A question often asked is, “What constitutes an inspiring leader”?  Inspiring leaders use the language of “We” not “I”.  They display humility and have a genuine interest in developing the capacity of others, they respect and seek feedback.  Research has identified the quality of humility as a strong predicter for effective leadership.  Humility is about having the ability to minimize status or position differences, genuinely putting the needs of others first.  Inspiring leaders have the ability to turn the big ideas into executable plans, whilst keeping others enthusiastically engaged. ​

The Poem below clearly demonstrates why a peer workforce is essential, living with mental ill health must not define a person or his/her ability or capacity to live a life of purpose, meaning, choice and citizenship.

Want to set yourself free of old habits?
​Covid 19 has offered us a chance to not only clean our cupboards but to also assess our old habits and clean out those that are no longer useful to us.  Understanding behaviour is necessary in order to make change.  The old saying “out with the old and in with the new” is much easier said than done.  Before we can make changes to the behaviours that do not serve us well, it’s helpful to understand that there are other ways of perceiving the world and how it operates.  Dr. William Glasser has provided us with a new psychology - a new way of perceiving the world that frees us from our old habits.

​As the weeks pass in these days of uncertainty and social distancing, I have taken the opportunity to reflect upon the things that matter to me and the things that I think are important for a progressive inclusive society.  There will always be vulnerable people in our midst, but the question for us to respond to is “what effort do we make to create an inclusive society”?  The poem that I have included in this blog does not require and commentary.  But I urge you to take the time to contemplate the challenging message!  We all have the right to want something purposeful and meaningful to do, to love and be loved and to have hope for our future!

We are now living in unchartered and challenging times. As a global society we are rethinking almost everything that we do to make the necessary changes to meet our global survival need.  On the home front I have been going through the many files on my computer to make access easier and to get rid of obsolete files!  During this process I came upon 8 Steps to DE-CLUTTER Your Life, an article from the worldhappinessforum.org, November 2012.  The first question I asked my self was “what is clutter”? My curiosity took me into the article to find an answer!  ​

Knowing about and understanding our Five Basic Needs as described by Dr William Glasser will help us to cope in this pandemic.  It will help us to make choices that will keep us calm and significantly reduce unhealthy fear and stress.   Fulfilling our five basic needs helps us to stay mentally healthy and enjoying life.  Interestingly, our basic needs are of little interest unless they are threatened.  And right now, for many our basic needs are being threatened!  For some, all of the five basic needs are being threatened.

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​People often ask the question “What is Leadership?
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In my view Dolly Pardon’s words sum up leadership perfectly. “If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then, you are an excellent leader.  It would be fair to suggest that in today’s world an organisation or business’s greatest asset is its people, which throws the spotlight on quality leadership.