2021 Rearview Mirror

This time of the year always feels so luxurious, I have time, time with my children, time with my family, time with my friends and time to think and reflect.

I checked in (again) on my goals for 2021 which included:

1. Resilience: Physical, Emotional and Community.
2. Knowledge. Factual knowledge, Conceptual knowledge, Procedural knowledge.
3. Support. Professional, Personal and Emotional.

If 2021 had a spirit animal I reckon it would be a mountain goat, not just because at the end of the year I am wondering how we got here but because achieving my goals for 2021 in a year that primarily confined me in so many ways was tough.

As a civil servant I am lucky to have access to education and training courses at the Defence Leadership Centre and my attendance at the Senior Leaders Mental Fitness and Resilience Course in the year really helped me to focus on a positive psychology, mindfulness and optimism. I met and connected with others and together we examined what it meant to be responsible for dispersed teams during a pandemic. I like to think that my application of that new knowledge has helped my teams to thrive not just survive this year and the annual #CivilService #PeopleSurvey21 had some encouraging findings that I will unpack in 2022.

When it comes to knowledge is there any better sentiment?

“I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.”?

―?Maya Angelou

I believe every day is a school day, what we knew then might not be relevant now and thats why when Paul Ottewell put a call out for volunteers to help him deliver a solo workshop as part of his Arbinger Institute facilitator training, I snapped the offer up.

The two-day workshop with my management team was high impact, when do we ever really ask ourselves "How can I be more helpful to others?" Those two days actually got my management team over a virtual line I had been trying to move towards for a while, to think and function as a team. We will be using some of the tools in the new year to address issues in the People Survey as well as the challenges posed by Transformation. In addition Paul has offered some follow up and I can't wait to see what that looks like. For those in MOD, Paul is now a qualified facilitator, check him out, he is awesome and the Arbinger material truly useful.

In April I gained the Freedom of the Worshipful Company of Carmen one of the 110 livery companies in the City of London. The Company represents a wide range of aspects within the transport and logistics sector and I am looking forward to getting more involved in their work in 2022 as my Royal Navy Phd funding fell through and I have decided to channel that energy in different ways. Those different channels will still test me, show me and grow me, taking me out of my comfort zone the way the recent #RUSI podcast did https://rusi.org/podcasts/western-way-of-war/episode-74-joann-robertson-rethinking-logistics.

While this working class kid still strongly feels the need to validate herself with a Phd I am also alive to the reality that its who I am and what I do that defines me, not my qualifications.

Overall there are definite #2021Wins, my teams have delivered all their outputs in the face of constant challenge, my upskilling programme continues and my diverse team has an improved purpose. We have done all of this with some fun and laughs along the way, making time for each other has been crucial but tricky when working from home and scheduling that time in order for it to happen is a must.

In February I will have been in this role for 2 years, it has felt sluggish compared to all my other roles, the wins less tangible, the footing less substantial. Thats got as much to do with the scale and rate of change/transformation across MOD/Support as it has COVID but it has been the people who have stood beside me, behind me and at times in front of me that have enabled everything to happen.

It is to them that I owe the 2021 wins, thank you, for all you do and all you are.