Stepping Into A New Season

Dear Reader,

As we head into the month that will bring us the first weeks of Autumn, here in the Northern Hemisphere, I am taking time to really acknowledge and appreciate, with purpose, my surroundings and environment. In the Sussex Downs, the area that I call home and spend a good portion of my time, it is the beginning of the harvest season; it is a time of change, a time of reaping what has been sown earlier in the year, a time of benefitting from the work that has been done.?

For me, the year that has led up to this seasonal transition has been a busy one. For anyone that read last month’s blog, Finding Creativity Amongst Changes, you will be fully aware of the impact that all of this activity has had on my life, my creativity, and my leadership. Now, entering into a time of harvest, I feel so much of what this year has been leading up to, is coming together.

What’s Happening This Month

• September 6th: The launch of my new LinkedIn newsletter Lead with Confidence; this will allow me to share my leadership events, workshops, speaking events, and insights not just with my website subscribers but also my LinkedIn followers. Please like, follow, share, and subscribe.

• September 11th - 18th: I will be attending the Isle of Harris Creative Photography Retreat. This week of creative reflection and encouragement is the creation of artist and podcast host, Margaret Soraya, who helps photographers and writers find their voice through activity, time spent in nature, meditation, and personal exploration.?

• September 20th: Skratch Women in Business Golf Day at Moor Park. I will be co-leading, with my colleague Natalie Shering FRSA , an interactive leadership workshop. It was created for like minded women in business to come together for a day of golf, conversation, and networking to help build confidence in their leadership. Join us!?

• September 23rd - 29th: National Inclusion Week and the global theme for this year is Cultural Intelligence: Inclusion Across Cultures; inclusive dialogue is a foundational point within the leadership framework, Collaboration Equation?, that I have co-created with my friend and colleague Lucy Kidd wherein we encourage senior executives to develop and foster Curiosity, Care, and Courage to create workplace cultures that are psychologically safe for all members of their teams.

• September 27th: The Marketing Leaders Programme 2024 group meets for our Reconnect day, a day for celebrating all that they have accomplished and achieved, and to hear from Karen Wilkinson, Marketing Director UK and Ireland, Evergreen Garden Care who will be sharing her experience of the programme and her leadership story. If you would like to listen to Karen, please check out her Leaders in Conversation with Anni Townend episode entitled, Be Brave, Focus & Fly.?

September’s Helpful Tips:

I have been trying to incorporate these into my daily routines, and I have found they have been helping me greatly in maintaining focus, providing myself space, and my productivity.?

• Making time to pause and reflect

• Creating and thinking about leadership and life as a creative act: ask yourself ‘What am I creating in my life and leadership today?’

• Slowing down and breathing - consciously slowing down, and breathing, focusing on breathing in and out, and making the out breath longer than the in breath - through the nose

• Enjoy looking back on how far you have come this year and what you are taking into the next few months that will nourish and support you

Do you do any of these and, if so, how do you find them helpful? If not, how do you slow things down, and provide yourself with time and space??

I look forward to connecting with you, and wish you a great start to September, wherever you are.

Best,

Anni?