“The only truth is music” – Jack Kerouac, Desolation Angels I recently watched For The Record: An Incomplete History Of Music – a Cosmic Shambles production – and have since found myself regularly musing on music even more than [...]
Before I became an NHS Trust Chair, I spent many years in the world of third sector group facilitation and training. Working with national charities I was supported to develop my own skills through academic and practical learning. As a [...]
It's been a strange couple of years to be part of a board or a council of governors in the NHS. The pandemic has had several presentations, bringing different governance challenges. These have included: The unknown. In the early phase [...]
Following a bit of Twitter commentary and a revamped article from ACEVO for Chief Executives on leading in challenging times (http://www.acevo.org.uk/member_briefings/tips-for-leading-in-challenging-times/) I want to share some reflections about us Chairs and what we can – and should not – bring [...]
I’ve led a wide range of service user involvement over the last 30 years, as strategic lead for service user involvement in national charities and by working with patient and public voice organisations including the National Association for Patient Participation [...]
Flying to New York because of the death of a dear friend must rank as one of the worst reasons to go. Five years ago, I was flying out there because a dear friend of mine, John Falkenberg, had died. [...]
I remember quite a bit from when I first became a Board member and when I first became a Chair. One of my stronger memories is of my intent to learn from my own experience of other leaders – not [...]
I’ve been vegetarian for over thirty years. I think it is fair to say that for a good many of them, I wasn’t much good in the kitchen! In part, this was a lack of confidence; in part, a lack [...]
I recently had the pleasure of chairing a day with Governors from a number of NHS Foundation Trusts, sharing experiences about their roles, and helping facilitate some joint learning. I found myself thinking about some of the factors that help [...]
The phrase “We’ll learn the lessons from…” is often used. Whether in national politics, in the aftermath of disasters, in the wake of a failure in a local service, after accidents, or when things just plain go wrong, there is [...]