I found some notes in one of my notebooks from reflections I had done when I started as a VP. It was fascinating and I wish I had kept it up. This might encourage me to start it again. Anyway, in each weekly reflection I highlighted a key learning point and I thought it might be fun to blog this. So here goes (of course I am a week late but)…
- Third space professionals are thoughtful and lovely people, who make a fantastic contribution to universities. This was prompted by going to the launch of the impact of the integrated practitioner book (in which I have a chapter), edited by Emily McIntosh and Diane Nutt. The book launch was great and we had a really good discussion about the importance of working in these roles and how to influence others.
- Don’t be afraid to try things out! I know this, of course, but this week I took the plunge and tried out using a version of Lego Serious Play with one of my coachees. I really enjoyed it. I realise I had been putting it off and it was great to experiment with the technique as I am getting more confident with coaching. I think it worked well – will see what the feedback from my coach-mentor is, although the feedback from the coachee was positive.
- I need Friday afternoons to mentally and literally “clear” my head, try to clear my inbox and generally regroup from the week and regroup for the next. If I don’t have this, I find it really hard to let go and relax into the weekend. However, unfortunately its not always possible to have a “clear” Friday afternoon to do this. I need to think up strategies for when I don’t have that so that I can relax and find time to leave the world of work. Maybe its just some clear space on a Friday. I’ll try to find that this week and see how it goes.