February dose of courage and compassion

Hello everyone,?

I hope you are well. It’s February and I am absolutely loving the lighter evenings!?

We went on a mini-break to Cromer in Norfolk this half term and I realised how fast and furious the start to the year had been. All brilliant, exciting work including a few ‘out-of-comfort-zone’ experiences which came with all sorts of conflicting emotions!

When I stopped the press, it took a long time to cool and for my brain to come into the here and now. Being by the sea, walking on the beach with my family and dog, long yoga sessions and leaving my phone off for hours at a time was exactly what I needed.?

A big warm welcome to those of you who are new to my world. Thank you for joining us.?

I’ve got lots of stuff for you this month!

New blogs

Learning Organisations - Organisations are full of humans who don’t like change and uncertainty. This blog considers what it takes for organisations and their people to embody ‘learning’ as a way of being so that they can be resilient in today’s VUCA world. If you want to learn more, join this free webinar on May 10th with Maximum Performance.?

Case study 1: Striving - ‘Striving’ is a very common pattern of behaviour in executive leaders. It’s part of what got them where they are. Like all strengths, it has a shadow and often a deeper meaning than what may appear on the surface. This blog unpacks the concept of striving and offers some insights, tools and practices that I’ve used with clients to help reframe how they think about themselves in relation to their achievements. If you are interested in learning more, join me and Maximum Performance on 10th May for a 45 min webinar. Register here: https://lnkd.in/evzhaRwV

Other people’s stuff to explore

Thank you to everyone who reached out to share how much you loved ‘Into the Magic Shop’ and the Hidden Brain podcast ‘The truth about honesty’ last month. It means a lot that you gave them a go and let me know your thoughts.?

Here are my top favourites for February:

Book: ‘Untamed’ by Glennon Doyle - I wish I had discovered this book four years ago when it first came out. ‘Untamed’ is all about women breaking out of the cages that we have consciously and unconsciously put ourselves in through our attempts to be accepted and acceptable to others. It’s about uncovering our deep inner knowing, sitting and feeling it all, and living a meaningful life. I’ve already started reading it again because I think I need to read it over and over and over again until I have embodied every single sentence.?

Podcast: Ending Worry Addiction and Unwinding Anxiety? with Tami Simon and Dr Jud Brewer - A fascinating episode for anyone who spends a lot of time worrying, ruminating or catastrophising about the future. Dr Jud unpacks the cycle of anxiety, worry, negative reinforcement and reward with some extremely practical and powerful solutions drawn from the field of ancient traditional wisdom applied with the knowledge of modern neuroscience.?Tami challenges him beautifully and his responses are enlightening.

TV series: Race across the world - We just finished watching series 3 as a family. It’s my all-time favourite, feel good, show to watch with the kids (minus the moderately bad language) - we get to discover the world, cheer for our favourite pairs and imagine what it would be like to ‘race across the world’ with each other. My kids both want to do it with their grandmothers! It sparks fascinating conversations about relationships and human behaviour that we relish at the diner table. And now, I am desperate to go to Canada and curious about what the world would be like if we were all just a little bit more Canadian!??

Updates

‘Inside Out: A Pathway to Resilient Leadership’ – programme update

The data is in - Inside Out has had a statistically significant and positive impact on participants’:

• Ability to step out of autopilot
• Awareness of the impact they have on others
• Understanding and ability to notice their triggers & the impact of those triggers on their thoughts and behaviours
• Awareness of their less desirable behaviours and understanding of where they come from
• Awareness of when they are stressed and how their stress manifests
• Access to strategies to help them handle their stress
• Ability to notice, question and challenge their assumptions?
• Ability to deal with challenging colleagues under pressure
• Ability to offer themselves and others compassion when they don’t meet expectations
• Ability to get a good night’s sleep
• Ability to ‘let go’ of worrying about work outside of work
• Ability to hold boundaries that are important to them to maintain work/life balance

We could not be more delighted with these findings and are happy to share a full deck with anyone interested in delving a little deeper into the data.?

Our next cross-organisational cohort starts in September as we focus on working in-house with some organisations in the spring and summer term. For more information, visit my website.

If you are interested in exploring how Inside Out might help you and your organisation, do reach out for a chat. We would love to hear from you.

Coming up

‘Learning Organisations’ with Maximum Performance – Webinar on 10th may 2024

I’ve been invited by Maximum Performance to deliver a 45-minute webinar to explore ‘learning organisations’ – what they do and what it takes to create a learning culture where all staff are continuously reflecting (alone and in groups), challenging each other to think broadly and deeply and supporting each other.

If this sounds intriguing, you can find out more and register here for free.

New Group Coaching Programmes starting in 2024

Are you looking for a safe, confidential space, to explore the challenges and opportunities you face with a group of like-minded peers who are walking similar paths to you?

Three new coaching groups for women leaders will kick off later in 2024 (once the groups are full).?

Here’s what previous participants have said:

'Group coaching was new to me and when I started I wasn't sure how I'd benefit compared to my previous individual coaching. I found the group setting helped me see how other female leaders face many of the same issues despite being in very different organisations and sectors. I found the more I heard and related to their issues, the more confident I felt to surface (and solve) challenges that I might have otherwise left on the back burner. Highly recommend curious minds to give it a go.' Female leader, non-profit sector.

‘Astrid thoughtfully brought together a brilliant group of women leaders, nurtured the group and enabled and empowered us to work through our challenges and take ownership of our solutions. We have developed a strong bond and I hugely benefited from the space Astrid created for each of us in every session.’ Deputy CEO, public sector professional body.?

For more information on how these groups would benefit you and your leadership, click here.?

If this sounds interesting, please get in touch, or reach out through LI or via email: [email protected]

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I'd love to hear your thoughts on this new format - What do you like about it? How can I improve it?

That’s it for now! Before I go, a HUGE thanks to all of you for being valued members of my network. I appreciate you deeply and look forward to our next interaction!