#009 (April 2022): Spring has sprung
Hello friends
Spring has definitely sprung, arriving with new energy and ideas for the year ahead.
Leading, Together
We’re still feeling the buzz from our first Leading, together event on 23 March after being a room with 15 other people — the collaboration curious, cautious and champions — for the first time in a long while. After a few giddy moments being reminded of what makes up an in-person event — biscuits, badges (though these were nearly forgotten! *gasp*), massive templates, sharpies, people (most of all) — we did some great work. You can read more about what we got up to in our write up Leading Together: Growing and developing collaborative leadership practice (March 2022). If this sparks your interest, you have another opportunity to take part in June (bookings are now open). This event will now be in person rather than online.
Following the event, we’ll be working on version 2 of the collaboration toolkit incorporating the collective wisdom shared by event participants in March. (You can read about how we got to version 1 in Work in progress: NET collaboration toolkit to grow our collaborative leadership practice). The toolkit includes our emerging North East Together collaboration framework, building on Dr Jo James’ thinking and working after the Collaboration Action Fund projects.
Creating a coaching culture in our region
It won’t come as any surprise to you that we’re fans of coaching. Coaching is a great tool to help you grow, learn more about yourself, work out what you want to do, help you solve problems and think through a tricky situation. It can also help you when you’re in a good place to plan your next steps, achieve a goal and become even better in your role.
One of our missions is to create a coaching culture in the VCSE in our region and hope other people catch the coaching bug too.
North East Coaching Collective
North East Coaching Collective continues to offer coaching for social change in our region. We coaching collective coaches are renewing our membership for year 4 of the collective.
Try out coaching
Keep a look out for another free coaching offer from North East Coaching Collective for small VCSE organisations and people working independently for social change. This is based on the Supporting people through Covid-19 free coaching programme we offered in summer 2020, which worked so well. We’ll again be harnessing the power of collaboration — a little bit (of time) from a few people — to coach for social change. We’re planning a launch event before the summer (we think late June) but haven’t quite agreed a date yet.
Learn about coaching yourself
Join us on 26 May for our Leader and manager as coach training programme for leaders and managers to develop coaching skills. It now includes includes one day’s training plus membership of Leaders and managers as coaches together, this programme’s network and community of practice, and two community of practice events a year to reflect on your practice with support from your peers. Each place costs £150.
What’s in our diaries
There are a few North East Together events coming up…
NET Connect: bringing together North East Together members and network friends to connect, grow and nurture our relationships
- NET Connect: Knowing me, knowing you and aha moments!, 12 May, 16:00–17:15, online
- NET Connect: [we’re still waiting on a ABBA-themed title for this one], 14 September, 16:00–17:15, online
These are regular short online gatherings for NET members and networks friends to meet, talk and share for mutual support and to build community. We’ll use guided networking to help us have a great conversation together…welcoming new members and reconnecting with existing members. If you came to the NET event in November, NET Connect will more like that — no speakers, talking with each other, making connections, all the other good stuff we get from networks.
NET pop up: NET x Human Learning Systems, June and July
Our three event series about Human Learning Systems with Dr Toby Lowe(Centre for Public Impact), Becky Elton (Changing Lives) and other brilliant speakers are now open for bookings.
- Event 1: An introduction to Human Learning Systems and short stories from those who are working this way, 7 June, 15:00–17:00, online
- Event 2: Deeper exploration and rummaging — hearing detailed case studies organisations to learn what they did and how, ask questions, get in to the detail, 21 June, 15:00–17:00, online
- Event 3: Having a go — moving from theory to practice with a new learning cycles toolkit, 5 July, 13:00 for 13:30–17:30, in person (venue TBC)
Human Learning Systems (HLS) is a radically new way of doing public management: the task of resourcing and organising public service. These events will be for those of us feeling frustrated with how things with public service (in its broadest sense) work, and looking to do things differently. It will give you time and inspiration to rethink how we work.
And finally…
…why you should try to be more selfish from School of Life
Cheerio for now.
Stephanie, Robert, Cath, Duncan and Marie
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