With Thanks to the Coal Dust

Day 47 (Saturday 16th January 2016)

47 AD, the year in which Vardanes I of Parthia (which later became known as Persia and
is now parts of both Iran and Iraq) was assassinated by his brother, Gotarzes, whilst out hunting.
Vardanes was praised by Tacitus for being a young and highly gifted ruler. During his reign he reimposed Parthian
control over the city of Seleucia on the Tigris. His brother claimed the throne after Vardanes death, but Gotarzes II
was cruel and debauched, resulting in the Parthians rebelling and petitioning for aid from Rome to
depose him - this area of the world has a tradition of civil war and unrest over the past millennium.

Today's deeply personal and powerful post is anonymous. Once you read it you will understand why. It has been published today at the author's request, as today is her 40th birthday. I am sure you join me in wishing her a happier and easier year ahead.

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The Context

I am forty today.  It’s a moment of sorts.  I drafted this blog in 2015, hoping the advent series would run until 16th January so I could write about the threshold of turning forty.  I drafted this blog to contain words about having courage to overcome fears, drawing strength from the love and support of family and friends, and daring to achieve our dreams as we live our lives.  I took that approach because 16th January 2016, in some sort of indescribable twist, was also the day I could tell everyone I was pregnant for the first time.

Except I’m not pregnant anymore.  

My miscarriage started on Christmas Eve and it was in a Holby City Christmas that my love and I found out that “there is no heartbeat”.  The complications that ensued resulted in emergency surgery which meant, even in the depths of what was A. Nightmare. we were able to prioritise.  Our minds turned to my health above everything else.  

That paragraph has taken me two weeks.  

It has taken me two weeks to find courage to write about something that is awful and common.  Common, yes.  But not common to me.  Common, yes.  But hidden away in rooms with two-seater sofas, a high backed chair and pastel coloured leaflets. Common, yes.  But so difficult that we don’t speak about it. Common, yes.  But if I tell others about it does that mean I am weak, not smart anymore, not hire-able?  I chose to rewrite this blog because as it turns out, it is still about overcoming fears, drawing strength from the love of family and friends and achieving our dreams.  

The Theme

Comets.  For me it’s about light.  The light we leave as trace in our connections with others, whether we are aware of it or not. It is also the light we turn to when we need it. Perhaps spiritually or perhaps quite literally.  When I walk in nature with the sun on my face, my shoulders don’t just drop, I become aware of them in a different way.  I am light without what I had been carrying with me.  In its absence it becomes noticeable.  In that light, as I walk, I can see more clearly, examine more accurately and understand differently.

Comet McNought, 2007

Coal dust.  For me it’s my family and my lineage.  My family are coal miners. One granddad was out on strike, whilst the other worked in HR for the National Coal Board.  One a steady and smart man, packed to the brim with a sense of fairness and family values, and the other exactly the same.  I picture a dense grey sparkling matter, as vast as space, that I lean in to when I need it.  A substance that accommodates me and that provides resilience.  It is a rebooting space to go to.  My personal Etch-a-Sketch.

The Point

It is the strength I find, in my moments in the light and the dark, that is carrying me now as I get used to being two people for a while.  The one that says “Yes, it was lovely thank you, very restful.  No, we never do much for New Year.  How was yours?” and the one that is woken by sweaty panic every morning because the anaesthetic isn’t quite out of my system and I don’t know where I am or what time of day it is.  I just know to breathe and it will become clear.

Some of the Moments

The sun on my face the first day I was babysat by my brother.  I found him to be a bit more lenient than my folks and my other half, so I made my escape. With my laces trailing I shuffled down the driveway to lean against the fencepost.  I tilted up like a sunflower. I let the sun pour over my face and I let myself cry.

The darkness in the night where the fear is high.  It’s a place where I don’t know what will happen to me. Even though I know none of us really do know. It is where vulnerability courses through me.  The hand I reach for holds me and keeps me steady.

The smiles I get from scanning Facebook.  At its best, it is a gentle Elvish nurturer, connecting me to my loved ones around the world.  At it’s worst, it is a game of demonic roulette, as it can conjure up images that close up my throat and squeeze out my lungs.  Painful and critical reminders that life is going on.

How relaxed I feel in my body when I dream of a holiday.  My mind palace is a different place to that of Holmes', and I like to go there a lot at the moment.  I spend time in a place where I am well and free and where I can make plans for some devilish fun.  Those times will come.

The voices of the women in the recovery room.  Gentle lady after gentle lady emerged from the fog to hold my hand, to share their words of connection; “I have been where you are”, they said, one after the other.  “Fruit and vegetables, and plenty of sunshine.” And when I cried, the lady that leaned in and whispered slowly in my ear “Breathe, long, and deep”. She stayed close to my ear and breathed with me for a while.

Some sort of conclusion

We control very little.  We are in an industry where we long for authenticity, for showing up, for openness, humanness, purpose and mindfulness.  Yet there are times when we need to know we don’t have to show up at all.  Times when we need the world to hold us and contain parts of us that we can’t contain for ourselves. We need our protected places to go to in solitude and with loved ones where there is strength in the light and the dark.  We can put a little bit of ourselves here and a little and different part of ourselves there.  For now, I choose to show up in words.  I understand in a new way what it is to say; “this writer has chosen to remain anonymous to protect their identity”.   There is a part of me that needs protecting on my 40th birthday. That is my trace today.  With thanks to the coal dust.

Anon.

Ghosts

Day 46 ( Friday 15th January 2016)

46 is sometimes used in Japan as a slang abbreviation for "yoroshiku" (よろしく) meaning "best regards".
The numbers 4669 is also used as the first 4 is pronounced "yo", the 6 "ro", the second 4 "shi" and the 9"ku".
4 can be "shi"or "yon", 6 is "roku" and 9 is "kyuu".

Today's post is by Gemma Reucroft, the UK HR Director of Tunstall Healthcare (UK) Ltd where she leads HR in the UK and Ireland. Prior to joining Tunstall, gemma has held a variety of HR roles, including leading teams in employee relations, resourcing, operations, service delivery and business partnering. Gemma is a fellow of the CIPD, has a Masters' Degree in Employment Law and Industrial Relations from Keele and is a qualified mediator and coach. Gemma is a celebrated Social Media expert, regular speaker and acclaimed writer. Amongst various publications, Gemma co-authored a book on Social Media with Tim Scott, Putting Social Media to Work – A Practical Guide, which was mentioned in Day 43's post. Her blog, People Stuff, is a great read and accurately named. Gemma is a great source of advice and inspiration and genuinely cares about making the world of work a win-win for all parties involved.

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Coal dust. 

A fine powder created from handling coal. 

Tiny but deadly. In the lungs, it causes the deadly disease pneumoconiosis, known as black lung. 

In the air, highly explosive.  Did you know that because of coal dust, a nearly empty coal store is actually more likely to explode than a full one? 

Many mining disasters, and many deaths of mine workers, have resulted from the presence of coal dust.  

Trepanner, miners and coal dust

In this universe, you don’t need to be big to be significant.

Mining is a tough, dirty, and often dangerous job.  But a job that many men fought hard to keep all the same.  A fight that they did not, perhaps could not win.  But as many miners will tell you, you may leave the employment of the mine and come back up top, but something about it stays with you still. 

In December, the last deep mine in the UK closed, with the loss of 450 jobs.  An industry that once employed a million men.  The once mighty National Union of Mineworkers now reportedly has less than 100 members. 

Those of us that are interested in the world of work often talk about this thing, this most elusive of things; meaningful work.  We talk too of the often fabled ‘employee engagement’.  Few of the theories and the books and the thought leaders seem to suggest that employee engagement is gained by crawling on your hands and knees through low coal seams, descending into the dark in a tightly packaged cage, getting filthy, risking injury and death every day.  But engaged these men were all the same, with their industry, their work, their colleagues.  A different kind of engagement, perhaps, than the one we talk of today. 

A Yorkshire miner

The mining industry in the UK, is mostly gone.  Mines abandoned.  Some, filled in with concrete.  Equipment left beneath the surface to slowly rust away to nothing.  Ghosts of an industry consigned to history. 

Port Mulgrave, North Yorkshire

But there, the coal dust remains still.  And so too the memories, of those that worked there and fought amongst it. 

Kellingley miner's boots

Down at the coalface

Day 45 (Thursday 14th January 2016)

45 rpm vinyl phonodisc records and a bakerlite player were introduced in 1949,
by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), as they were seen as being smaller, more
durable and providing a higher fidelity recording than those produced on the traditional phonograph cylinders or 78 rpm gramophone records made of shellac.

Jon Bartlett is the author of today's post. Jon was one of the people I got to know soon after I first joined Twitter and, as well as being in contact via social media, we now meet when we can IRL, and I am proud to call him my friend. The three glorious photographs of sky-high drama and showers of sparks like a comet's tail, used to illustrate the year just gone, are all taken by Jon - as many of you know, he is a talented photographer. You can see more of his pictures on his work website: Project Libero, as well as getting a better feeling for him and how he operates. Jon is a coach, trainer, specialist mediator, mentor and one of the UK's recognised experts on mental health and related issues within the workplace. Jon writes an excellent blog at projectlibero.wordpress.com

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When I started my business I had a vague business plan about helping operational staff rather than executive teams. My experience in organisations led me to the conclusion that many of the frontline teams had management “done to them”, rather than it being collaborative or generative. I wanted to show staff how to manage upwards, how to take the initiative and become leaders themselves.

Along the way I got pleasantly side tracked into delivering a lot of training and consultancy on mental health and the organisational challenges (and opportunities) of managing this well. When I started this, I naively assumed that leadership teams would want to, well, lead on these issues. The reality was somewhat different. So as I look back and reflect on 2015 I realise how much time I’ve spent at “the coalface” this year. Not for me the comet trails of the C-suite but rather being down in the coal dust at an operational level. The place where lots of people want to see change, where they are willing to embody that change and push it upwards. With teams who are ready to seek forgiveness rather than permission.

This year

I’ve stood in front of a 15 strong SMT who all agreed that something “must be done” and were somewhat lost, until I pointed out that presumably we had all the necessary decision makers in the room…  And had their junior staff get on with setting up a knowledge sharing lunch and learn session.

I’ve had a senior operational leader discount my training to their staff as “more time with the men in white coats”….  And had their support staff make amazing adjustments to keep people on the team and bring them back to health and productivity.

I’ve heard a senior executive ponder on whether “we have those sort of people round here”….  And had 60% of their management cadre sign up for training and another 10% ask to be on a waiting list.

I don’t count those as my successes. Sure I was involved but I didn’t lead those initiatives. Good HR and L&D teams did. Motivated staff did.

My successes? Well the nature of my work these days mean that I spend a lot of time with people going through tough and frightening situations. Getting some of those people to look up and start to aim for the comet tails, for their own personal goals is reward in itself but perhaps my happiest moment was the time when someone talked to me about 10 years of self harm. The first time they’d spoken to someone other than a clinician and the trigger for them to ask for help from their employer to prevent it happening again.

All in all a successful year and with the prospect for more of the same in 2016, that’s enough to keep me chasing comets.

Never Alone

Day 44 ( Wednesday 13th January 2016)

44 candles are needed, in total, to light the menorah (the 9 lamp, 8 branched candleabrum
used in the rituals during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah - a celebration of the
rededication of the Holy Temple).  Hanukkah is observed for eight days and nights with a new
lamp lit each day, it is in addition to the earlier lamps being replaced and relit, so the number of daily
candles required are cumulative. Eight candles, one for each day, and one light that stands apart from the
others, called the Shamash, from which all are lit. Other Hanukkah festivities include eating oil-based
foods such as doughnuts, giving gifts and playing with Dreidels (a kind of spinning top).

Today's post is by Susan Popoola, the Managing Director of Conning Towers, a business founded in 2001 in Milton Keynes that specialises in providing practical business solutions to organisations and people with HR issues. She is also the founder of the social enterprise, Engaged For Success CIC, with has a strong focus on young people and issues such as deprivation and exclusion. Related to this, Susan is an award winning speaker and author with a reputation for championing diversity and inclusion, you might like her book on the impact of immigration and multi-cultural society - Consequences: Diverse to Mosaic Britain or, if you like urban history and culture, her first book, Touching the Heart of Milton Keynes. Susan has many years of HR experience and an interest in the power of technology to enhance businesses and the capabilities of the individuals within them. You can connect with her on Twitter - her handle is @SusanPopoola. Outside work Susan is actively involved in education - she is a governor for Hazeley School chairing the Support and Development Committee. She also serves as a Young Enterprise judge and a Business Ambassador for Countec Education Business Partnership. 

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Never Alone

“Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. 
"Pooh!" he whispered.
"Yes, Piglet?"
"Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw. "I just wanted to be sure of you.” 
― A.A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner

As one year begins to draw to a close and a new year sets in, there is often a tendency to reflect on the year, review the plans made at the beginning of the year and make new ones for the forthcoming year.

I’m yet to meet anyone who says that they made plans for a year and achieved everything on the list. 

Sometimes we come pretty close and even achieve some phenomenal things that were not on the list, but no one really achieves everything.  Sometimes we or at least let me say, I, have got to the end of a year, reviewed my plans and been quite disappointed. This happened to me last year and so I sat down and wrote a list of the things that I had achieved. I was pleasantly surprised and I believe the same would apply to anyone who went through the same process. We often do better than we give ourselves credit for.

Something else that I have come to realise from going through such processes is that there’s nothing that I have achieved alone.  At times support comes from people that I’ve known for a long time, that I consider part of my inner circle, that if I’m to be honest I dare to expect to support me, just as they know that I will always be there to support them. In these cases I’m not overall surprised, just appreciative that they have been faithful to me and come through for me. 

At times support comes from the least expected place. I have no reason why these people reach out to support me – especially without me asking for help or indicating a need to them.

There are also the things that people do that come as a surprise – whether people from my inner circle or not. The unexpected gift, a kind word, the invitation to an event, the recommendation, or the mere mention of my name by someone that I thought had forgotten that I existed, as we haven’t spoken in years. The person that I bump into, who mentions how much he or she likes reading my articles or tweets and finds them to be most useful.

It’s not all one-way though. It means just as much to me to be able to give people help and support of some kind. To help them move that step forward, to overcome a challenge. Even just that little thing that puts a smile on a face makes a lot of difference to me. I actually believe you get more out of giving too.

All in all, my support system says that there are people out there that believe that I have value and worth – because of the big things that I strive to achieve, the fact that they know they can always count on me; I make them laugh or put a smile on a face – or what have you, just because I am who I am. What this says to me is that not only am I never alone in my journey and in what I achieve, but that I can’t give up. I must go on (regardless of the odds) as there are people cheering me on and counting on me to succeed.

The why that draws people in is not always clear.  I think it’s something about passion and purpose, but I’m not really sure – I don’t really ask. Maybe I should as feedback as important  - it’s fuel and it’s reinforcement.

In terms of feedback I’ve always been one to say thank you.  However, if I’m to be honest, I think it would be fair to say that I don’t take the time to let people know how much I appreciate them and the value that they bring as much as I should.  

Going forward, I intend to do this much more as contrary to what we may think, people often don’t know how much they are valued and saying so may make all the difference. Preventing someone from giving up on a job, a relationship, and a project….  By not giving up that person may go on to do something that has a positive live changing impact for them or someone else.

#Selah

Where's your head?

Day 43 (Tuesday 12th January 2016)

43% of people in the UK aged 5 or over own or have access to a bicycle.
This compares to 52% in the USA, 85% in Holland and only 5% in Jordan. 
36.5% of the population are cyclists in Australia.

One of the things I love about the #Adventblog series is its global reach and the interest it inspires around the world. Today's post comes from Australia and is written by Con Sotidis a Learning and Performance specialist and Director of LearnKotch Consulting, as well as the founder of #ozlearn. He spent many years in senior roles within the public sector (mainly within the Australian Taxation Office) before taking the plunge and setting up his own business. Con is an engaging public speaker and an excellent event facilitator. You can follow him on Twitter, his handle is @LearnKotch

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Here we are again, "another year over, a new one just begun..." (thanks John for the words).

This year’s theme Comet Tails – Uh? What’s that?

Not to worry – just do what most of us do when we come across something we are not too familiar with - Google it.

See that was easy – how hard is it to discover, learn and share something new these days? We have so many resources at our disposal, and more that can be reached via a click through to our dear friend Google.

Well I know I am preaching to the converted, but it is scary to think about how many others in our profession, I am presuming that most of the AdventBlog readership are senior HR and L&D professionals, are shunning and ignoring the myriad of opportunities available to them.

Why this fear of Social Media?

If one is to be a leader in a business, steering and influencing the organisation's direction, especially around the human capital of the company and the new world of work, one thing that a great person in that role should be doing is tapping into the knowledge and expertise of others in the world that know how to get answers and provide solutions and who are continuing to do so.

The tools are plenty and one must be mindful of not being too focused on the tool, but my favourite social media app is Twitter – it's my go-to tool every morning and every night (and lots of times in between).  

Seeing, reading and sharing what I am receiving from my Personal Learning Network is an activity I enjoy and one that I actively participate in.  In fact, at times I also enjoy the curator role that I play - seeing others Re-Tweeting and sharing my tweets gives me a buzz, because I know, just like me, they too have found it useful and have enjoyed the subject matter.

Never before has the role of curator been more relevant and significant in our field than it is in today’s connected world. Content may be King but Curation will rule the world!

So why are some of our colleagues putting their Heads in the Sand? What is it about social media that they find hard to embrace?

Gemma Reucroft and Tim Scott considered this very issue in their great book Putting Social Media to Work – A Practical Guide:

Gemma and Tim have identified the myths very well, but even with these myths busted we still have little acceptance within our professions of Social Media as an effective means of learning and sharing.

I regularly follow conferences and create personal back channels via the creation of an Eventifier page. I do it for two reasons one to capture and review the tweets emanating from the conference as a learning tool, but the other is for social experiment purposes. I don't retain raw data but it is sad to see conferences of a few hundred L&D delegates attending and only a handful tweeting.  I know it is not an exact science and yes there are “lurkers” and others who follow via other means, but notwithstanding this, it is still sad to see how many have not yet embraced this “new world” or taken up the opportunity to seek and find out how they can. There are so many resources and people willing to help.

I use the hash tag #headinthesand often as a wake up call to the profession whenever I see things that disappoint me about learning. 

Recently though I had an interesting interaction on Twitter with one of my followers. They understood what I was trying to do and appreciated it, but they also wanted to see if we can take a positive outlook on learning by highlighting and recognising those that are already embracing and moving towards the new world of learning. She suggested we adopt the hash tag  #headinthegame.

What a wonderful idea, which I have embraced and will use during 2016. But more importantly one that was born out of interaction and sharing via Twitter !

Franklin D. Roosevelt once famously said:

“So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is...fear itself”

Let’s shine a light on the new world of Social Media and how it can help us learn share and connect. Don't bury your head in the sand – come join me and countless other HR / L&D professionals as we together embark on this learning journey.

We will fall over, we will laugh, we shall rejoice in our success and we shall reflect on our experiences – we have so much we can share with each other  - let’s not let fear impede our opportunity to reach out.

I leave you with this great reflection from Marcia Connor and Tony Bingham from The New Social Learning 2nd Edition:

I wish you all a Happy and Joyous 2016 filled with tweets, likes, shares, follows and mentions!

Καλη Χρονια 2016 !