This is what I strive to do in my work. I strive to enable people/organisations to become aware of the stories they carry and which shape their behaviour or the behaviour of their staff. I then help them deconstruct these stories and identify where they came from. They choose to keep those that aid them on their journey while casting off those which hinder them. I then facilitate a process that helps them stay on the path of the 'new story' that leads to their vision. Whilst

It has been so terribly, terribly long since I wrote here. In the midst of a pandemic, in the midst of uncertainty, in the midst of a loss of purpose, any words seemed inconsequential, in some ways they still do. However there is a need in me to write down what I am feeling and thinking, a need to un-knot a certain tension that has been building regarding living in the paradox of present times. The picture you see is one that I am proud of taking. I think the light and compos

Each morning, during this time of Corona Virus, this time of uncertainty, this time of fear, this time of disbelief, this time of sorrow, I have been reading 'The Peace of Wild Things' by Wendell Berry: When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. I come into the peace of wild things wh

All of the above are images that I have used at different times to promote the work that I do, as you can see there's quite a range. I want to explore this, as I am intrigued by how much we are expected to conform to a new cultural narrative when we have left our own behind and how this impacts on our behaviour and self-belief. I recently sought the assistance of somebody who has experience in marketing here in Sweden as I am struggling to get the amount of work that I need.

I was recently working on a project in Indonesia for the British Council, South Sulawesi to be precise. My role involved delivering training on narrative and storytelling and assessing the needs of the project in order to look at possible future developments and their viability. The report I created was a Theory of Change. It is a well known and recognised framework that many organisations use. I like it because essentially it is a quest story backwards. Let me explain. The n

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" How many times did we hear that as children and how many times have we asked children that question? It seems to be simple enough but if you unpick what it contains, (or often does not contain,) it is in fact very complex. The same applies for your or your organisation. What do you want them to be when they grow up? So, let us look at this question a little more closely. In order to answer it, you must have some concept of your imag

Often, at the end of my training sessions, I invite people to create a circle and imagine that they each hold ribbons and threads in their hands, enough for each person in the group. I then ask them to think about who in the group they had known or worked with before and imagine a thread going to that person, across the circle and one coming back to them, from that person. I then ask others, 'who did you know or work with?' and I move around the circle helping them visualise

I have recently been involved in an organisation where the staff and the business have been split up into two separate companies. As I spoke to the people involved, it was interesting to hear what stories they were creating to make sense of this move and find a way to go forward. It also became very apparent that some people were carrying old stories forward into the new companies. Some of these were negative stories that could hinder them from developing, that carried anger

Let me begin by sharing part of a narrative training exercise that I have developed and often use. First the large group is divided into groups of about six who are seated around tables. I ask them to create individual representations of a successful student/employee they have known. They then share the stories of these people with the others on their table. The groups of six then identify any patterns or similarities in these successful people and create a composite represen

How often have we heard the phrase, "we need to change behaviour?" Whether in the classroom, office, community or even within ourselves. The phrase is often batted around like a shuttlecock, lightly and quickly. However if we took time to explore what it truly means, we would discover it is the opposite of a shuttlecock, it is a weighted thing that moves slowly, a complex thing with many layers that are mostly invisible to us. So how do we change behaviour? I believe it all s

In any training that aims to effect change I feel we have to start with the question, why? Why are you a teacher? Why are you a leader? Why do you believe what you do? Why do you want to change? If you look at these questions one can see the answers are essentially the start of a story - so the why gives the story and the story gives the why. In my recent work training educational leaders here in Sweden I have realised the importance of the question why. I use it at the star

It is the New Year of 2019 and I have been living in Sweden for just over two years. There has been a sensation, whilst living here, of having many new and strange ingredients thrown at me. Not only did I not know how to use them, I could not even pronounce their names. Now however, I feel the time of gathering and understanding is transforming into a time of creating. I am fluent enough in the language to get by and more importantly, understand more of the concepts that unde

Please note that all of my work is copyrighted under the following:

My reflections of my first MOOC, Engagement in a time of Polarisation.

In her article, 'Framing Uncertainty: narratives, change and digital technologies,´ (Maison des Sciences de l'Homme,) Lucia Garcia-Lorenzo states that "stories arise in the space between our experience of the world and our efforts to put that experience into language. Garcia-Lorenzo states that this is vital for sense-making and transmission of experience. Nora Bateson of the International Bateson Institute, in her article for Kosmos Journal talks of ´Liminal Leadership. In

I feel that there is an assumption that we can create a totally new future as leaders of organisations or of ourselves. Often I am asked to facilitate a process where companies can 'vision' a future and start to develop the story of how it will be; however I never agree to work at developing a future narrative without first exploring the present one and the past one. (Of which there are often many versions.) To ask people to leap with you into a future without first acknowled

I am back after a lovely holiday and I am now in the process of preparing 3 pieces of work for major educational conferences here in Sweden. They all focus on Leadership and the ability to develop and share the story of the differing organisations. The first conference is for SFI (Swedish For Immigrants) teachers. The irony here is that presently, I am an SFI student. I am the only native English speaker in my class with most being from Syria, and almost 97% having Arabic as

Most of the recent training I have been asked to design and deliver recently has been around Narrative and Leadership. It has been challenging and rewarding in equal measure. It seems to me that there is a trend whereby the higher up the Leadership ladder a person goes, the more difficult it is to stay connected with their core values, almost as though, with each rung they ascend, they add an extra layer of 'professionalism and objectivity' that smothers down the reasons they

Many of you will know that I have recently moved to Sweden. I am in the process of making a home here with the man I love, hence the move. I know, that like a spider I carry with me a thread; a thread of resources, abilities and identity - a narrative that I have developed through my 52 years of life. However now, I need firm structures here, loadstones, to attach the weight bearing strands of my narrative thread to, so that I can start to weave a sense of belonging here. Th

I have been asked to lead a session on Leadership and Narrative at the 2017 BETT Conference in London. 'How do stories shape our futures? I will be working with a great Digital Education Company called Lin Education that is based in Sweden where I now live. I am also excited to chat with Angela Oguntala beforehand ( http://www.angelaoguntala.com) about foresight and how the future is shaped in the present. So, what stories are we telling ourselves now that will enable what we