A school in Crewe deemed to require improvement is still yet to experience widespread green shoots of recovery, according to an education watchdog.

Sir William Stanier Community School on Coronation Street in the town was inspected by Ofsted at the end of last February.

In the education watchdogs opinion at that time, the school required improvement overall and in the four main areas assessed.

These included outcome for pupils, their personal development, behaviour and welfare, the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, as well as the effectiveness of the schools leadership and management.

The school has required improvement since a previous inspection in 2016.

An inspection report of that visit said that 2017 exam results were inadequate and that efforts of school leaders to improve teaching have been impeded by significant turbulence in staffing.

There were also gaps in the learning of pupils in Years 10 and 11 those children preparing for their GCSEs and despite most attending regularly, there was also a persistent high absence among a significant minority of pupils.

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Strengths at Sir William Stanier identified by inspectors last year included the staffing situation being stabilised and firm foundations to secure improvement being established.

Behaviour in lessons was also starting to improve, pupils made good progress in English, maths and science, while school governors were aware of strengths and weaknesses and held leaders to account to ensure improvements to teaching and learning are sustained, the report said.

Ofsted have now undertaken a monitoring inspection visit to the Coronation Drive school to check how actions that have been taken are making an impact.

But the education watchdog reports that senior leaders at Sir William Stanier and the trust responsible for it are not taking effective action to tackle the areas requiring improvement at the last inspection so it can become a good school in Ofsteds view.

More action has been recommended in order for the school to progress.

It includes The Heath Family (NW) Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) board of which the school is part of to provide effective support and to challenge leaders in their work to improve.

Developing the curriculum and learning to help pupils do as well as possible, including in their GCSEs, is also recommended, as is ensuring teachers have the skills they require to build students knowledge and understanding.

Action is also advised to ensure strategies are in place to challenge pupils and families over unjustifiable absence and that good attendance is supported.

The fresh monitoring inspection report said: The trust has not ensured that improvement in the school has been rapid enough.

Until recently, there was too little contact between the trust and the school. Also, the different responsibilities of the trust and the local governing body were not clear enough.

The trust has now increased its support and challenge to leaders. Every fortnight, trust staff are checking that improvement is happening as planned.

Leaders have redeveloped or refined many aspects of the schools work since the previous inspection. Senior and middle leaders have worked hard to improve the school. They know the school well and want to do their best for pupils. Leaders are willing to learn and adapt.

However, the rate of improvement slowed during the middle of the last school year. Senior leaders therefore redesigned their plans. The current school improvement plan provides a clear set of actions intended to lead to long-term improvement.

However, this plan is too recent to see significant impact. The actions taken by leaders in the past have not improved pupils performance in external examinations or attendance. Both of these aspects of the schools work remain significant concerns.

There is now more systematic challenge to parents and carers if pupils are absent.

Leaders are checking pupils who say that they feel ill when at school more carefully before allowing them to go home. The attendance of some pupils has improved and the number of long-term absences has decreased.

However, the overall attendance this school year has not improved significantly compared to the same stage last year. Attendance remains too low.

Leaders judge that one of the reasons for poor attendance is family holidays taken during term time. If pupils are not in school, they cannot benefit from the education provided.

Ofsted also claims that The Heath Family MAT (NW) has not provided the school with sufficient support.

In response to the latest Ofsted update, chief executive of The Heath MAT (NW), David Donnelly, said: While the Ofsted team rightly noted that there is still work to do at Sir William Stanier as we drive forward our improvement plans, we are pleased that they recognised that there are many areas where significant positive progress has been made.

The inspection team, for example, found that Senior and middle leaders have worked hard to improve the school. They know the school well and want to do their best for pupils.

Underpinning that, they have also praised the strengthening leadership, the clear expectations for pupil behaviour and the foundations that are being laid to give students access to a broader curriculum.

Now that the building blocks are in place, it is important that we work collectively and collaboratively to continue on this positive trajectory at pace. We will drive forward the areas Ofsted has praised and focus on the areas which need additional challenge and support.

That is why I believe that we are reaching an exciting point for the school. Our new staff are making an impact.

We have some strong partnerships that we are looking to build on, and there is a real focus on how we can give every student the very best opportunities.

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Crewe school 'not taking effective action to tackle areas requiring improvement', says Ofsted - Cheshire Live

Dedicated students receive the Presidents Gaisce award

ByBrendan Grehan

STUDENTS from schools in Tallaght, Firhouse, Clondalkin and Lucan were among 148 young people from throughout Ireland who received a Silver Award from GaisceThe Presidents Award in the OReilly Theatre in Belvedere College last week.

GaisceThe Presidents Award is a personal development programme for young people which enhances confidence and wellbeing through participation in personal, physical and community challenges.

CEO of Gaisce Yvonne McKenna (left) with Silver Award recipients fron Lucan Community College and their PAL Emma N Bhriain (OBrien)

To earn their silver award, each awardee successfully completed at least 26 weeks across three of the Gaisce challenge areas of community involvement, personal skill and physical recreation.

They also undertook a three-day adventure journey, completing either a 50km walk or a 190km cycle.

Josh Whitney from Old Bawn Community School, Tallaght, Jared and Jamie Tai from Firhouse Community School, Tallaght and Jialimey Vuoung from Colaiste Bride, Clondalkin all received Silver Awards.

Daire Doyle, Ben Ryan, Risn Tuohy, Emmet Bellew, Sean Egan, Declan Fahy, Laura Lakes and Lucy Reade from Lucan Community College also received Silver Awards.

The event was MCd by Spin 103.8 DJs Graham and Nathan, with the awards were presented by Yvonne McKenna, CEO of Gaisce.

CEO of Gaisce Yvonne McKenna with Jialimey Vuong and her PAL Gintare Gontyte from Coliste Bride

Ms McKenna told The Echo: I heartily congratulate the awardees on their achievements. Its fantastic to be honouring so many young people tonight for their dedication to personal development, and I think its a testament to the tenacity of young people today that we have so many awardees here.

I hope they have made lasting memories and gained invaluable self-knowledge through their Gaisce Journey. Completing a Silver Award has required a significant amount of dedication and effort from each of them.

Since its inception in 1985 over 178,000 young Irish people have completed a Gaisce Award, including former Rose of Tralee Maria Walsh and Irish rugby international Robbie Henshaw.

More here:
Dedicated students receive the President's Gaisce award - The Echo Newspaper

Charine Tan of Exotic Wine Travel

What do you want from life? Are you at a desk all day yearning to be on the road doing something meaningful, however you define the term? I regularly use this column to galvanize readers into action. I myself used to be a lawyer. I left the industry to pursue wine and travel writing full-time as well as chase the ultimate title in the wine world, Master of Wine. So, its a joy to connect with kindred spirits and share the stories of their paths. For How to Quit Your Job and Follow a Dream, Ive interviewed former lawyers, bankers, and consultants who have walked away from the hours and money to attempt life-altering feats like grow coffee on a volcano in Panama, make wine on the Sonoma Coast, and found a coffee roastery and caf in Bordeaux.

Recently, I met Charine Tan and Matthew Horkey, founders of Exotic Wine Travel, at a seminar on Croatian wine. With no formal training but years of informal wine appreciation, the couple cut ties to their home and set off on a multi-year journey that led them to write books on unsung wine regions. As they crowd-fund their next project, an overview on Hungarian wine travel called Discover Hungarian Wine: A Visitor-Friendly Guide, I asked them about the challenges and thrills of their path.

Can you share a bit about your backgrounds? How did wine factor into your lives?

Charine Tan: I grew up in a relatively progressive Singaporean family who drinks wine whenever the celebratory mood demands. My wine epiphany happened on my 18th birthday. I treated myself to French fine-dining and bought a glass of Cte de Beaune Village. Prior to establishing Exotic Wine Travel, I was working at corporate agencies for nearly a decade, with roles in various functions: from marketing to sales, PR, corporate performance, and branding. During that time, I had the opportunities to work with clients in the wine industry including LVMH Mot Hennessy, Pernod Ricard, and Treasury Wine Estates.

Matthew Horkey: Both of us are WSET Level III-certified but enrolled in the program after we started writing about wine. I am a Chiropractor by training. I fell in love with wine during a backpacking trip when I was 26 years old. My friends and I ordered a liter of house-pour Sangiovese in Lucca, Italy. I smelled the wine for about 10 minutes before letting my friends pour themselves a glass. When we were living in Singapore, Charine and I were hyperactive wine consumers and attended wine events nearly every week. We were also members of the Confrrie du Sabre d'Or. So, in some ways, our informal wine training started some years ago.

Matthew Horkey of Exotic Wine Travel

Tell us about some of your past books.

Weve authored three wine books. Our first book is Uncorking the Caucasus: Wines from Turkey, Armenia, and Georgia; the second is Sipping Santa Barbara: Recommended Wines and Producers; and the third book is Cracking Croatian Wine: A Visitor-Friendly Guide.

We decided to shake up our lives and travel around the world in 2015. After a few months on the road in Western Europe, we noticed that an alarmingly large part of our expenses were on food and wine. When we arrived in Turkey, Georgia, and Armenia, we realized that there was very little information in English about those wine regions (the Georgian wine boom was just starting). So, we thought we could put our investment (time and money) and experience to good use by creating resources for intrepid wine travelers.

The lack of information was a tangible problem we thought we could help to solve. Additionally, we also had emotional motivations. After experiencing the hospitality of winemakers in Armenia and Georgia, we felt compelled to share their stories and to either return or forward their kindness. Most importantly, the wine quality there was on par with the international standard, but with a sense of exoticness to boot!

Describe your lifestyle. You're both on the road full-time tasting wines and. Is this your new life? Do you imagine ever going back to a desk job?

We have been on the road full-time for the last four-and-a-half years and visited hundreds of wine regions in Armenia, Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, and the USA. Were constantly visiting producers and taste about 5,000 wines annually. So far, weve tried about 400 wine grapes in varietal wine form.Exotic Wine Travel is our lives and perhaps unhealthily, because theres no line drawn between Exotic Wine Travel and our personal lives.

Matt: Ive aspired to have a location-independent lifestyle since I was a teenager. What we have today is a dream come true. Life on the road isnt always easy as we carry everything we own and we are always on the move. Usually, we would rent an apartment in the city of a wine country for four to 12 weeks. That apartment serves as a base where we would leave some things there while we travel around the country or to neighboring countries for press trips or for our own self-study and research.

CT: On most days, this lifestyle feels liberating, but the freedom we have is in exchange for the (mostly financial) security and certainty (of the future) we give up. Our location-independent lifestyle helps us to focus on work and our own priorities. Theres less societal expectations and peer pressure when one is constantly on the road. At work, being away from a fixed community or environment enables us to be more creative and resourceful. But all that is a double-edge sword. We dont really have hobbies since all of our focus goes to Exotic Wine Travel. Sometimes, we also feel lonely, especially when we run into a challenge. We dont have someone that we can call up or a mentor who can guide us through the tangle.

Matt: On the flip side, weve been fortunate to have so many magical experiences in different parts of the world that wouldnt be possible if we were simply tourists. A few years ago, in Sardegna, we were invited to lunch at a shepherds home in the mountains of Mamoiada. We ate roasted sheep and sheeps blood with all of the wine producers from the village. It was nearly 95 degrees Fahrenheit, and we were sipping on 16% ABV Cannonau while eating greasy, pungent meat. It wasnt the ideal situation for that kind of food and wine, but the experience is burned into my mind forever.

CT: Ultimately, this journey on the road and through the vines has been transformational. It has helped us to whittle life down to the baseline of what we want in order to be optimally happy.

Had either of you written a book before deciding to write wine region books? Why writing as opposed to some other wine-related business?

Before the wine books, we released a personal development-travel memoir called Travel, Learn, Earn: Let The World Be Your Guide to Freedom with a Canadian publisher. Originally, we thought we would go into consulting and speaking in the personal development and coaching field, but that idea was banished soon after we started traveling.

We dont see ourselves as writers, more of communicators or generalists. Currently, we are contributors to a few media outlets. We produce videos for wineries; handle media relations, social media, SEO strategy for some wine regions; and conduct tasting classes. We also work with a small group of private customers whom we help to source for fine wines from lesser-known wine regions. We are constantly pushing ourselves to do and learn more about the wine business and may start a sort of wine club soon. Ultimately, the vision for Exotic Wine Travel has remained the same since 2015: we want to be the Lonely Planet for wine lovers. Regardless of what we do, the idea remains: to help and inspire wine lovers, especially independent wine travelers, to explore lesser-known wine regions.

Tell us about your latest book on Hungary. Why are you focusing on this country?

Hungarian wine is one of the best-kept secrets in the Old World of wine.

Many people have heard of Tokaji, but few have a chance to taste it. Its a pity because tasting a well-made Tokaji Asz is a transcendent experience. Just imagine complex flavors mixed with textural richness and fiery acidity. That said, there is so much more to Hungarian wine than just Tokaji. You can find every type of wine in Hungary from fresh and aromatic to oxidative-style and profound whites, from medium-bodied and juicy to full-bodied and age-worthy reds. Hungary also has several autochthonous and regional varieties that create wines of distinctive sensory merits. Volcanic wine, orange wine, vin jaune-style wine, Hungary has all that, and most of them offer outstanding quality-price ratios.

With this book, we want to help wine lovers save time and money by enabling them to skip or shorten the trial-and-error process of finding the Hungarian wines they like. We always aim to produce the guidebook that we wished we had when we first visited a wine country.

The rest is here:
How To Quit Your Job And Write Wine Books From The Road - Forbes

NEWS RELEASE YMCA-YWCA OF GUELPH ************************* For 25 years, the YMCA-YWCA of Guelphs Women of DistinctionTM celebrations have honoured hundreds of local women who are breaking new ground and raising community in Guelph and Wellington County.

Scientists, community leaders, athletes, advocates, women in business, trades and the public sector have all shared the stage and the spotlight. Theyve inspired the community with their stories of innovation, resilience, grit and success and raised funds for key programs in the process.

The Y wants to know whos next? and opened nominations for the 2020 Women of DistinctionTM Awards today.

The Guelph Y was really a trailblazer when they launched these awards 25 years ago, says 2020 Honorary Chair, Dominique ORourke, who points out the ongoing relevance. Women of DistinctionTM was far ahead of the curve by seizing the notion of you need to see me to be me which is popular now. At the time, the focus was on the exceptional few. Now thats broadened to what we can do together and, unfortunately, acknowledging theres still work to be done.

Showcasing exceptional women at the annual spring gala is still a key component of Women of DistinctionTM, as well as raising funds for important community programs run by the Guelph Y.

YMCA-YWCA of Guelph CEO, Geoff Vogt, explains The impact beyond the evening is really what its all about. The Women of DistinctionTM event raises funds to support Guelph Y programs for girls and women at all stages in life in Guelph and Wellington County, including the Teenage Parents Program (a program that supports the personal growth and development of pregnant and parenting teens and their families and connects them with valuable resources), the Power of Being YOU Conference (a one day conference for young femme-identified youth that helps them build self-esteem and raises awareness about healthy relationships) and Encore (a holistic program for women who have experienced breast cancer).

Nominations are now open for the 2020 Women of DistinctionTMseason and will remain open untilFriday, Jan. 17, 2020. Nominations can be submitted either in person or online.

For more information on how to nominate an incredible woman who deserves recognition please visit http://www.guelphy.org/nominate or pick up a nomination package at the YMCA-YWCA of Guelph, 130 Woodland Glen Drive in Guelph.

*************************

View original post here:
Nominations open for Women of Distinction awards - GuelphToday

November 21, 2019 10 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

If you ask Dwayne Clark, founder and CEO of the senior care company Aegis Living, what he is most thankful for in life, he will unabashedly tell you growing up poor.

For Clark, a childhood spent in poverty instilled a compassion-first mentality and a burning desire to help others lead lives of dignity.

Today, Clark is seen as a change-maker in his industry. Aegis opened its 32nd location this year and has eight more facilities in development. The company is on track to have operating revenues of over $300 million in 2020, with real estate holdings approaching $3 billion.

Clark is the youngest of four children raised by a single mother in Walla Walla, Washington. When he was 16, his mother told him they were completely broke and had no money for food.

The youngest of four children, Clark was raised by a single mother who struggled to feed her family.

Image credit: Dwayne Clark

To feed her family, she made potato soup from a bag of potatoes shed stolen from the restaurant where she worked as a line cook. She vowed to replace the potatoes when she had money again. While Clark felt powerless to help his mother, he remembers being in awe of her strength and resilience.

My background truly is a gift to me, he says. It helps me relate to the dishwasher and has given me an affinity for struggling immigrants, for the poor kid, whoever needs help. If I hadnt grown up knowing what being hungry is really like, I would not have created the business I run today.

By the time he was 26 years old, Clark had worked his way up from a correctional officer to shift commander at Washington States Department of Corrections. He was good at it, but he hated the job. He wanted to go back to college (hed dropped out in his junior year) and then to law school, but his sister interrupted these plans with a call out of the blue. She insisted he read a new study about aging in America.

This was before we had the internet and I could just pull it up on a computer; so I went to the library to look up the study, says Clark. It was around 400 pages. I didnt particularly want to read it, but it seemed important to her. So I read the whole thing and realized there was a silver tsunami coming fast.

He learned that life expectancy was on the rise and the elderly population was expected to double. His takeaway: eldercare was going to be a booming industry. Clarks sister was on the advisory board of one of Leisure Cares communities, so he asked her to help get him an interview.

I didn't want this to be a courtesy 10- to 15-minute interview. So when they asked if I could come in for an interview that next week, I said I could come in 30 days, says Dwayne. I wanted to do my research on the company, their competitors, and the industry. I wanted to be the best interview theyd had in 10 years.

Thirty days later, Dwayne went in for the interview, and, as expected, they asked a few cursory questions, spent no more than 10 minutes with him, and thanked him for coming in. Before they could shoo him out the door, Dwayne reached into his backpack and pulled out a three-ring binder and dropped it on the desk in front of him.

Id like to talk to you about where I think the aging industry is going and how I think I could contribute, he told them. Clark says they spent the next 90 minutes going over his manual, and they made him a job offer within the week.

Leisure Care hired Clark as the marketing director in Colorado. Forty-five days later he was put in a manager training program, and two years later he was named VP of Operations.

At age 33, Clark was recruited by Sunrise Senior Living, which would the biggest senior housing company in the world. In less than five years he helped grow Sunrise from an $18 million company to a company with a $3 billion market cap.

Despite his seemingly overnight success in the eldercare industry, Clark wasnt satisfied working for a public company. He decided to quit and make his own way.

It wasnt in my personality, and I didnt like what Wall Street did to the culture of the companies, says Dwayne. I thought I needed to just do it on my own.

You need a significant amount of money to do well in the senior care industry, and I dont mean $10 million; I mean tens of millions of dollars, he says. Today you would need $150 million to start a company like Aegis.

Dwayne spent much of 1996 looking for partners and capital sources and eventually found the right person: a developer in California named Bill Gallaher, whom Clark had built a relationship with during his time at Sunrise.

Together they founded Aegis, were able to raise $10 million, and built their first property in Pleasant Hill, California, in 1998. But it wasnt all smooth sailing.

I underestimated just how capital intensive the process was, says Clark. We burned through that first $10 million in six to nine months.

After two more rounds of capital financing, which yielded another $12.5 million, Gallaher called and told him they were out of money. By this point, Clark had exhausted all his resources except his sons college fund.

My son had just committed to UCLA, his dream school, says Clark. I needed the college money to cover payroll or Aegis could not stay afloat. I had to go to my son and have a tough conversation. I said, You know, that in-state tuition at the University of Washington looks really good.

Thankfully, his son understood and never felt bitter about the decision to abandon UCLA. Clark credits the college fund for saving the company.

In 2007, Clark says he bought out Gallaher due to a difference in philosophies. He took full control of Aegis and set out to grow it into the premier assisted living community on the West Coast.

As the company expanded, Clark became an expert on how to care for people with Alzheimers and dementia. He believed hed learned everything there was to know about how to manage this type of care facility until the day he received a massive blow that challenged him as a CEO and son: his mother was diagnosed with Alzheimers.

Image credit: Dwayne Clark

Imagine the feeling of being the guy leading the industry in this type of care but I couldnt help my own mother, admits Dwayne.

She moved into one of his memory-care communities, and Clark began to have a major shift in perspective. It was a game changer, he says.

His mother loved music; so Clark read studies on the positive effects of music on patients with dementia and Alzheimers and expanded the music programs in his Alzheimers wing.

She also loved doing her hair and make-up, which became harder as her illness worsened. As a result, Clark brought traveling salons to his senior health communities to give all the residents makeovers. This started a long list of improvements throughout his facilities that werent always good for his companys bottom line but he believes improved the lives of the residents. Clark says he created hundreds of longevity aids, including aromatherapy to improve mental clarity, spring-loaded chairs to allow seniors to stand without assistance, and shorter hallways to facilitate walking.

Clark also took action to create a culture where employees feel genuinely invested in and cared about.

I want to be an employee-first company because I truly believe culture is everything, says Clark. We are a service-oriented company that aims to do our part in treating the Alzheimers epidemic by serving the high-risk communities of senior health.

Clark created a program called E.P.I.C. (Empowering People Inspiring Consciousness) to transform Aegis Livings annual meeting from a traditional year-end review to a three-day celebration of the human spirit. It is a seminar for self-improvement with the primary agenda to ignite personal development among the employees. E.P.I.C. attracts celebrities like Michael J. Fox, Carlos Santana, and Dr. Deepak Chopra to teach and inspire his employees.

Clark says one of his lifelong obsessions has been the pursuit of health understanding it and attaining it. As a young adult, he lost sight of that passion and burned the proverbial candle at both ends. He worked long hours, lived on a junk-food diet, partied late into the night, and slept very little.

Everything came to a head one Labor Day weekend with his wife, when he began to experience the most acute abdominal pain of his life. It was so bad that he ended up in the hospital where he was diagnosed with severe gastritis.

Clark says the experience was a wake-up call. Hed learned so much caring for people well into their 100s, but ironically, hed never consciously applied those lessons to himself.

My health crisis inspired me to seek out longevity, study it, achieve more of it, and share my findings with a broader audience, says Clark. While Id been living and breathing questions about the health and longevity of my Aegis residents, Id separated myself from what Id learned. Overnight, my commitment changed.

Dwayne became a longevity explorer, traveling to over 80 countries to interview hundreds of people on what it means to age well into their 80s, 90s and 100s. His obsession with health and longevity led him on a journey of research into finding every conceivable way to live a more vibrant, healthier, and more fulfilled life.

In his latest book, 30 Summers More, Dwayne takes what he has learned about longevity by caring for more than 60,000 residents and writes a new plan for aging in America. He challenges the status quo for people over age 60, using the wisdom of Aegis residents.

Clark, far right, with former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, former President Bill Clinton, and Clarks wife, Terese, after a lunch where the couples discussed politics, business, and longevity.

Image credit: Dwayne Clark

Hes also taken an interest in exploring what makes successful people tick, and Clarks recently launched podcast, Walk This Way, discusses the journey of CEOs, athletes, and celebrities and how they made their way to hit mega-success by not following the traditional path.

Clarks own path was no doubt untraditional.

I have never had a woe is me mentality or seen my background as a drawback, says Clark. Entrepreneurs share one thing: theyre trying to run as fast as they can away from poverty. It creates rocket fuel for them to be successful.

Follow Dwayne Clark on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, or visit his website.

Visit link:
The New Face of Longevity: Dwayne Clark's Solution to America's Silver Tsunami Crisis and How Living on Stolen Potatoes Made It All Possible -...

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360 feedback is a whole pandoras box on the leadership development front! From an organizational perspective it can be a great tool. It helps organizations see where their leadership development programs are working, where things are breaking down, and where employee strengths areor, are notaligned with organizational goals.

On the surface it sounds like a good thing.

But most organizations are notoriously BAD at teaching individual employees (yes, even those senior management types) how to use 360 feedback constructively. What most often happens is some version of: Suzy or Sam Motivated Employee gets feedback from certain people that says, this version of you is not fun to play with so you should go fix that about yourself. So, Suzy or Sam M. E. trots off and tries once again to shove him or herself into some ill-defined pigeonhole to satisfy the needs of that particular feedback group and work on that thing about you only to further lose their true selves in the fog.

Then a few years later, they get another 360 feedback that either has the exact opposite thing highlighted as the problem (you were too aggressive before; now you dont speak up enough) OR worse in my opinion the feedback has become completely flat because the subject human has flat-lined into a robot.

As a result, everyone wonders why people seem disengaged, tuned out, lost, unimaginative, unmotivated, and uncreative! (Can you tell I have strong feelings around this topic?)

That said, Im not willing to put the blame squarely on the organizations. While employee engagement may be an organizational problem, the solution lives inside each individual employee.

This is what I mean when I say, You not only deserve to have a job you love; you have a responsibility to.

Why? Because you are awesome. The world especially the world of government service needs you and your gifts. But those only come out when you bring ALL of yourself to work every day.

So, what if we talk about a better way to use your 360 feedback? Here are a few pointers:

What you put your attention on grows. Pay attention to those areas that others have identified as strengths for you. Because those areas are so much a part of who you are, you might be surprised to see others recognize those areas as strengths. Furthermore, you might be confused as to why someone would consider such a thing a strength. In other words, whats the benefit of my being ?

This is the place you want to lean in. And, trust me, its gonna feel a little weird because you actually want to ASK those people to tell you how and why youre amazing in this area.

Yep. You need to ask other people to brag about you to your face. How is the way you do that-thing-you-do different from the way others do it, and why does it work so well? And then listen openly and generously to what they say.

Yeah, told you it would feel weird. Most people would rather take a beating than do this.

Heres the thing. A key element of developing your personal leadership foundation is owning the value of your unique contribution. A big piece of owning it is allowing yourself to be recognized and appreciated for it so that you can also market yourself with it. But first you really have to get that its great.

Ok, admittedly, doing Step 1 above probably didnt feel natural at all. But, of those strengths that people highlighted, which ones feel most natural to you? What were those things that others appreciated that you didnt even know you were doing?

Do more of that. Take those most natural aspects and begin to experiment with using them in different contexts. If you LOVE detail and data organization, where else can you bring that strength forward? If you have a knack for seeing unintended consequences in new projects, how can you share that insight in support of existing projects? If you have a gift for understanding what makes people tick (like me), how can you use that to navigate project negotiations?

As you move up in your professional career, you may notice that some qualities, skills, or behaviors are valued and rewarded more than others. (Incidentally, dont be surprised if those qualities are NOT the ones the organization says they value and recognize.) As a result, youll find yourself unconsciously adopting some of those rewardable aspects.

Nothing wrong with that. Its a survival skill, and we all have it. Thank goodness!

The problem is that those adopted aspects, including the ones youve become particularly skillful at, come at a high cost in terms of physical energy, mental focus, and emotional bandwidth if they are not tightly aligned with your natural gifts. Result = burnout. How do you know? Pay attention to those that feel most natural and easy. Those are your gifts.

Thats easy to say when you are reading the feedback around your strengths. Its a little harder when youre reading the developmental areas.

Weve been conditioned to view developmental areas as aspects of ourselves that are somehow broken and in need of adjustment. Other schools of thought label these developmental areas as strengths overused in the vein of when all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.

As with most things, the truth is somewhere in the middle. In many cases, the parts that other people dont like otherwise labeled as developmental areas are also huge gifts for you. They hold the seeds to your greatest strengths. And, because those elements are generally tied to shadows, and other things you can never allow yourself to be, they come out all sideways. (And thats before we get into the discussion around perception, projection, and running into OTHER peoples shadows.)

Did I lose you a little in that last paragraph? Thats ok.

What you need to know is this: trying to fix your developmental areas or trying to not be whatever was in your developmental area list will NEVER work. Any time you try to not be something, you waste physical, mental, and emotional energy trying to navigate around part of yourself.

Talk about a waste of time and energy!

So rather than trying desperately to not be that, ask yourself, in what context is that quality of particular benefit?

I know Im treading in the touchy-feely, borderline-woo stuff, so let me give you an example.

Lets say your developmental areas section said something about, when Suzy is really focused, she can be pushy and aggressive.

If Suzy now expends her energy trying very hard to NOT be pushy or aggressive, shes EITHER constantly holding herself back, second-guessing herself, and not expressing her opinion (AKA sharing her expertise), OR aggressively trying to prove shes NOT pushy or aggressive, thereby inadvertently showing up as even more pushy and aggressive.

ARGGHHH!!! No wonder shes frustrated, burned out, and pissed offmentally shaking her fist at the whole dang organization.

Lets look at this a different way. As Suzy begins to explore in what context pushy and aggressive would be of particular benefit, now the brain/body system is working in a whole different context. Its in curiosity and experimentation mode.

First, new opportunities come to light in which pushy and aggressive are really good qualities to have.

For example: Crisis situations? Areas within her specialized expertise (meaning she really IS smarter than everybody else in this area)? Defending a softer colleagues expertise against someone else who is pushy and aggressive? What others do you think of?

Secondly, since she doesnt have to not be something, she has nothing to fight against (no resistance to push in to) so theres no extra pushy, aggressive, or passive-aggressive leaking out on the sides.

As an added bonus, Suzy is also being more of who she already is in all the best ways and is better equipped to position herself on a team that needs exactly what she brings to the table.

Now, its a win for Suzy a win for the organization and a win for our nation. Thats what Greatness In Government is all about.

At Greatness In Government we show leaders, especially those in government, struggling with burnout, career stagnation, and Walking Dead Syndrome how to access greater bandwidth, make a bigger impact, and enjoy more personal satisfaction in their lives both inside and outside the office. For more tips and strategies, check out 5 Unexpected Success Principles for Creating Greatness In Government. Its my gift to you, and youll find it at http://www.FreeGiftfromMartha.com

2019 Martha (Austin) Wilson. All rights reserved. This article may not be reproduced without express written consent from Martha (Austin) Wilson.

Tags: Employee Relations

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Weathering the Storm of 360 Feedback - FedSmith.com

Living a healthy life is supposed to be simple.

Too often we complicate things, adding activities into our day-to-day lives that arent actually sustainable.

Sure, the first day or two is fine because youre super motivated. But I dont think any of us are strangers to that one-week motivation slump.

Youre trying to maintain relationships, be sociable, look after your family, clean your house, go grocery shopping (we all know thats a whole day gone), the list goes on and on. Sometimes, we just dont have time for exercise.

I get it, exercising wont always be your highest priority, so here are some other healthy habits you can add into your life that wont take up too much time and will get you on a healthier path.

And remember, health isnt just about fitness, its also about your relationships with yourself and the people around you yourmental wellbeingand your lifestyle.

Here are 9 easy ways you can be a healthier person without ever stepping foot in a gym.

Water has many health advantages that cant be seen, and thats why its important to keep up your water intake.

Yes, youll notice physical advantages, like healthier skin, but its doing a lot on the inside too. Water maintains the function of every single cell in your body, so keep those beauties hydrated.

Drinking a glass of water first thing in the morning is a really good way to make sure youre starting your day hydrated. You lose a lot of hydration while you sleep, so try and fix that first thing in the morning.

Stretching keeps you nice and limber.

It also helps keep your fascia healthy. What is fascia, you ask? Its the tissue that covers your muscles, nerves and organs; it keeps everything in the right spot. Stretching gives it some TLC by breaking up the collagen in your fascia, allowing more oxygen to your muscles.

Stretching also happens to be an excellent way to add more mindfulness into your day. Use a 10 to 15-minute stretch as a way to get in touch with your thoughts and be present. Take deep breaths in and out to help reduce stress levels. This can form an excellent part of self-care.

Spending less time on your phone, in general, is always a good idea. But if that seems a little tricky, start putting your phone away before bed.

You have to give your brain some time to relax before you go to sleep. Spending less time on social media will not only do wonders for your self-esteem and mental health, it will also help you get a better nights sleep.

Aim for at least half an hour of no phone time as a way to implement adigital detoxright before you go to sleep;read a book,practise meditationor have a conversation with a loved one instead.

Ever have those days where you just dont feel like yourself? Practice gratitude.

Say out loud, in your head, or even write down, at least three things you are grateful for.

They can be as significant or as small as you like the important thing is that you identify the three things you are grateful for that day.

Reminding yourself of the things you are thankful for will help you stay in a positive mindset, as it helps you live in a place of abundance.

If youre having a bad day, it will distract you from the things that are bothering you and will bring you back to the present moment which will help shift your mood.

I want you to set this as one of your non-negotiables for each day because your self-fulfilment is dependent on you doing the things you love.

If youre not spending time each day doing something you love, you wont feel fulfilled. If you dont feel fulfilled, youre not able to love and support the people around you as best as you can, because youre not treating yourself that way. As the saying goes, fill your own cup up so that it can overflow to the people around you.

So, how do you do this?

Write a list of every single thing you love doing, big or small. It might be having a cup of tea, reading a book, getting a massage, orworking on a hobby. Then, each day, spend five minutes (or more) doing one of those things. It is so important that you prioritise this.

If you dont have time, you must make time. It should be as important as brushing your teeth.

I know that reading isnt everyones cup of tea, but I encourage you to give it a go.

Find a genre you love, whether its personal development, fiction orempowering books by female authors, read for 15-30 minutes a day. It can be good for a bit of me-time, education or entertainment.

No matter what the outcome is, its relaxing and allows you to take some time out of your day for yourself notice the self-care theme here?

Okay, this might sound a little woo-woo to some people, but bare with me.

Practising mindfulness allows you to bring yourself back to the present moment. Its excellent for stress relief, relaxation and getting in tune with your body and thoughts.

Once youre familiar with your bodys way of communicating with you, youll be able to identify warning signs easier and react accordingly.

There are so many different ways to practice mindfulness, and it doesnt have to be meditation.

Try an app likeHeadspace, or sit in a quiet place and simply focus on your breathing: take a deep breath in and then let it out slowly.

Forget your stereotypical meditation and find what works for you.

You know a little bit of junk food wont kill you, right? So stop being so darn strict on yourself.

Dont get me wrong, its important to eatnourishing foods that fuel you with energy. But if you do eat takeaway from time to time, dont beat yourself up over it.

And dont you dare go and punish yourself at the gym to work it off. When you punish yourself for eating what you or society deems as bad foods, you create an unhealthy relationship with food.

Eat foods that make you feel good but hey, if you want to eat a doughnut, you go and eat that doughnut, girl.

As often as you can, try something new.Allow yourself to dream and find the things youre passionate about.

When you live a life filled with what youre passionate about, it makes you a happier and more fulfilled person.

After all, lifes not about how much time you spend in the gym, or how many calories you eat its about finding happiness and love.

This article was written by Natalie Parry andoriginally published on A Girl In Progress.

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9 healthy habits that don't involve exercising - Ladders

Published November 22, 2019, 12:09 AM

VOICE FROM THE SOUTH

By FR. EMETERIO BARCELON, SJ

Fr. Emeterio Barcelon, SJ

In a couple of weeks we come to the end of the liturgical year. The liturgy reminds us to look at the end of times and the end of our lives. It is a time of taking assessment of our lives. How successful have we been in the goals we have set for ourselves? Without proper assessment we can go on blissfully to our own destruction, far from the objectives we set for ourselves to attain. But first of all what goals have we set to have accomplished? What have we set for ourselves to have accomplished here in this world and in the world to come? Perhaps we have neglected this important phase of our lives. How can we tell if we have succeeded in life?

First of all we have to set goals for success in this life and in the next. Then we have to plan on how to reach those goals. Then implement our plans. Then check on how successful we have been in implementing our plans. As we make plans for this world we also have to make plans for the next world. The end of times may not be imminent but each of us has to face individual death. We must face a time of reckoning for the resources and graces that we have received. GOAL, PLANS, IMPLEMENTATION, and REVIEW is the slogan that we have to keep repeating to ourselves. And this has to be done for both worlds in which we live, the material and the spiritual lives that we live in.

After we have set goals in this life we need enthusiasm or a can-do spirit. This ideally can come from those around us, especially those who are charged with our development, namely parents, elders, educators, and bosses. Without this encouragement we have to rely on our own. This is more difficult but it can be done. But encouragement is needed and this is a sacred duty of those given the responsibility of our development. Beyond personal development there is the question of finances that we can have enough for a comfortable retirement. Also included in our goals is a goal to help fellow man. This can be wide ranging but we have to choose one or two to be of use to our fellow man since we are a social animal that depends on the help of others.

On the spiritual side we also have to make goals. However, here we have an overarching goal of getting to heaven. But under that we have sub-goals is like keeping out of sin or preventing our tendencies to run wild. Here we have religious obligations condensed in the two great commandments: To love God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves. These are then detailed in the common five pebbles. We have to go to Mass and Communion on Sundays; say the rosary at least once a day; read the Scriptures if possible for thirty minutes a day; make some sacrifice at least once a week; and finally go to confession once a year but preferably once a month. (The Holy Father in Rome goes to confession every week.) Our target in the spiritual life is to live like saints here on earth.

The end of the year gives us another chance to reset our goals and make new plans for the coming year and ask the Lord for grace and assistance and reboot our resolve once again to do our best.

Tags: Fr. Emeterio Barcelon, SJ

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End of the year - Manila Bulletin

The new constables including a former refuse collector, hotel receptionist, a police community support officer (PCSO) and an airport valet parking manager, who is originally from Romania paraded in front of their families and senior officers, including their new chief inspectors at Hertfordshire's police headquarters.

Chief constable Charlie Hall said: All of our new officers go through a vigorous recruitment process before undergoing intensive training to ensure that they are fully equipped to deal with life on the frontline and I wish them all luck with their policing careers.

We are recruiting to all kinds of roles: police officers, police community support officers (PCSOs) and volunteer police roles so Id encourage people to consider a career with us. Think: They did you can.

The new recruits

New recruits completed a 16-week training course at Letchworth Police Station which includes a mixture of classroom-based and practical sessions, covering a vast range of topics including law and powers, personal safety and dealing with volatile situations, first aid and safeguarding vulnerable victims.

The officers have now started shifts at local stations across the county, putting into practice all they learned, with two PCs based in Borehamwood; Hemel Hempstead; North Herts; Three Rivers; and Watford; and one in Broxbourne; Dacorum; Hertsmere; and Stevenage.

Charlie added: Joining Hertfordshire Constabulary gives you the chance to be a part of a team that is passionate about your personal development, career progression, positively contributing to our local community and offer a welcoming, supportive workplace to people with different life experiences and backgrounds.

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14 more bobbies on the beat in Hertfordshire - Hemel Today

This feature is coordinated by The Post-Standard/Syracuse.com and InterFaith Works of CNY. Follow this theme and author posted Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.

The American holiday of Thanksgiving marks the grand opening of the Christmas shopping season. So by now you've been inundated with advertising: print, radio, television, and social media. How amid all this clamor for our money do we maintain our sense of the holy?

You might have heard: "You are not a human being having a spiritual experience. You are a spiritual being having a human experience." In other words, what is important is who we are and how we relate to others, not what we have and how we acquired it.

The quote is most often attributed to Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. However, he was not the author. The real author gives us the real irony! It was part of an advertisement for Volkswagen, written for the company by motivational speaker Wayne Dyer.

May we all be blessed with the spirit of thanksgiving and gratitude!

Maggid Jim Brul is an ordained Jewish spiritual storyteller. A member of Temple Concord, Brul teaches storytelling and works with congregations and organizations to heal fractures of faith, class and ethnicity.

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CNY Inspirations: Sense of the holy can be found in quote - Syracuse.com