Back in your alms
Is returning to the charity sector like a warm hug from an old friend? Three thoughts on my first four weeks.
Upbeat-ness
I’ve been impressed by the upbeat-ness of more or less everyone I’ve encountered since starting at Soil Association in early Jan. That includes Soil colleagues, old charity sector buddies who I’ve reconnected with, and those involved in the Digital Connect programme.
While there are big challenges and tricky obstacles to overcome, there’s a lightness and optimism in the air. I like it.
Slow death by video call
We office jockeys have adapted well to remote working over the last two years. The tech has held up, people have been productive, I’ve seen more of my kids. Brill.
But entering a new organisation (two, actually, including the trustee post I’ve just taken up), starting new programmes, joining project teams, loads of induction chats, etc all by video call has been slowly draining my lifeblood.
I can go into the office once a week now, so will be doing that. Although last time I did so, I spent the whole day on Teams calls. Gah!
Need to meditate more on this one.
Learning mode
Video calls aside I’m stoked with how induction is going. My team is awesome — knowledgeable, open, friendly, motivated, interested, supportive — and I’ve had lots of good conversations with my boss and other colleagues.
And the subject matter (food, farming, forestry, health, climate, nature) is fascinating. I’m really enjoying being in learning mode.
My aim is for the Digital Connect programme to help me draw this learning into a coherent plan for digital in the organisation. I certainly intend to make the most of the support on offer. And maybe even write some more Medium posts.
