The Aspire Foundation Newsletter #2 January 2016
Welcome to The Aspire Foundation newsletter! By Emma Barrett Happy New Year! I love the start of a new year, it’s like opening a new notebook - each page is a blank space, just waiting to be filled with fresh ideas! I also love the new year because it gives us a little time to reflect on the previous twelve months. I don’t know about you, but sometimes things can get so busy that I neglect to look back and consider what I’ve done - what have I achieved? What could I do better? What have I learned? A new year, with all its goal-setting and reviewing, can really focus the mind. So, what have I learned? 2015 was the year I signed up to be an Aspire Foundation mentor (my mentee, Mel, gives us her view on pages 6 and 7), an experience I found hugely rewarding. I had doubted whether I would have anything to bring to the table, so to speak, but as our sessions went on I started to feel a bit more confident in my own skills. I also really benefited from the experience in other ways: our sessions tended to be conversational and collaborative, it’s always so helpful to talk to someone who doesn’t work in your industry to give you a fresh perspective on things. I also found that simply taking some time out of the day to have the sessions was great way to give myself a little breather and a way to “sharpen the saw”, giving myself a few minutes from the ’to do’ list! In 2015, I took some great advice from Harriet Minter, the Guardian’s Women in Leadership editor: 1. Proceed until apprehended - don’t wait for other people to give you the greenlight to try out your ideas and 2. Say yes more (to the things you enjoy and say no more to those that you do not!). I’ll keep this advice in mind when setting my New Year’s resolutions. I’d love to see you over on the Facebook page in the New Year if you want to share your resolutions. I haven’t SMART-ed mine yet, but they will be around spending less time on my phone and trying new things… I’ve already signed up to an evening course that starts in 2016 so I can’t back out of that one! I hope you enjoy this month’s letter, please feel free to send over your feedback and comments to editor@theaspirefoundation.org Here’s to a happy and healthy 2016!
Emma Aspire Foundation Newsletter Editor
Over to You... The response to our first newsletter was amazing! Thank you for taking the time to get in touch with us! Here’s a selection of your comments. Feel free to send in further comments or any suggestions to me at editor@theaspire foundation.org
I find mentoring through the Aspire Foundation exceptionally rewarding.
Tea Colaianni Merlin Entertainments Aspire Foundation mentor
It's great to receive the first newsletter, I'm always interested to know the progress against the target of 1 billion women and girls by 2020.
Elaine Bailey Professional Mentor (Communications Specialist) Aspire Foundation Mentor
(We’re currently at
2,951,020!!!)
Having taken part in the Aspire mentoring programme as a mentee, I am constantly spreading the word of what a fantastic programme it is and what benefits it can bring.
Madeleine McGivern MIND Aspire Foundation Mentee
Love the newsletter and would be happy to be featured in an upcoming newsletter.
Rich Stern Avanade Aspire Foundation Mentor
Local Leaders Are Global Healers - Five Practical Steps for Finding Purpose and Leading the World to a Brighter Future Dr Sam Collins Mad Hatter: Have I gone mad? Alice: I'm afraid so. You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are.
If history has proved anything, it's that great leaders - and especially great women leaders have always been initially painted with the broad brush of ridicule. The list of women who have been called "mad" by those in power is as long as your arm. From Joan of Arc to the Suffragettes, there's no need to reproduce the entire list. The real point is, if you want to Make A Difference (M.A.D.), you should expect many people to think you're a little mad too. I'm here to let you know you it's a good thing, and nothing to be afraid of. When the news reached me about the tragic events in Paris, I felt two very different emotions at the same time. The first was the only natural human response - an emotionally intense fear and doubt about the future. The second emotion was the desire to do something about it - but without a clue as to what. Maybe you felt the same as me. But fear can awaken our ability to innovate and grow; helping us fuel our deeper knowing that we can all, in some way, contribute to the relentless resolve of the human spirit. We have demonstrated time and again our resilience to terror attacks. And I don't think this time will be any different. The Dalai Lama recently suggested that the crisis of suffering and inequality in the world requires a compassionate approach to leadership. While the women of the world are best suited to answer this requirement, we are often occupied in matters that distract us from this calling. Let me urge you to take some "me time" as 2015 draws to a close, to think about how you can make a difference to the world - your world. You don't need to move to Syria, or start a nonprofit (although you might), you just need to get a piece of paper and a pen, and reflect on these 5 steps:
1. Analyze your M.A.D. aspirations. We often find it easier to create a plan for our day-to-day work, organization, or team; but when it comes to us personally, to our own lives - not so much. Rather than writing out a list of New Year resolutions that quickly go on the back burner, discover the power of being honest with yourself. Instead, write a list of what's currently working and not working in your life, career, relationships, and if you want to reach a little further, the wider world. Circle those areas that are working and think about what you truly want to achieve, if only you could find a way.
2. Discover your purpose. If we want to live a fulfilling existence it is essential to know not only what we're doing, but why we're doing it, and for whom to we want to make a difference. Asking yourself what you want your legacy to be is an exercise that may or may not happen overnight. But the importance of knowing the answer to this question, taking it head-on, cannot be overstated.
3. Practice integrity and resilience. Make a list of your values and what you stand for. Look at the list often, and put it into daily practice. At the same time, try not to treat this list as inflexible; because as you (and the world) changes and grows, your values will also mature and gain dimension. But if you have regular difficulty standing up for what you believe in, or feel you aren't as strong as you could be, it is a clue that you need to work on finding your purpose (see #2 above). Once you know that, resilience comes much more easily.
4. Love thy naysayers. The more "M.A.D." you become, the bigger the difference you begin to make, the clearer you get on your purpose ... the more naysayers will be attracted to you. It's like a magnet. And surprisingly, many of the naysayers will be some of the smartest, most experienced, and well meaning people you know. Naysayers often express a mixture of love and fear - so the best way to deal with them is to hear them out openly and completely, reassure them that it will be okay, and then enlist them to help you accomplish it. Naysayers can become your greatest allies.
5. Be ruthless with your time. If you're a woman, you're probably doing too much for other people at the expense of yourself. The key is to learn to be a leader over your time. Start saying "no" to more things, more often. Say "no" to one thing, the next day say "no" to two things, and three the next day. You will be pleased to know it usually turns out okay, after the initial shock wears off from those people accustomed to diverting all your time. You will have a clearer head, and be able to live your life with more intention than before. These baby steps, daily actions and retraining yourself to know your aspirations, remember your values, talents and purpose will help you put yourself in the best possible environment, and frame of mind, to be in a position to change the world one day at a time, from wherever in the world you are right now.
Sleepless in Seattle, Chicago Popcorn and 1 Billion Women! By Liesl Ritts and Dr. Sam Collins
We had never been to Seattle or Chicago before and leaving sunny LA wasn’t easy when we battled the rain of Seattle and cold temperatures of Chicago but it was so worth it….
Avanade, our global corporate partner, welcomed us with open arms at their offices in Seattle and Chicago. We were there to encourage Avanade employees to sign up as mentors and refer their friends and clients to sign up as well. Both events were such a success and we had a little fun with them by setting them up in a competition with their New York office to have 500 Avanade mentors sign up by the end of 2015! The competitive juices definitely starting flowing and emails began flying back and forth within the US offices.
First, we visited the Avanade Seattle offices. It was a lovely rainy day in Seattle…we don’t see much rain in Southern California where our Aspire Foundation headquarters are. We were expecting very cold weather in Chicago but it was quite nice, but still cold!
We heard amazing stories from our mentors who were in awe of the women they are mentoring around the world. From the UK to the DR Congo, our mentors are making an impact globally. As one of our new male mentors said “this is a no brainer, I have daughters”. One woman talked about her mentee who had to travel 2 hours just to get to a phone to have her mentoring session. Another mentor talked of her mentee in Papua New Guinea who owned a farm of female coffee growers who are fighting for equal pay. We discussed what to expect as a mentor and how to avoid some of the pitfalls.
We spoke at both events about why the Aspire Foundation was founded and the importance of mentoring women in the world today. We had lots of questions and many people instantly signed up to be a mentor. Some said they had been ‘on the fence’ and the talk helped them realize that they really do have something to offer. We didn’t have too much time to see these great cities although Sam stayed the night but said she didn’t sleep much as the hotel swayed in the wind! Jackie from the Avanade Chicago office took us out for famous Chicago popcorn and we loaded up for friends and family at home.
As soon as we arrived back in LA, the competition went wild. Seattle, Chicago and New York went head to head to see who could have the most mentor sign-ups. Seattle has set the precedent for a long time with over 100 sign-ups and New York not far off. Chicago answered that call and then tied with Seattle quickly! But in the end, in the last days Chicago brought in the win with the most mentor sign ups!
Avanade now has 500 mentors ready to make an impact to women and girls all over the world. Each mentee makes a difference to 100’s or 1000’s of other women and girls. We are right on track with our goal of making a difference to 1 billion women and girls by 2020. Now Avanade is abuzz with new ideas and ways of making the mentoring experience a fantastic one. This January, Avanade is sponsoring 50 mentee scholarships at our M.A.D. Global Leadership Event in the UK. Keep up the great work, Avanade, and we hope to connect with you and your mentees in person or online soon!
The Aspire Foundation community Q&A This month we caught up with Melissa, one of our mentees. Melissa is a Project Support Manager for Certitude, a London-based charity which supports adults with mental health issues and learning disabilities.
Q: How long have you been part of the aspire mentoring programme? About 6 months now – we are due to have our final mentoring session in a couple of weeks time.
Q: Why did you initially sign up? I wanted to learn how things were done in different industries and see what I could transfer to my own work. Different industries can become stuck in their ways of working and this seemed like a good opportunity to try and break that trend. I also wanted to be challenged by someone who didn’t know my work, strengths and weaknesses as I always think that a fresh approach can bring new pathways, behaviours and opportunities.
Q: How did you find the sign-up process? Simple, quick and easy!
“It has really inspired me to look at my own situation and think about how I can use what I have learnt so far” Q: What has been the best part of your mentoring experience? Hearing about the different groups and events that my mentor is involved with and listening to her passion for supporting women as leaders in the workplace. It has really inspired me to look at my own situation and think about how I can use what I have learnt so far and how to continue my development in order to keep improving myself and my position. Emma has a real passion for this and I definitely think that some of that has rubbed off on me through our conversations!
Q: What do you think has been the impact of this programme on you personally? Along with the various useful tools and information that my mentor Emma has introduced me to, I have thought a lot about my future and my career. Having a plan is important and although this is something I do well in the office, I tend to let my own plans for myself slip along the way. Being part of the programme has allowed me to think about what I want from my future, what is important to me and how I might be able to achieve it.
Q: Would you recommend the aspire mentoring programme to colleagues or friends? Yes I would.
Q: Do you think you’d like to mentor someone? I would definitely look at mentoring someone in the future as I have found it a valuable experience and would hope to pass this on to other people.
Q: If you could provide one piece of advice to someone considering signing up to the programme, what would that be? Make the most of your time together. It is rare that people protect time in their daily work to be able to reflect on their processes, development, learning and progression but it is an incredibly valuable process to go through in order to improve the ways that you work. Also, although having planned, structured sessions can work well, don’t be afraid to go ‘off topic’ and discuss other things. Some of my best learning from this programme has come through the open and reflective conversations I have had with Emma, sharing experiences and best practice with each other.
Q: Is there anything you’ve done differently since starting the aspire mentoring programme? I have started to focus more on my future again, thinking about what I really enjoy about my job, what I am good at and how I can progress with this. I am lucky to work within an organisation which readily supports personal development and will facilitate situations in order for you to experience new things as well as improve those which you are interested in and are good at, so I am now starting to think of a long term plan and how I can make it happen!
If you haven’t yet signed up to the Aspire Foundation mentoring program, what are you waiting for?! You can sign up via the Aspire Foundation website or you can drop Liesl a line at liesl@theaspirefoundation.org
Smart New Year’s Resolutions Emma Barrett
It will be 2016 when this issue of the Aspire Foundation newsletter is released, however it’s 2015 as I write this. For me, it’s that point in the year where I start to look back at the year that has passed and to look forward at the fresh start the New Year brings. I’m not a huge believer in New Year’s Resolutions - I don’t think you need to wait for 1st January in order to make changes in your life and I think we can all be a bit guilty of setting impossible targets for ourselves which serve only to bring us down later in the year when we realise we can never achieve them. However, I am a big fan of reflection and self-improvement, and a new year is a bit like a blank canvas for us to mind-map who we want to be and where we want to go, it’s a great time for thinking up new ideas and committing to giving them a go. It’s believed that between 81 and 92% of New Year’s resolutions fail, most by the end of February. Many reasons are bandied about for this – are we setting too many resolutions and trying to change them all at once? Hands up if you’re guilty of spending your January trying to be more mindful, whilst going to the gym three times a week, whilst reading a book a week, whilst dedicating more time to charitable endeavours, whilst trying to eat more avocados, whilst maintaining a zero inbox… It’s no wonder we give up! One way of using the New Year as a fresh start, but without overwhelming ourselves, is to try setting SMART objectives: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-bound.
Specific: this the specific area for change Measurable: it’s important to be able to measure progress Attainable: goals, targets, resolutions must be achievable Realistic: state the results that can be realistically attained with the resources (time, money, support) available to you Time-bound: give yourself a time in which to achieve the change The SMART objectives originate from project management principles, but I think they can be useful in your personal life too. So, if you’ve decided that 2016 is the year you want to get fit, you might be tempted to say “I will get fit”, but this is too vague to be worthwhile. In this context, what is fit? How will you know if you’ve improved? If you run for the bus in the morning, can this be classed as improving your fitness? You might find it more useful to make the resolution SMART: “I will run 5k without stopping by the end of 2016. I will start by seeing how far I can comfortably run now and then build on that using a free on-line training course. I believe I can commit one hour during the week and one at weekends to training at my local gym and I will attend Park Run on a Saturday. I will log my training runs on Facebook and sign up to a charity run so that I’m held accountable. I will have a contingency plan of doing exercise DVDs at home if the weather is too bad to exercise outside”. OK, it’s not as snappy a resolution as “I will get fit”, but it’s far clearer as to what the actual resolution is, and in taking the time to think around the SMART elements, you’re actually making the plan of how you’re going to achieve it. What do you think of New Year’s Resolutions? Do you set them or leave them? Do you have any success stories you’d like to share? I’d love to hear them, drop me a line at editor@theaspirefoundation.org . Are you a part of our Facebook Community? We’d love to hear from you on there too!
Aspire Foundation Events
Have you attended one of our events yet? If yes, why not drop us a line to let us know what you thought of the event? Our next Aspire Foundation Community Event will be held on Wednesday 17th February 2016 via webinar. This event is open to mentees, mentors and anyone interested in joining The Aspire Foundation mentoring scheme. The webinar will provide an overview of the mentoring scheme. It’s interactive, so you have the opportunity to learn from other mentors and mentees and to provide us with feedback. You can sign up via The Aspire Foundation website here or drop Liesl a line at Liesl@theaspirefoundation.org
M.A.D. Global Leadership Event The Aspire 2016 Making A Difference (M.A.D.) Global Leadership Program is in our diaries… is it in yours?
The Aspire 2016 M.A.D. Global Leadership Program has been designed to support women (and trailblazing men!) get the New Year started with a bang! Leaders from corporations, small businesses, charities and the public sector, at all levels, ages and cultures, are invited to join Dr Sam Collins in London, UK on 26 and 27 January, 2016 to be inspired, empowered and receive the practical tools needed in order to bring about ethical, authentic and transformational change in your life, workplace and the wider world. The six month program is a mix of on-line webinars, networking event and a conference, along with the ‘No Excuses’ follow up webinars, all of which will support you to achieve your program goals. You can secure your place here. Aspire has a social business model and funds our campaigns and non-profit mentoring Aspire Foundation program. In addition, with every Aspire event place you purchase, Aspire will give away an event place to a woman in need somewhere in the world. There are discounts available to Aspire Foundation members. There are also scholarships to Aspire events available for mentees and for mentors who have completed three or more mentoring programs. Email Janet@aspirewomen.co.uk for more information.