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Influencing organisational culture Workplace Well-being

Influencing organisational culture

‘Essentialism’ is the technical terms for the idea that each us has a fixed nature: we are who we are and there’s not a lot we can do about it. Despite ample evidence to show that this is a seriously flawed way of thinking, it remains a very common (mis)understanding of human psychology. While it would be foolish not to recognise very strong and lasting patterns of behaviour, though and emotional response in each of us, it would be equally foolish not to recognise that people can and do change. Such changes can be self-initiated – that is, as a result of an explicit decision made: ‘I will be more patient from now on’; ‘I must cut down on fatty…
Dr Neil Thompson
April 8, 2013
Book review: Roots and Wings: A History of Outdoor Education and Outdoor Learning in the UK Children's Well-being

Book review: Roots and Wings: A History of Outdoor Education and Outdoor Learning in the UK

Ogilvie, K. C. (2013) Roots and Wings: A History of Outdoor Education and Outdoor Learning in the UK, Lyme Regis, Russell House Publishing. ISBN 978-1-905541-84-3: £39.95 + £1.50 delivery: www.russellhouse.co.uk. This is a mammoth of a book, with over 800 pages in total. As its title indicates, it has a strong historical focus – and that focus is also very wide, locating outdoor education in the context of wider human history, beginning the story over ten million years ago. As someone who is interested in history, I very much enjoyed that wide sweep and the effective way the history of outdoor education was woven into the picture of human history. However, I fear that those who want to know about the history…
Dr Neil Thompson
March 26, 2013
The challenge of leadership Workplace Well-being

The challenge of leadership

The challenge of leadership I was recently a speaker at a conference on leadership. It is a topic that has interested me for some time. I have been particularly intrigued by the idea of a leader as someone who influences an organisational culture in a positive direction. The conference chair used a phrase that made an impact on me and which I have already started using in my training on these issues: he described a leader as a thermostat not a thermometer – that is, someone who can affect the ‘temperature’ in a team, section or whole organisation, rather than someone who just reflects that temperature. Where there is a lack of leadership there will be managers and professionals (and…
Dr Neil Thompson
March 12, 2013
Developing a community of learning Individual Well-being

Developing a community of learning

In the build up to launching the Avenue Professional Development Programme a few people have asked me what the thinking behind the initiative is. Perhaps it would be helpful if I put it in the context of how my thinking has developed. For several years I taught students week in week out and the advantage of that was that I was able to link ideas together from one session to the next, respond to any concerns or confusions and help people grow as they took their learning forward over time. The disadvantage was that I was influencing the learning of only a very small proportion of the practitioners who are engaged in professional practice and not influencing managers at all.…
Dr Neil Thompson
January 21, 2013
Learning for life Workplace Well-being

Learning for life

I have just completed a very busy period where I provided a great deal of training for a number of organisations. Reflecting on the experience what strikes me is the huge difference in attitudes to learning. At one extreme we have the semi-burnt out cynic who seems determined to let their negativity spoil the positive learning environment I have worked hard to create. Thankfully such people are in a small minority. At the other extreme are the people who become fully immersed in the process of learning. They show an enthusiasm for taking on new ideas, reviewing and/or consolidating their existing knowledge and skills and really want training to make a positive difference to practice. They embrace learning opportunities with…
Dr Neil Thompson
December 15, 2012
Be tutored online as part of my Avenue Professional Development Programme Uncategorized

Be tutored online as part of my Avenue Professional Development Programme

I will soon be launching the Avenue Professional Development Programme. The SILVER version will allow members of the people professions to be part of an online learning community, with me as the tutor. The GOLD version will include all the facilities of the SILVER programme, but with the addition of one-to-one e-mentoring with my good self. Find out now how you can be part of this important innovative online learning programme at a surprisingly low price! Download the full-colour brochure here.
Dr Neil Thompson
November 10, 2012
Asking the right questions? Workplace Well-being

Asking the right questions?

I was recently contacted by someone who wanted my advice on asking the right questions in a coaching context. He explained that he worked as a coach and regularly used certain questions to encourage his clients to think about how they can move forward with their work and their learning. He asked me whether I thought they were the 'right' questions to ask. Of course, I had to reply by saying that it all depends on the context. What will work in one set of circumstances will not necessarily work in others. I went on to explain that this is what reflective practice is about - having a 'reflective conversation with the situation'. That is, we have to think carefully…
Dr Neil Thompson
October 29, 2012
Taking diversity seriously

Taking diversity seriously

A recent survey carried out by HR Magazine found that a high proportion of organisations were claiming to take diversity issues seriously but only 57% had a diversity strategy in place. This reminds me of the early days of anti-discriminatory practice when there was a lot of rhetoric about the importance of tackling discrimination and oppression, but nowhere near as much evidence of concrete steps being taken to promote equality by translating the verbal commitment into actual practice. Tokenism is what it was called in those days, so perhaps that’s what we are seeing today. Back then an additional problem was that much of the discussion generated more heat than light and led to a lot of people backing off…
Dr Neil Thompson
September 30, 2012
Learning from each other

Learning from each other

I was lucky to have the opportunity recently to play host to two Latvian visitors, two university lecturers interested in developing workplace well-being in their country. They had received funding to help them research how workplace well-being is being developed in other countries, hence their time with me to talk about the UK scene. They enjoyed their trip and were pleased with what they learned, and so they were very grateful to me and my colleagues for our time and hospitality. However, it was not one sided. We very much enjoyed our time with them and learned a great deal from them too. It reminded me of a previous visit to India where my colleagues and I were helping Indian…
Dr Neil Thompson
September 23, 2012
The further tragedy of Hillsborough

The further tragedy of Hillsborough

For 96 people to die in what was intended to be an enjoyable and exciting sporting event is tragic enough, but the recently published inquiry report adds a new layer of tragedy by revealing how the victims were vilified and how efforts were made to conceal the truth. By coincidence, on the day the report was published I was running a training course on loss and grief. We had been discussing how major losses can seriously disrupt our framework of meaning and leave us feeling confused, insecure and vulnerable. We looked at how grief can be understood as a painful process of constructing new meanings, developing a new ‘narrative’.  Often events or the actions of others can block the development…
Dr Neil Thompson
September 16, 2012