I’m away this week and as well as switching off and enjoying family time, I will be spending some time thinking over where I’m going and where the work I do is going. None of us probably get anywhere near enough time to think about stuff like that. Life happens and we react – even more so in current times. We can sometimes see the destination or have an idea of where we want to go, but the route we take is not always the one we would want. However, having a clear idea of where we are going is important always.
That’s called ‘vision’ and its really important to have this personally and with any work you’re involved in. You could say that the tag line of “Empowering local people & organisations to bring about positive, lasting change” is the vision of Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill. But what does that look like and how do we get there?
I’m not going to answer those questions. In time, you are! That’s not me passing the buck. For sure, I have an idea where I can see Our Place going and of what it can be with the community alongside, guiding its route. But this is about the destination that the community want and need. My job is to walk with you and help you get there.
I’ve quoted Simon Sinek before in this blog and he may seem a bit deep at times – sorry about that. But he speaks a lot of sense. To finish this week I’ll share a short video (less than 2 minutes) of him talking about vision and how that develops. An even shorter summary of the talk is this: “Vision is the ability to see that which does not yet exist. As we slowly bring that vision to life, more people will start to recognise the work we’re doing and join our crusade. But, like an iceberg, there will always be much more waiting to be revealed underneath the surface.”
I love that and it might help you understand a little of how my mind works!
Yes, John and I are starting to make progress with the vision of Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill and people are starting to see that. But as more people jump on board, there is so much more to come. I look forward to that journey with you.
I’m now 3 1/2 months into this new role and even with the restrictions, it’s been great to be able to provide remote support to those groups and individuals that have requested it. There’s still a few projects and on-going support happening, and I know there’s much more to tap into. However, there are still some of you out there who aren’t quite sure what it is that I do!!
In normal times I would have sat down in a cafe with you and had a chat, but that’s not been entirely possible of late, so for now, this is my best method of getting the information across. (I’ll still happily buy you a coffee in the near future though!)
My last few blogs have all been on the theme of motivation, planning and finding direction, which is essentially what my role is about – helping you to develop the skills necessary to help shape your own, and if appropriate your organisations, future. With previous local support activities, you’ve had people who will take your issue and do something to sort it for you. That is absolutely great and there are some amazing people providing this kind of support for groups across the country. But what happens if that same issue comes up again. What did you learn from that support? Would you be able to sort things out if left to your own devices? How can I, as your Community Coach, help you with that? Let’s explore the work of Coaching further:
Coaching (ˈkəʊ.tʃɪŋ). Noun. The job or activity of providing training for people or helping to prepare them for something: Coaching helps people to self-critique and self-regulate their behaviour to achieve the things they want.
Cambridge English Dictionary
Coaching is the process of coming alongside someone to help them get clarity and confidence in addressing life’s opportunities. Coaching is not about mentoring. It’s not about counselling. There are plenty of great mentors and counsellors that I can direct you to if that’s what you’re needing. Coaching is about asking questions and allowing people to think things through, as that’s the most profound way they will learn. Coaching is not about telling people what to do, or worse, doing it for them, but about listening well, asking insightful questions, and helping people on their way. Asking somebody the right questions, helps them to discover the answers to things inside them that they didn’t realise they had the answer to. Essentially, coaching can bring an individual or organisation fully alive into who or what they were meant to be. No matter what has happened in the past. No matter what others say. You have the right to access the opportunities that exist in order to be the person you were meant to be. We all need to grow.
If we’re honest, you probably could do this on your own, but its hard. Allowing another person – a coach – to help you look at what you’re doing, can help bring fresh perspective and open up the answers you were missing. In most cases, the things that you want to figure out will be things that you already know of or had thought about, or things for which there are resources close by but you don’t have the time or head space to make that happen.
So, what is the narrative that’s stuck in your head? Is there something you’ve been stuck in and never able to climb over? Coaching helps you to discover that and to move on and progress into your full potential. It can help you find an oasis in a desert. Do more in less time.
All the answers are within you already. My role as a coach is to help you draw them out, and move forwards. And that goes for organisations as well as individuals. You may be looking to move your organisation to the next level or do something different and you can’t see how it could work. You may be stuck in a rut of something that’s always worked but is beginning to struggle or fade away now. As a coach, I can help you to navigate your way out of that rut by helping you look and think about things differently.
Let me be honest with you here. This whole coaching thing benefits me as the coach as well as you, the person receiving the coaching. For years I have used the statement on my CV and LinkedIn profile that I “develop projects that enable people and communities to be developed”. I love doing this as it brings me genuine pleasure. I also learn from it too. I may have developed and assisted numerous projects but I am always learning. The coaching process helps me to continue to learn and understand communities as I assist the person being coached.
When I encountered the powerful leadership tool of coaching, everything changed. It was like a gust of wind filled the sails of my heart and life.
Tom Camacho
So how do we do this Coaching thing together? The first and biggest step is to make contact. Phone, email, social media, carrier pigeon – whatever works for you – just get in touch. That is a big step in itself but once taken, can open up the journey for you to begin to feel the joy of fruitful effectiveness that lines up with how you were made. I will then take time to listen and understand where you’re at, where you want to go, and with your agreement, begin to work with you on the steps to get there.
There are 5 steps on the Coaching journey, all helpfully beginning with the letter R:
Relate: Together we establish the coaching relationship and set an agenda for what needs to happen;
Reflect: Through questioning and conversation, we discover and explore the key issues that need tackling;
Refocus: I will help you to determine the priorities, what action steps are needed, and help you understand how they can be achieved;
Resource: I will support you, train you, connect you and provide constant encouragement through good and bad;
Review: Together we will evaluate what has happened, learn from any issues that occurred along the way, celebrate the result, and review plans for the next phase.
It sounds simple and essentially it is! Yes there will be some difficult hurdles to overcome but facing them with someone else who can help you, makes the process so much easier. And being part of a wider community helps too. The Kemlin Kin Group is a partnership of local residents and leaders of organisations and groups who are already active in the local area or have a passion to see things grow. You could join that group as well if you live in the Camelon and Tamfourhill area, and find the benefit of a network of people who want to bring an increase in positive activity and opportunities locally. Get in touch to find out more.
So that’s it. Coaching in a nutshell! All that’s left for you to do is contact me and let’s start a conversation. Before I go though, have a look at this short animation of what the coaching journey can be. I hope this all helps, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Welcome to my latest Community Coaching blog. It’s been encouraging to receive some interaction from these posts – it’s good to know at least some people are reading them and finding them helpful!
The text on this week’s Monday Motivation graphic said “Focus on doing right thing for the right reason and don’t buy into the lie that it can’t be done”. This got me thinking – and so the theme for this week’s blog was born!
It’s so easy to listen to others who try to put you down and tell you it can’t be done. As a result, you could potentially miss out on a great opportunity for yourself. It’s also easy to listen to the voice in your head saying you’ll never be able to do something. Your surroundings can also affect your way of thinking. Okay, statistically Camelon and Tamfourhill is an area of deprivation. So what! You are still you and deserve the opportunity to reach your fullest potential. Just because others around you, even your friends and family, have chosen not to pursue a dream, does not mean that you have to go down that path too. The Camelon and Tamfourhill area is full of assets – and you are one of them.
We could leave this blog right there! Be encouraged to be the person you were made to be. But if you’ve got the time, please stick with me for a few more minutes as we look a bit deeper at this.
Whether you’ll be able to achieve what you want or not, is partly down to how your brain is geared – what your mindset is. In short, do you have a fixed, or a growth, mindset? It’s relatively obvious which mindset is better but here’s a little further analysis:
Fixed Mindset
Growth Mindset
A belief that intelligence, skills and talents are fixed – “I’m not good at this now, and never will be.”
A belief that intelligence, skills and talents can be developed – “My skills have come a long way, and I know they can be better with some guidance.”
A focus on outcomes or targets rather than progress – “I’ve failed completely. I missed my sales target by 10%” (ignoring your much improved sales pitch).
Everything is a learning opportunity – “This is going to be a challenge, but I’ll break it down and tackle a bit at a time.”
Talking yourself down, feeling threatened by others or giving up in the face of setbacks or failures – “Clearly all this feedback means I’m no good at writing. I’ll ask someone else to do it next time.”
When you fail or suffer a setback, you believe you just can’t do it yet – “I can see now that the way I set this up wasn’t quite right, so I’ll take an alternative approach next time.”
Now if you find yourself in one particular column, don’t presume that you will stay there. We all shift between a fixed and growth mindset, depending on our situation. Someone coming at a completely new task or role might be prepared to learn, and expect some setbacks as they go through that process. They have a growth mindset. On the other side, in promoting someone who has used a growth mindset to learn and progress, this might mean they now see themselves as an expert with little more to learn. Suddenly, they have a fixed mindset.
I like to consider myself as someone with a growth mindset and as such I can recognise this problem. In previous development roles, I have recognised a point where you can actually create so much growth that you end up being in danger of creating something or someone that is unmanageable. But you still need people that are at least willing to learn or change – as the need arises. People that are so fixed in their ways – the ‘aye been brigade’ – need to be shown a better way and often that happens best by ignoring their criticism and committing to your own growth. Actions – and results – speak much louder. Their attitude is the enemy of progress, encouraging us to cling to what we know even when it falls so far short of our expectations and potential. It has been described as a self-imposed straight-jacket disguised as a safety net that in short, simply restricts and fails others. Use your determination to grow to show them a better way.
Our brain’s structure is not fixed. It constantly changes in response to our external and internal experiences, and we can choose to make use of this to improve our skills and intelligence. By adopting a growth mindset, we decide to use a range of strategies to tackle tasks or challenges, and find learning opportunities in mistakes, setbacks and failures. Confidence and resilience are the consequences of a growth mindset. Developing a growth mindset is a journey of self-awareness and of conscious learning. It takes time and practice, so set your expectations accordingly, and regularly take some time to reflect on the results.
Let’s recap with the help of this short video:
In time, we’ll be developing some training courses that will help you with this and other personal and organisational development topics. For now though, we have this blog and the chance for me to engage directly with you to help you grow. If you want to know more or simply want to chat through an idea, then please get in touch.
Over the years that I’ve had the pleasure of working with community based activities, projects, organisations or enterprises, one thing always stands out for me. Those who know why they are doing whatever it is they are doing, survive longer and better than those who just focus on what they are doing.
This is not just something to put in a funding application form, but something that defines you as an organisation. It will help local people understand why they should get involved. If you’re trading, it could make the difference between someone choosing to buy from your socially benefiting enterprise, or a standard company up the road. If you’re fundraising, it could make the difference between a donors money coming to you or something else.
I’m sure you all know what you do: you hire rooms out; you run a sports activity; you coordinate events; you run a music group; etc etc.
You also probably know how its done: you have a price list and people book in; you have coaches, equipment, and training sessions; you book entertainment and advertise; you have instruments, rehearsals, tutors; etc etc
But the key to success is why you do it: to provide facilities and activities for the betterment of the local community; to improve health, fitness and wellbeing; to celebrate local identity and success; to encourage the development of talent; etc etc
So what is your starting point? Why, how, or what? Author and motivational speaker Simon Sinek writes in his book “Start with Why” about what he calls the “Golden Circle”.
This is one of the most simplistic but powerful ways of looking at what it is that you do – or wish to do. We can so easily get bogged down in ideas, processes, procedures etc that we can forget what is at the heart of our mission. Sinek explains further:
“When most organisations or people think, act or communicate they do so from the outside in, from WHAT to WHY. And for good reason — they go from clearest thing to the fuzziest thing. We say WHAT we do, we sometimes say HOW we do it, but we rarely say WHY we do WHAT we do.” “When communicating from the inside out, however, the WHY is offered as the reason to buy and the WHATs serve as the tangible proof of that belief.”
Simon Sinek: “Start with Why”
This change of thinking could really make the difference for you and your activity / organisation. Before I say more, let’s hear from the Simon Sinek himself in this short TED talk:
In my last development role, I produced a marketing booklet entitled What we do and Why we do it. It was pretty evident what the place did, but not everyone fully understood why. Producing that booklet helped secure a major collaboration that will now be bringing increased support for people in that area. All because we highlighted the ‘why’.
It’s crucial to focus on why your organisations exists and emphasise this. Anything you do (what) and the process to make it happen (how) will fall into place if the why is solid. This is true for any activity, organisation or business but especially so when it is for community benefit. It will give your followers, service users or customers a way to identify with you on a personal level. If your ‘why’ matches their ‘why’, they will be willing to stand with you through thick and thin. Without a clear ‘why’, people default to the ‘what’. Then you are caught in the struggle to stand out in the ever growing sea of ‘what’ and are forced to differentiate yourself with features, or worse, with price. The end result is your reason for being – your ‘why’ – is lost.
Let’s take a hall or meeting space as an example – its easy for me as I’ve run one! You know how big it is, how many people it can hold and the kind of activities you’d be happy to see within it. You know how much it costs to run the hall (light, heat etc) and any staffing costs, so you can work out a rental price. If you stop there, you are just the same as any hall or meeting space and people will choose on location, availability or price – the ‘what’ and ‘how’. However, if you decide to run some activities yourself, or support a group to use the space for less than advertised rates, in order to provide something of direct benefit to the community, you can use this as a reason for other groups or companies renting your space – the ‘why’. “Use our space and we’ll use surplus funds to run this other activity for community benefit” or “have your meeting here and we’ll be able to allow a community benefit activity to use the space at a reduced price or for free”. See the difference? Suddenly there’s a reason for people to use your service – the ‘why’ has come to the fore and in this scenario, your ‘how’ (processes) and ‘what’ (activities) have become consistent with your ‘why’ (beliefs). And that’s the key as all three work together in harmony. To do that, you need to ensure the clarity of why, the discipline of how, and the consistency of what.
Remember that “People don’t buy WHAT you do; they buy WHY you do it.” The most effective leaders always win the heart first, and then the mind. And the only chance you have to win the heart is if you start with WHY.
Simon Sinek: “Start with Why”
I’ll leave you with a terribly misquoted song lyric that might help you remember this Golden Circle that we’ve looked at today: “It ain’t what you do its WHY YOU DO IT”. Until next week…….
Hi. Welcome to my second Community Coach blog. This week, to further highlight why my role exists, I’m going to talk about how I can help you or your organisation to make a positive difference in the area. Before I say more, please take 3 minutes to watch this TED talk from musician and entrepreneur, Derek Sivers.
I love this video because it shows how simple it can be to get a group of people together to work towards a common goal. Okay, the people in this video are just dancing on a hillside (nothing wrong in that of course!) but as the speaker points out, it teaches us some important lessons about how groups of people work. This can really help us as we look to bring more positive change to Camelon and Tamfourhill. So, which type of person described in the video are you? Or which would you like to be but don’t know where to start? Let’s explore further.
Leader The person running the group or cause – the maverick – the lone nut – the one with the vision – the one who can’t sit back and do nothing – the one who’s often frustrated at the lack of action – the one needing others to get involved but not knowing where to find them.
Is this you? Are you running something that’s going pretty well but needs a fresh injection of life? Are you plodding away with something that’s been going a while but just seem to go over the same ground all the time? Are you trying to get something started but can’t get others to join you? Or do you simply have a dream of something that could be, but don’t know where to start?
How can I help you to make your dream a reality? What do you need? People – funding – general guidance – a venue – visibility – training? I can help you with all of this so just get in touch.
First Follower Often just one person joining in on the journey can make life easier. Are you that person? You saw in the video how just one person joining in slowly started a flood of helpers. Is there a cause that you want to get involved with and you’ve either seen/heard of someone wanting to do something about it but don’t know how to make the first move? Or are you passionate about something like the leader above, but would rather not be the one to lead it? Maybe you want to be that first follower but don’t think you’ve got the necessary skills or abilities to do so. I can help! You may be the key that unlocks the potential of someone’s dream!
The Crowd Are you waiting for the momentum to get going on something before you jump on board? Will you jump once you’ve seen positive results? That’s all fair enough but you need to be ready to jump at some point! What do you need to help you do that? Self-confidence – skills based training – more information – networking skills – signposting? Again, I can help! Don’t be the one who sits back and just lets others jump forwards to help. The only barrier to you getting involved and being included in order to bring positive change, is you!
Why bother? Its a fair point. You may have lived here for a huge part of your life and just see the same old things happening with the same results. You may be new into the area and finding it difficult to integrate or worried even that what you suggest has been tried before and failed – but has anyone asked why it failed?! Or you may be somewhere in the middle but still don’t know what to do, where to go, or even why to do it.
As people, we are made to live and work with others in a positive community where we can thrive. We are social beings that have evolved to exist within communities. American politician Paul Ryan said “every successful individual knows that his or her achievement depends on a community of persons working together.” To grow and develop, we need to create a working team around us that is not necessarily all in agreement all the time, but that will work together for a common goal. Stephanie Caldow says in her article ’10 Traits That Make a Good Community’ that: “Involvement in a positive and encouraging community has a tangible impact on individual self-awareness and fulfilment. Positive experiences with communities allow individuals to feel more connected to their environment and the people in it. This form of connection also provides a support system for people when they are in need of encouragement or sympathy. Strong feelings of connection to the group also work to combat any mental illness that can arise from alienation in the form of anxiety and depression. Positive community experiences provide members with a sense of belonging and the feeling of being able to express themselves without feeling judged. Communities that excel at promoting this feeling of belonging encourage members to speak up about their ideas and opinions, which, in turn, leads to members considering their positions from a deeper perspective.” *
I see so much great stuff that is being done already but there is still so much more that can be done. Some ideas start well and then fall down very quickly or just drag along – often because people don’t get involved, but also because people do get involved and are not fully embraced or included by the leaders or even by the first followers, so they drift away again. Let’s work together to continue making Camelon and Tamfourhill a thriving, positive and encouraging community for all people that live here and not just those that are visible.
Summary I’ll leave you with some quotes from the video that started this piece off, but before I do, let me reiterate that I am here to coach you – to work with you. This is not like previous support activity when people do everything for you but equally you will not be left to struggle on your own. Let me work with you to support, train, encourage, guide or whatever! And so to these final words from Derek Sivers, taken from his video above:
“If you are the type [of person] that is standing alone, remember the importance of nurturing your first few followers as equals so it’s clearly about the [cause], not you.”
“Leadership is over glorified. Yes [someone has to be] first and they’ll get all the credit, but it was really the first follower that transformed the lone nut into a leader.”
“If you really care about starting [something], have the courage to follow and show others how to follow. And when you find the lone nut doing something great, have the guts to be the first one to stand up and join in.”
“Our Place” was a place-based initiative from the Big Lottery Fund (now the National Lottery Community Fund) that aimed to build stronger connections and relationships in communities, empowering local people and organisations to bring about positive and lasting changes in their neighbourhood. The Camelon/Tamfourhill area of Falkirk was one of 7 areas in Scotland and the community has been working together on this vision since 2014. Various projects were developed, funded and delivered through the scheme with £1.2m being distributed locally.
The final successful application was for the Kemlin Kin project, established to support the community to create a legacy for the work that had taken place. The project aimed to engage two development workers to lead two separate but linked workstreams, one around capacity-building to ensure that community groups in Camelon and Tamfourhill continue to flourish past the end of the Our Place programme, and one around the theme of Community Safety, which has been repeatedly highlighted as a local priority.
These two workers have now commenced in post with John Hosie taking on the role of Community Safety Engager and Dan Rous becoming the Community Coach. They are employed and managed by Tamfourhill Tenants and Residents Organisation and the organisation will work closely with a steering group made up of local people and organisations to enhance community empowerment and ensure local people have a voice within the local area.
Quote from John
My Post will ensure that Community Safety is put firmly onto the local agenda and my overarching aim will be to support the development of a community led strategy. The intended outcomes will be to achieve a community that feels safe, keeps safe and one which builds mutual respect and greater community cohesion. The initial phase of this project will be concerned with highlighting and promoting both myself and my remit and to engage with an active listening exercise, where the local community will be supported and encouraged to share their experiences and views about Community Safety. Priorities require to be identified and agreed, which are relevant and appropriate to all interests within the community. This approach will necessitate implementing a multi-faceted approach and a consultation process that is inclusive and dynamic.
Quote from Dan
My post will ensure that people working with or for the communities of Camelon and Tamfourhill can be supported, developed and encouraged to make them stronger and resilient for the future. I will be providing training and support for things that will help them in their roles, including how and where to access funding, operational issues, property matters, marketing, development and much more. It’s an interesting time to start a new role but I will be using this time of lockdown to collate peoples needs and develop a programme of support that will be both individual and collective. Through this project we aim to ensure that all local support will continue and grow in the future as well as encouraging new activities to take place as well. This is a great area with so much potential and I am eager to do my part to harness and develop the potential within.
Quote from Tamfourhill Tenants and Residents Organisation
The Tamfourhill tenants and residents are delighted to be managing this project within our local area. The project was a long time in the development with a number of hurdles to overcome before the project could get off the ground. We are excited to be in the next steps of the project and look forward to the final piece of the jigsaw which is to provide a capacity building support project within the area that will support local people to have more of a say in the delivery of future project activity and empower local people to be active in community safety projects.
Press Release Notes
Tamfourhill Tenants and Residents Organisation is a Scottish Registered Charity SC049783. They are a group of local people who work together to represent the views of all tenants and homeowners within the area and help make the are they live in a better place. They work in partnership with other community and statutory organisations to help create positive change within the local area.
More information is available from Shona Craig/Lynne Boslem at ttra@live.co.uk
His background has been in detached youth work and community development work and he has been involved with supporting a wide array of local community-based Projects and initiatives. The essential features have been to facilitate local ownership and empowerment and to ensure these projects have been developed in accordance with local people’s aspirations and vision. John is new to this area and arrives with an open mind, a blank canvas, and an enthusiasm to have a positive and effective impact upon the local community.
His background is in Social Enterprise and Community Development and he specialises in developing projects that enable people and communities to be developed. He has worked with numerous projects across Scotland for the last 17 years and has gathered a wide range of support and contacts to bring to the area to help people reach their potential. Dan lives in the area but knows he still has much to find out about everything that is happening so that collectively the area can be made even better than it is.
Safer Communities Youth Action Project 