4 Inspirational Insights from the Charity Thrive Conference

I recently got the opportunity to participate in the Charity Thrive Conference. Fran, from Heart-Centred Leaders had created a jam-packed programme for the day filled with thoughtful contributions from more than 10 speakers and panellists.

It felt both completely normal and strange to meet in person after such a long time. The last event I went to was in March 2020 and I felt quite nervous the night before. But this disappeared when I arrived to a warm welcome from familiar faces and some people I had not met before.?

Here are my key insights from the day:

1 - You can enjoy something that you are not naturally good at!

We started with African drumming led by Hartbeats and I am not a person with natural rhythm and found myself worried as I kept losing my place and finding it difficult to follow. But I took a breath and decided to just enjoy the experience and see the drumming as an outlet from what has been such a stressful year. So yes, I did miss the cues and my beats were not on point but it was a great release to whack the drum and let go. I always say that everyone is creative, they just may not have found their outlet yet, and I encourage people to draw and paint and not harshly judge their creations. After all, it is their art and expression and it doesn’t need to conform to a particular standard. I must try and remember my own advice.

2 - Give more praise, even if it feels uncomfortable

At the Wellbeing panel, Gosia Gorna?shared her thoughts on how a manager had helped her wellbeing in the past and her answer has stayed with me.

Question: What has a manager done that has helped you grow?

Answer: I think it is when we express gratitude and give positive feedback, I don't think we do this enough. It made me feel great, and the next time I did it, it was 10 times better.

I have rarely felt comfortable with either giving or receiving positive feedback, I wonder if that is in part a cultural thing in the UK that we struggle to offer praise often. We often focus on what went wrong, what about what we did well? What about recognition? We just want to be seen, to feel like we matter and know that we make a difference.?

3 – Get out of the way and let people do what they do best

I've always wanted to hear?Henry Stewart ???speak and so I had very high expectations,? but he did not disappoint! Henry’s organisation, Happy Ltd believe "People work best is they feel good about themselves". I love this! What would change in your workplace if this was your focus?

I loved everything he said but most of all his three key takeaways:

1. Get people to do what they are great at

2. Give them the freedom to do it well

3. Coach them to be their best

Plus he showed irrefutable evidence that happy organisations lead to greater and faster success and growth. I think we need to try and get out of the way and let the great people we hire do what they do best, less micromanaging and more celebrating what went well and learning from challenges.?

What would happen if we celebrated our successes and failures and looked at what we could learn from them?

4 – Why can’t we lead with love?

We heard a talk from Caron Bradshaw OBE?CEO of?Charity Finance Group?at?#charitythrive?talking about how?#LOVE?is her purpose. She asked, what if you swapped the word?#Leadership?and love?

She suggested that it takes the?#happiness?idea from Henry a step further.

Have you ever felt love at work?

So to summarise:

• Find the joy in a new challenge
• Give positive feedback daily and recognise others
• Empower people to do what they are best at and give them to freedom to do it well
• Try being a loving leader

We spend such a large proportion of our lives working, why not enjoy it as much as possible. Let’s be the change we wish to see in the world, be kinder to ourselves and each other and bring a greater sense of joy to our work.?

Discover more

Read more about Fran and the Heart-Centred Leaders team behind the Thrive Conference - https://heartcentredleaders.com?

Guest Blog by Dawn Newton

Dawn Newton is a creative communications consultant, passionate about enabling charities to create high impact communications with minimal resources. Dawn specialises in helping charities to create digital content that audiences love. Dawn can support with communications audits, email marketing, social media – organic and paid, coaching and training.

Clients include – Mind, Sense, WheelPower, St John Ambulance, Richmond CVS, Sightsavers, Petit Miracles, Small Charities Coalition, London Youth Games, Community Impact Bucks and UnLtd.

Dawn’s LinkedIn profile

Email: [email protected]

Create Compelling Content - Training Session (Online)

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/create-compelling-content-for-your-target-audience-tickets-168099549277

#charitycomms #socialmedia #training #content