Me and my values are off to ACE!

Values - how do yours send you?

I tend to think about how my personal values fit with whatever I'm doing. It can help me to go places and be there, with purpose.

With a sore back making me reflect on why I'm pushing through to CIPD Annual Conference and Exhibition (aka ACE) I've decided to share how my values guide me 're such events this in a blog. In no particular order...

Connectedness

Conferences, exhibitions and events provide a great opportunity to engage with peers and connect to their content, to catch up on old connections and make new ones both personally and in terms of connecting ideas and content cerebrally.As a blogger, it also means I can give back by giving a sense of connection to those who can't attend.

Passion

In my case, I am passionate about people and the world of work (amongst other things!). People who attend conferences tend to be at least interested, if not passionate, about conference content. I find it a real shame when some people lack any passion towards their profession and don't see the value in being amongst others at events such as ACE.

Image from Pixabay

Kindess

In this context, for me, this value is about the how we do the connectedness bit. We may for example have different views from the ones being presented but how we express that should always be done in a kind and considerate (not to mention professional) manner. It's also about making sure that we're building our networks based and/ built on kind, respectful relationships and not just a match in the thinking space.

Kindness to self is also something to consider. For example introverts may need to take care if their energy and emotions (see Mark Hendy's blog here: https://hendyshrblog.com/2018/04/16/introverts-tips-for-conference-survival/) I will need to practice self-care to get through the travel and the days this week. For me this will be pretty practical - wearing easy clothes, heat packs and sensible shoes are among my considerations!

Curiosity 

I am a bit of a sponge when it comes to learning, I try and soak up something wherever someone spills out content. Even if I don't agree, it gets me thinking. Curiosity scratch itched! But it's not just the content I appreciate at events like ACE, it's the exhibition bit too. My curiosity leads me to seek different ways of presenting things and so I also love seeing how people get engagement at their stands.

Curiosity often leads to creativity in my book and I've already been bowled over by the example fellow Blogsquadder Gary Cookson set with his creative vlogs about ACE. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=OOxk-jUnCUE) 

I'm not going to top his video efforts, but I'll keep you connected. You be kind, I'll be curious and let's be passionate about our profession together. 

So, that's me. How do your values send you or show up at, or in your planning for, events?

See you there or read about it here!
Denise.


Note: I was invited to be part of this years #cipdace blogsquad and received a free ticket so I could attend the sessions and share my insights. My thoughts and reflections will be my own and unedited.

Back to blogging for CIPD ACE19

A share about my day... and how it matters for ACE!

It's been a while since I blogged and certainly a while since I did it regularly and with abandon (e.g. not checking it loads and still not pressing the publish button). And yet, in a few weeks time I'll be on the CIPD ACE #blogsquad again. Woo hoo!

I know it can be liberating to just go for it but rather than go in cold, I plan to warm myself up with a few random posts over the coming weeks. And here's the first of them.

So, a few things about my day...

- Morning:
It started with me feeling pretty fragile and useless to be frank. Parenting makes me go into my TA child too often, and sometimes life just feels hard.

- Mid morning:
I stood on my values and that of my organisation and tackled some behaviour that had unsettled me.  More of the hard stuff I had to, rather than wanted to do - It would have been easier to let it go but where's the integrity and stretch in that!

- Mid day:
I had my feelings and competence validated as an experienced colleague on the front line echoed my observations and suggested actions I'd already scheduled to tackle some workplace issues. Her views and mine was shared by others too, when one person had got me me thinking I'd missed the plot!

- Early afternoon:
I was helpful - I'd given my brain (complex advice) and my body (covering reception) and neither by halves but in embracing and giving my all in the moment! I was thanked, and I am thankful about my developing trusted relationships with new colleagues.

- Late afternoon:
I had the moment I hope for everyday but don't get that often - my 'I'm making a real difference' moment - A solution I offered and organised for a colleague had resulted in her really smiling for the first time in a long time. You know the one, the one where the light goes back on in their eyes. Gone was the low, anxious, frustrated flight risk, scratching for solutions to confidence, lightness, energy, self belief, results and pride.

Early evening:
I watched a smart, passionate colleague share her expertise, expertly, to a room of peers and take the tough questions on like a boss. Answering, stretching and making people think and reflect. Just as I expect to happen at a little event in Manchester soon!
(Picture may be added, permission to be sought)

And then to travelling home as I reflected on the day past.

So what's all this got to do with ACE you might ask.
Well, it's to do with what you can expect...

I'll be open and honest, I'll be sharing my opinion and my feels, I'll be listening hard and considering the evidence, seeking the positive (grateful for the experience), and I'll not shy away from the challenge.

Finally I hope that, like today, things (my blogging I mean) get better as I blog my way through ACE to the point where something I offer makes a real difference to someone, perhaps someone who's not experiencing the event first hand or perhaps in a face-to-face moment.

I hope you're looking forward to it as much as I am.

Denise.
Off to try parenting again!

HR: Sounds like...

Songs reflecting HR for me in this moment.

Once again, Twitter is the trigger for a blog. This time, this blog, is thanks to Mark Hendy (a fellow CIPD blog-squadder), who invited/challenged our #PLN* to come up with 5 songs that reflected HR for us. It should have been kind of easy, given I'd had to pick just one song for my reflections of my ODPP with Roffey Park. After all, I could now choose 5 songs and there were no limitations. But just like the #7booksin7days challenge I'd done recently, its not as simple as it seems...


...Some songs have silly statements and sound meaning ("The world is just a great big onion"!) and others initially sound good but are light on meaning or heavy on swearing and so on! And that's before even thinking about genres or artists, how the overall message fits or if you even like a song related to the (rather open) subject!


Whilst I'm still wrestling with my choices I'm embracing the Sunday chill and just going for it. On that basis here are the five that get this blog out and a glass of wine in hand....


1. "This is Me", from The Greatest Showman... because everyone should be encouraged to bring all of themselves to work, it's about diversity too and if you've seen this video you'll get the power of a lightbulb moment which feels very L&D to me! https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=this+is+me+rehearsal+song+youtube&view=detail&mid=D52DC2E2E2BD00D17752D52DC2E2E2BD00D17752&FORM=VIRE


2. "Everything must change", Oletta Adams does my fave version* (just pipping Nina Simone) but its a rework. That in itself talks about iteration and variation. And let's face it, (coping with and helping others to cope/adapt to) change is a topical and constant theme to address for OD and L&D, and HR.
*Here are allllll the versions: https://secondhandsongs.com/work/4541/all


3. The theme from The Office ("Handbags and Gladrags") - clearly the link here is the show and not the song itself. If ever a show gave HR a purpose, this is the show! It should remind people the value we can add.

4. "Lift you up" by Ryan Stephenson is likely to be the least known song on my list, but oh how it resonates for me and my passion for L&OD. Themes include: trust, teamwork, support, diversity, passion, purpose and persistence.


5. And, despite what I said, I just couldn't rule out Marvin and Tammi's "Onion song" - its actually a great song with some relevant lyrics because as HR tries to get back to it's People core, lines like: we got a great big job to do, reach for a higher goal, every one single soul's got to do their share' and 'come on and plant love seeds' all fit for HR in my humble opinion. Just don't let the onions make you cry!
One last thing, what action would you take based on the first songfact here? (Answer not really required!): https://www.songfacts.com/facts/marvin-gaye-tammi-terrell/the-onion-song


I hope my choices make some sense, but more importantly that something on this list made you reflect, smile and/ remember why we're in this profession.


*Lifts the vinyl off the turntable*


Denise x

For more:

• Contact me using the 'Contact form' above right
• Follow me at: @DamsonHR (Twitter)
• Call direct on: 07887 643807
• LinkedIn: Denise Sanderson-Estcourt, FCIPD

* #PLN = Personal learning network.

Out of a meeting to meet people - A new appraoch

A meeting design to make the most of our time!

A few weeks ago I posted on Twitter that I'd had a win with a new meeting approach I'd tested with the OD group I chair. Such was the interest, and feedback from participants, I promised I'd share what it was all about in my first blog for a while (which I hope won't be the last).

The background:

The OD group is made up of volunteers and so it has constantly evolved, and sometimes struggled with attendance as people prioritised other things - like their proper jobs! Also, as chair, I commit to being creative about how we do our meetings so as to model OD themes such as engagement. At the RCP we're recognised by some as a group that gets (the nice, soft) stuff done, but a challenge we often face is not having enough regular input from outside of ourselves and outside of our meetings.

The purpose:

So, my idea was designed to do a few things:

• Do something we'd really not tried already, in the room

• To engage people, external to the group, in what we do

• To make it easier for the members to get OD out of the room, in a way that didn't impact their already limited time in between meetings.

The challenge:

It had to work across multiple sites simultaneously!

The activity in brief:

The thinking how to address these considerations resulted in the 10-3,2,1 activity described below.

Simply put, the group were given

10 mins, to ask

3 questions, in pairs, (so the)

2 people, we're to bring back what they'd learnt to the room to share for

1 minute

Simple enough, yes, but not without thought and the need for a little preparation*.

*Disclaimer: Possibly not even original, though I can honestly say I've not been involved in such a thing before!

The thinking:

The ten minutes was to give people enough time to leave the room and get around our fairly large estate, to find colleagues to talk to. This was purposefully tight as people had to energise quickly or they'd fine themselves at the further ends of the building. Queue the Annika Rice style dash. But I knew some of the nearest teams might be challenging so that was a lesson there!

The three questions were so that people were purposeful and on topic. Thus the questions in themselves had to be clear, relevant and phrased specifically to get quick, useful insights.

Getting people to work in two's meant they were accountable to and supportive of each other. One pair came back and suggested they needed a bodyguard(!) so I can imagine going out alone might have been more of a challenge.

With just one minute to present back, before a plenary looking for themes, the pairs had to work together to agree what the key messages were that they were to bring back.

The learning application:

To do this exercise required people to be willing to do something a little different, to trust the process (and me) to meaningful and to know their way around the place.

The preparation was just the choosing of a meaningful topic, the right questions and documenting them, along with the instructions.

The whole thing was easy enough to act upon, but the purpose and design had to be intentional.

The outcome:

The result was a fun, energised approach to hearing the employee voice in a quick (albeit limited in number) way.

It was certainly enjoyed by the participants who gave great feedback ("I loved it" "Great idea" "Best meeting we've had"), and it was valuable to me in getting feedback on a college project I've been leading on. It also gave food for thought about how/when else the approach could be used... In fact, the CEO has suggested walkabout Wednesdays, and IT and internal communications are thinking of ways they can use it.

Nobody's followed up yet, but watch this space!

Over to you:

If you do (or have done this or similar), how was that for you? If it would help with something you're doing, borrow away but do tell me how it goes!

Thanks for reading,

Denise x

For more:

• Contact me using the 'Contact form' above right
• Follow me at: @DamsonHR (Twitter)
• Call direct on: 07887 643807
• LinkedIn: Denise Sanderson-Estcourt, FCIPD