Are you leading a service going through a period of change or growth? Are you looking for some external support to overcome obstacles and achieve success?
With decades of experience in training and facilitation for social impact organisations and their leaders, I can offer you a strategic, fun and creative process to help your organisation and its people thrive.
strategic planning and team building away days
leadership coaching and mentoring
independent evaluations
bespoke start up programmes
reflective practice sessions
My rates start from £400/day
My Approach
Appreciative Inquiry underpins much of my work. It is a powerful strategic planning tool which I use to help individuals and teams to create positive change that sticks. It is the study and exploration of what gives life to human systems when they function at their best. It is based on the assumption that questions and dialogues about strengths, successes, values, hopes and dreams are themselves transformational.
It has four key stages, and is driven by a change agenda – the area of focus you are working on. This is often rooted in a problem of critical importance to a team or individual’s performance, which is then stated in the affirmative. To find out more, read my blog for Eastside People or take a listen to my podcast interview with FacilitationStories
If you are a facilitator interested in training in appreciative inquiry, I offer short courses co-facilitated with Rosie Cripps, please get in touch for further information
“The quality of our actions depend on the quality of the thinking we do beforehand and the quality of our thinking depends on how we are treated while we are thinking”
When you choose to work with me, I will always try to apply the ten components of the Thinking Environment – a philosophy of communication pioneered by Nancy Kline:
ATTENTION
Listening without interruption and with interest in where the person will go next in their thinking Attention is an act of creation.
EQUALITY
Regarding each other as thinking peers, giving equal time to think Even in a hierarchy people can be equal as thinkers.
Discarding internal urgency Ease creates; urgency destroys.
Noticing what is good and saying it The human mind works best in the presence of appreciation.
Giving courage to go to the unexplored edge of thinking by ceasing competition as thinkers To be ‘better than’ is not necessarily to be ‘good’.
Welcoming the release of emotion Unexpressed feelings can inhibit good thinking.
INFORMATION
Absorbing all the relevant facts Full and accurate information results in intellectual integrity.
DIFFERENCE
Committing to freedom from untrue assumptions driving prejudice Prejudice consists of untrue assumptions, particularly about identity groups, and functions, therefore, as a thinking inhibitor. When we commit to freeing ourselves of these assumptions, we enhance the quality of everyone’s thinking.
Freeing the human mind of untrue assumptions lived as true A wellspring of good ideas lies just beneath an untrue limiting assumption.
Producing a physical environment – the room, the listener, your body – that says, ‘You matter’ When the physical environment affirms our importance, we think more clearly and boldly.
Rebekah, Curly Pops Box
I’ve loved the fortnightly sessions which has worked really well for me and managed to slot in well with my day job too. The sessions have been really focused but also linked together well. Ann is such a positive person and has really helped me see my strengths and overcome a lot of barriers I had in my mind!
LEAP Micro AD
Bloomsbury Beginning’s input has given us some much needed tools to evaluate what direction we need to focus on and manage ourselves more effectively
Rokiah Yaman, Project Manager
Coventry University
Ann worked with the project lead to consider potential business models to sustain and scale our impact once the project funding finished. She provided excellent value for money, was reliable in meeting deadlines and delivered in line with our expectations. We would recommend her as an evaluator and strategic advisor.
Marina Chang, Research Fellow
Positively UK
Ann produced an independent evaluation of The Seeds Project led by Positively UK including an intermediate report and final report. She created a welcome space where project participants and partners were happy to share very personal histories during focus groups and one to one interviews. She was very flexible and compiled an insightful and helpful report. I highly recommend her as a project evaluator
Virginia Cucchi, Project Co-ordinator
Photo courtesy of Gideon Mendel