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Snow bound

Did you give up trying to get to work today? As I work at home I didn't have that problem, but I did have to get into town for an appointment. There is about 6 inches of snow outside and I cleared the car with a brush. I knew that the journey would split into 3 bits in terms of difficulty. Firstly getting out along our drive and onto the road. Driving on fresh snow that only a few vehicles have passed over. Interesting and a bit like a slow waltz. The second bit down into the village was about the hairiest bit - a steep hill down and still lots of snow on the road. Then several miles on slippy back roads and after that plain sailing as I was onto the main A road. However none of it was really difficult or dangerous. Yes I slithered around a bit, but the road wasn't busy so it wasn't an issue. Yes I had difficulty getting the last 10 yards back to the house. But that was right here and the neighbours could have pushed if needs be. In fact that is just what we've been doing when one of my neighbours slewed into the bank just now. So I'm very glad that I went out and didn't just give up even before I'd started. Having that attitude of just having a go, see what happens, I'm sure I'll cope really helps. It's all too easy to just sit on the sidelines and believe that you can't achieve things. That attitude in life will not even take you outside your front door, let alone onto the promotion, fantastic new job, brilliant new life that you have always wanted. So if it's in the snow or in your life, just give it a go.

See you in Darwin, Mate!

I just got an email to let me know that an abstract that I submnitted for a conference, together with a colleague, has been accepted.  I used to attend quite a few conferences in my former life as a scientist and have written lots of abstracts. Its a bit like entering a writing competition.  You send the stuff off and then just wait to see if what you have written is good enough and novel enough to make the bar. And this time it was.

I was never certain about it though and getting it accepted has given me a great buzz. Its even better though because this is for the International Association of Women Police and the conference is in Darwin, Australia.  We sent off the abstract with a "nothing ventured, nothing gained" attitude and this just goes to show that its always worth having a go.

This is a really exciting opportunity to talk to all the police services out there, and around the world, about the important work that we are doing with women in the police in the UK.  So if you are going to be there let me know.  See you in Darwin - now where did I put those corks for my hat......

BAA, BA and Heathrow Terminal 5

Terminal 5 is terminal.  20,000 baggage items to get returned within a week - I don't think so. It took me 2 days to get my bags back from Newcastle when I got back from India.  Only a few flights were cancelled then due to fog. I think that their task now is much greater.

I can imagine how the bosses must be feeling. I guess that we've all felt that way at some time or other. Our career appears to be in tatters around us, we've failed to deliver a critical project on time, crashed out of an essential exam or lost a major client or contract.  Maybe even didn't get tickets for that most important gig or ended up missing out on your top holiday destinaiton and going elsewhere.

At the time it feels as if life has stopped. This is such a big failure that to attempt anything else is madness, you'd be bound to fail at that as well.  In fact you'd better change your job or your friends cos no-one will ever let you forget this.  But as time goes on these things do become less important.

I only got E in my Physics A level but still got into my university for choice.  Then I failed my Part 1 exams at university (twice). I was suspended for a year and had to resit them again.  I then went on to complete my PhD successfully so none of those earlier failures mattered. I passed my bike test on the first go but failed my first car test. I now have about 10 yeras of no-claims on my insurance so these things don't matter.

So if your life is all falling apart around you just stop and ask yourself the question "In 5 years time how much will this all matter".  Failure doesn't make you a bad person, it just re-inforces the fact that you are human and gives you more data to work with.  After all if Eddison and Dyson had been defeated by failure its would be very dark and dusty around here!

The glass cliff - women in the boardroom

No this is not some esoteric crag where there are sheer climbing routes. Its the description of a phenomenon that can occur when women get into the board room.  It had been suggested that getting women on the board could lead to financially poor performance.  It had also been shown that women are often offered risky places on the board where there was a high chance of failure - the glass cliff.

New research out today from the CIPD looks at this. It shows that companies performing badly are more likely to appoint women to the board so the financial poor performance is nothing to do with it being a woman on the board.  Secondly the glass cliff phenomenon is uncoverd in greater detail. It seems that firstly women are more likely to be offered risky posts as they are thought better able to cope with them. Then the perceived risk is underestimated until the woman is in the post. Also women are more likely to take these risky posts as they may be unable to get any other board level place. And finally men are less likely to take these posts.

To protect yourself from this phenomenon make yourself aware of the actual challenge of the role.  Is it a golden opportunity or a poison chalice?  Make sure that you are not being set up to fail.  Once you see the challenges make sure that you draw other's attention to them.  Invest in your networks and get a strong mentor.

I'll be writing about this in greater depth in the People Bulletin at the beginning of May and I'll put the link in here when its done.

Embracing Change

I was completing delivery of a Spring Forward programme in London on Tuesday, had meetings yesterday morning and travelled back on the train in the afternoon.  It was interesting to note the progression of autumn as the train swept North through the countryside.  Most of the trees further South are still green, whereas the trees that I see from my office on this frosty morning are mainly dressed in autumn colours.

I actually love the autumn with its rich colours and harvest plenty, but I know plenty of people who bemoan its coming, unpacking winter warmers and shivering over their Lemsip.  I like it cos it heralds for me the coming of winter and from the first flush of autumn crocus I am waiting for snow.  Also this year it has provided plenty of inspiraiton for my poetry and on the train down to London I scribbled down three more pages towards my collection of equinoctial verse.

However, love it or hate it, autumn follows summer and the winter is hard on its heels.  We can't affect that, its a change that comes at us every year.  Despite that many of us will sit around in denial for ages, clinging to our summer frocks and strappy sandals.  And often that is our reaction to any kind of change, whether happening at work or at home.  Sit tight and it might miss me, hunker down and someone else will deal with it, shout and get angry and they'll do it differently, if I keep doing what I've always done they'll let me carry on that way. 

We all deal with change in a myriad different ways and it is important to recognise that many changes are like a juggernauts heading for us and we cannot stop them or even affect their direction. If that is the case then its going to be a lot less effort to just accept that its happening and find a way to deal with your reaction to it.  After all we all have that winter coat at the back of the wardrobe, its just a case of digging it out and dusting it off.

What are the autumns in your life that are threatening to mow you down?  How are you reacting to them? How can you celebrate that change instead of moaning and whinging about it?  What is your eqivalent of the snow that you can look forward to after the change is over?   

Random acts of poetry

I was on the train yesterday and I was inspired by some people I saw to write a poem.  There have been a lot of poems flowing onto the pages of my workbook ever since I came back from my creativity course, watch out Andrew Motion!  Anyway I wrote and re-crafted this poem in about an hour - about these people who were obviously off on a trip with big suitcases.  I scribbled away in my little notebook and then, as I was getting off before them, I handed it to them as I left the train.

That was a random act of poetry. I don't know what sparked off the ideas in the poem - they just came out of my pencil somehow.

I am not suggesting that you should write poems and and give them to strangers - probably I am the only person mad enough to do that.  However there are plenty of random acts that you can do that would have a positive effect on other people's lives - generally they would be random acts of kindness.

Some things that might be included would be paying it forward - paying the toll for someone in the car in behind you, giving a beggar your chocolate bar instead of your cash, carrying someone's shopping for them when they look like they need it, helping a parent carry their pushchair down some stairs, leaving your once read paper on the train for someone else to read, passing on a part-used car park ticket. And if you don't feel comfortable with this then you can operate closer to home - I once got up in the morning to find my brother had spent hours in the early morning cleaning all the shoes in the house. A few months ago a man had his car stuck in a flood just down the hill and I took him a flask of coffee and some biscuits whilst he waited for recovery.  And sometimes these things can be even better if you, the giver, remain anonymous. As I used to get in very early in my last job I would always fill the photocopier with paper so it was set for at least the first few users.  I never told anyone about this and I would often smile when I heard people wondering who the paper fairy was who seemed to fill the photocopier overnight!

On your journey through life look for random acts of kindness for others. They serve two purposes.  They make you feel good and they are also a positive experience for the receiver.