These are uncertain times, we are at a threshold, and we genuinely do not know what will happen now. Thomas Berry’s words; “We set out to create a wonder world, and we created a waste world” really resonate with me. I’m interested in finding ways to help people to think about the relationship of their work, organisation, and the wider living world and to pay attention to the relationships between often excellent and ambitious intentions and the small actions with unintended consequences that can undo the good work.
These are such important times it’s tempting to think we need huge, heroic deeds, but I’ve come to believe the small actions we take, in our teams and organisations, really matter. They matter because it’s so easy for things to go wrong, unless we pay close attention to the patterns, sensitive to the wider context of our actions, guided by care for the impact of small gestures. It’s the kind of work where humility matters. There are no rounds of applause. It’s not grandiose work, it moves by paying attention to the small things.
I’ve been aware of environmental, social and ethical issues for decades. In the 1980s, motivated by a wish to ‘make a difference’, seeking profound transformation towards a more interconnected and life-affirming ecological consciousness, I trained in psychotherapy. I was a trainer of other therapists and, for 20 years, a UKCP registered therapist. I played a role in nurturing the path of transpersonal psychotherapy training in the UK and helped to establish a Swedish training center where for 25 years I regularly worked as a trainer and coach. I have a BA in Comparative Religion and MSc in Responsibility & Business Practice. Over forty years ago I became interested in Taoism (still a deep influence on my work), and took up Tai Chi. I studied Mandarin and Chinese calligraphy – skills lost in the mists of time. I practiced Buddhism under Thich Nhat Hahn.
Today as an APECS accredited Master Executive Coach, founder and director of Wise Goose, a training school for coaches, and a thinking partner of GameShift, a Financial Times ranked leading management consultancy, I’m interested in the place where inner and outer change meet.
Sometimes, knowing time is running out, I look back, and it feels like I’ve not made much of a difference. At the same time, I also know ecological and social crises are complex cultural, behavioural, systemic and interconnected, so the ripples of the work spread into the world in ways I may never fully appreciate.