Category: Purpose

  • Could motivation be the missing ingredient?

    Could motivation be the missing ingredient?

    Sometimes it’s tough to motivate the people you manage, isn’t it? You know why it’s important that a project is completed in a timely way, but not everyone gets it. Others can be sluggish and unfocused. You sometimes feel it would be easier to just do it yourself. I know how difficult it is. This was the problem that a non-profit…

  • Five Big Questions. One Short Chat. CEO Caroline Davey

    Five Big Questions. One Short Chat. CEO Caroline Davey

    Today is World Prematurity Day, so today’s mini video blog is with the lovely Caroline Davey, Chief Executive of Bliss, supporting babies born premature or sick and their families. Bliss is very close to my heart – I have a dear friend whose daughter was born months too soon and is now a thriving teenager. Bliss was…

  • Five Big Questions. One Short Chat – CEO Athena Lamnisos

    Five Big Questions. One Short Chat – CEO Athena Lamnisos

    The second in my series of mini video blogs in which I put Five Big Questions to charity CEOs to find out what it’s really like to head up their organisations. It’s Gynaecological Cancer Awareness Month so I spoke to the super dynamic Athena Lamnisos, CEO of The Eve Appeal, the only UK national charity raising awareness and funding research…

  • Get out of the house in 2013

      “To experience, to engage, to endeavour, rather than to watch and to wonder — that’s where the real meat of life is to be found.” As you know I’m a big fan of TED, the not-for-profit organisation devoted to spreading great ideas. My present to you this Christmas is an invitation to take ten…

  • Why the Olympics is good for the voluntary sector

      This might not be such a great photo – but the moment was a gem – my daughter giving the thumbs up to her day out at the London 2012 Olympics. Who knows what that day did for her, with it’s focus on positivity, team spirit and self belief? There are many reasons why…

  • Motivation: five easy ways to lose it

      #1. You stop focusing on your goal When you lose sight of where you’re going it’s tricky to keep moving forward with any purpose. Motivation needs a clear motive. #2. You don’t have an action plan No milestones to aim for; no way of knowing what to do next; no sense of progress –…

  • The power of your thoughts

    A few weeks ago on holiday in Greece, I found myself suspended in mid-air at the top of a cliff – freaking out! My hands were shaking. My legs felt like water. There was no way I was going to abseil down this 70-foot cliff, my absolute intention a few moments before. Now, I was…

  • What is a good work-life balance?

    My third sector clients often seek help with restoring their ‘work-life balance’. They’re mostly very committed. They have heavy work loads, put in long hours and take work home – often. But what are they really asking for? What do they mean by a better work-life balance? Most people would say that a good work-life…