I would like to think, and in fact have been told by people, that my online persona and my real life self are the same. I am passionate on many subjects, have many thoughts and opinions and I share them freely.
Clearly I write this blog, but I also post a lot on all kinds of different social media platforms. But it mostly mirrors the conversations I have in person, maybe a little more jokey, maybe not, depends on the subject. Continue reading
There have been a couple of blog posts that I have written that relate to image, clothes etc (Hiding in plain sight, Personal Brand, Egos) But this one is slightly different.
I don’t really suffer with Mental Health issues any more than anyone else, but I do believe that we all manage our mental health on a daily basis. Continue reading
This is a post I promised a lot of people I would write a long time ago, the draft was started in March, and I sit here in June completing it. So what took me so long? This post more than ever I wanted to get right, but then I realised it never would be, so I just need to get on and post it.
Role models are a common thread in my posts, often referred to as a colleague, an old boss, or named role models. My life and career has been influenced massively by role models, good and bad. Continue reading
This is a blog post I have been thinking about all day, the subject was a suggestion from a friend. As a result I have been wracking my brain for examples from my own life. Interestingly I remembered examples that show both sides of this post.
The post is around how we deal with the prospect of blending in, not being noticed, not standing out from the crowd, and the opposite standing out to blend in. Once I flicked past all of the times I have done this in my personal life (this post would be huge if we went into all of those) I focussed more around work. Continue reading
I remember at many points when studying and evolving through my career having the Kubler Ross Change Curve referenced many times. This works on the premise that you come into change and go through various stages, then come out of the other side, post change. But the reality is we are always going through changes, and in different places on the curve for many changes at the same time.
But this post isn’t about change in that way. This post is about where I am in my life right now, how I got here, and what the future holds. Sounds intriguing right. So lets start with the whats happening now. Continue reading
We all have several personas, whether we think about it or not. At times we bring different ones to work, and leave others behind.
My theory is that I have at least six different personas which I will explain later. Of these six I believe that there are four of them that I can bring to a work environment with me. When I say I can, I believe we choose which version of us we bring to work, or sometimes we bring the one we think we need to in order to ‘survive’ or ‘get by’. Continue reading
I believe that one to ones are very important for staff to be able to develop and succeed in their roles. But they tend to be very work and issue focussed (around current projects and initiatives) and less about the actual person.
When I am in a position where I am people managing a team I like to introduce supervision sessions alongside one to ones. A weekly meeting alternating between one to one and supervision. But what is the difference? Continue reading
I used to think that self-reflection was new age, hippy dippy nonsense that I didn’t have time for. Then my mind was opened. When I worked in healthcare there was always protected time for colleagues for reflection. My question was always was it worth it, as I didn’t see the point. A very patient colleague sat me down and explained supervision and self-reflection to me. Continue reading
Egos – where to start. I guess with saying that in my opinion I am not an egotistical person. In my own head I like to think that I am a fairly even, balanced person, that I only give input when necessary, and that actually I personally place little value on most of my input, even when others tell me otherwise.
However, I write a blog, so I have decided that my opinion matters and should be heard. Alongside that I tweet prolifically. Again me deciding my thoughts need to be shared. So I must have a slight ego there. Continue reading
Ever since I have been a child I have loved the fair. As a youngster growing up on the North East coast we had a lot of static fairgrounds at the seaside resorts. But visited a number of travelling fairs also.
Fast forward to today and I still love the fair. The sights, sounds and smells bring back such wonderful childhood memories.
Reading has lots of visiting fairs in the course of a year, those at events like Pride etc, some travelling ones. But, always the best for me is Carters Steam Fair Continue reading
Pete Greensmith 