Theatre, supporting the alphorns, take the place of the Swiss Alps.

After lunch together I travel home, enjoying the views along the river as I cross London Bridge on foot. Something about these river views continues to delight and sustain me even after all these years. I am home for a brief period before going out again so I prioritise, down-loading information for my weekend workshop and checking my e-mails. Then a few minutes to blog before I head back towards London Bridge.

I am on my way to join former colleagues from the Hay Group, where I worked until I set up my own business in 2002. The ‘ex Hay’ network meets twice a year and many former colleagues continue to cherish friendships, to collaborate as colleagues, or as colleagues and clients. I look forward to our meeting on the South Bank.

As I write I celebrate the day.

Blogging: another “must do”?

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Travelling home yesterday after my last coaching session of the day I check in with myself. My full attention has been on my client and suddenly I notice how hungry I am – and ready to put my feet up at the end of a full day.

Suddenly I find myself thinking “I must write something on the blog before I make supper” and, almost simultaneously, “when did I decide that I ‘must’ blog every day?” I check in again and recognise that no, this evening I have other priorities.

I am amazed at how quickly my mind has tried to sneak in this blogging rule by the back door. Hah! And grateful to have spotted the little bugger!

On becoming an alkalarian

Alternative approaches, Your personal and professional well-being, , ,

As I pick up e-mails at close of play I pick up a request from a friend for details of this strange green drink I enjoy, aka Supergreens. It’s almost a year since I started drinking it (two litres a day most days) and my skin is supersoft.

More recently I have been making changes to my diet after reading Robert Young’s book The Ph Miracle. This is one of a number of books which point to the benefit of a diet which is based substantially on alkaline-forming foods (basically, greens) in place of the acid-forming foods that comprise a modern Western diet.

Three months in I am realising this is a journey rather than an overnight transformation. Giving up coffee and tea has been a major step and largely successful. I’m happily eating salad for breakfast most days. Giving up dairy products is proving more of a challenge – how hard I find it to say “no” to a chunk of mature cheddar or strawberries and cream!

More than anything, in recent days, it’s been a marker for my progress that I can now say “I am becoming an alkalarian” without giggling.

Emotionally intelligent leadership: it’s all very well in theory…

Developing as a leader, Emotional Intelligence, ,

On Mondays I am almost invariably in my office with a schedule of coaching calls and other meetings. Today is no exception.

I start the day with a call with my colleague Sandra Morson, with whom I am planning a book. We both work one to one with men and women in leadership roles, helping them to develop the capabilities which, together, are increasingly labelled “emotional intelligence” or “leadership competencies”. Although there is plenty of published research about what makes for a successful leader, it isn’t so easy to know how to develop as an emotionally intelligent leader.

Collaborating in writing a book is a way of sharing our experiences with a wider audience than we can possibly reach one to one. Having mapped out the structure and content of the book we are starting to make contact with potential publishers. This morning we start planning a proposal which we aim to submit to a publisher with whom we are already in contact.

As I put the phone down at the end of our call I notice the excitement I feel about this project. I think of the men and women who will find this book an invaluable resource as they prepare for leadership or as they address the challenges that face them in their current leadership role. And I think of the joy I experience: in collaborating with Sandra, in writing, in finding out how to make something happen that I have never done before – as well as in reaching and supporting this much wider audience.

Nelson Mandela, Bill Gates and my father

Developing as a leader,

London is papered with posters this week to announce today’s concert to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday. A host of musicians are preparing to perform in honour of the old man of South Africa in London’s Hyde Park.

Reading the posters evokes memories of my father, who was 95 when he died a little under two years ago. I think of the span of both men’s lives, including Mandela’s time – 27 years! – in jail. His willingness to face imprisonment in pursuit of equality for black people marks him out, as does his willingness on leaving jail to “get stuck in” to the task of creating a South Africa, post apartheid, that was worth fighting for.

I also think of the loss of Mandela’s son, Makgatho, to AIDS in January 2005. For my father, one of the greatest challenges of old age was the death of loved ones, though never – thankfully -a son. Thinking of Makgatho’s death I think of Bill Gates, retiring this week from the fulltime chairmanship of Microsoft to dedicate more time to the Bill Gates Foundation. Gates’ commitment through the work of the Foundation to the health of some of the most disadvantaged peoples of the world touches me.

At the end of a busy day, I take a moment to sit with all these thoughts.

Blogging, coaching and client confidentiality

Coaching, ,

Whilst some coaching clients infinitely prefer to meet face to face, today I speak with clients who prefer to speak by phone. This has many benefits all round – our calls are condensed and productive and nobody spends any time travelling. What’s more, our calls today are timed so that I have time to walk to Blackheath at lunchtime, adding 4,000 steps to my daily target of 10,000 minimum.

As I walk I savour the privilege that comes from working with clients one to one. I think how much it would inspire others to be, like me, a witness to the work my clients do through coaching. I think also of the tight confidentiality agreement I have with my clients and make a mental note to alert my clients to this blog and to remind them of my commitment to our confidentiality agreement.

Still, recognising the way we are inspired by the experiences of others, I also start to play with asking for permission: what will it be like when I say, “if you’re willing to allow me to share it, I’d like to say something about your experience on my blog”?