A sense of belonging

For as long as I can remember I have always wanted to fit in. At school, playing in the street, at college, university, work, even at home growing up with my sisters and brothers, the importance of being part of something was critical.

Being a valued and engaged member of a community helps us feel more secure knowing that we have others around who share our goals and care about progress. A simple relationship between people is enough to increase feelings of warmth and motivation. 

When I started going to Sunday school regardless of our colour or religion we all came together to learn and accept one another. Joining the Cadets helped me feel part of something special where everyone wore a uniform and could progress through the ranks equally. Studying and progressing through fulltime, further and higher education I was sat in classrooms with others from different backgrounds that had all come together for a common purpose.

The definition of a true community is one where we subscribe to the celebration of human differences and the profound healing, communication, love and creation that comes from living in such an environment. This is exactly the feeling I have for our North East. Forever I have loved our region, having been born and brought up here, regularly feeling home sick when away for long periods. 

The North East is truly the greatest region in the world, the greatest people and place with an overall shared ambition of being hospitable, industrial and happy-go-lucky. Undoubtedly current times are hard with the prevalence of divisiveness, deprivation and disengagement, together with a constant reminder about how poor we are, how unfairly we are treat, and how everyone has forgotten us, even though not the entirely the case.

The only place I wanted to start a business was in the North East. In 2003 when I started leading a business the only trade body I wanted to join, having previously disregarded being a member of one, was the Institute of Directors (IoD). Why? It was the only trade body for Directors. A truly professional organisation with a significant community; every event, dinner, briefing, annual conference I attended was the best it could be; coming together to learn, share ideas and building meaningful relationships with one another. 

Roll forward to September 2019 and being appointed as the North East’ sub regional chair for the IoD is a truly proud moment for me, offering an exciting opportunity and a significant challenge. There are huge boots to fill, following in the footsteps of the wonderful regional vice-chair Dr Joanna Berry, but also a great chance to galvanise our community and showcase who we really are to the rest of the U.K and even the world. 

It was through innovation, invention and exploration that the North East took the global lead. With North Easterners inventing steam trains, engines, lightbulbs, charting and mapping far off lands and making a whole host of things better. And I do believe we are doing this all again, through leading in digital, automotive, life-sciences, and the energy sectors to name but a few. We just need to start shouting about it more so that the whole community knows. And one way of doing so is by becoming part of something. Helping develop a community that communicates, collaborates and celebrates, a true community! And if you are interested, I would be delighted to share our dynamic and exciting plans for our regional IoD, so that you too can share my sense of belonging….

(As featured in The Journal Thursday 10th October 2019)