By
Janine John
It's been a couple of weeks now since I attended the
Leading Wellbeing Research Festival, organised by IFLAS and Brathay Trust, and
during that time I've been absorbing and thinking about the content of the
festival. I heard and discussed so much over the course of the three days that
this period of reflection will no doubt go on for some time yet! If you weren't
able to get to the event itself, here are some of the things that really stood
out as part of my festival experience.
The first day kicked off at lunchtime with a couple of
pre-festival activities, including a debate on whether we should stop talking about
sustainability altogether. Here I heard some really refreshing contributions,
which set the tone for the rest of the festival. The sessions were followed by
the main opening welcome with Professor Jem Bendell (IFLAS, University of
Cumbria), Godfrey Owen (Brathay Trust), and Jon Alexander (New Citizenship Project
and Master of Ceremonies).
Opening the
festival with Jon Alexander
The first Plenary Keynote was given by Charles
Eisenstein, who as part of his speech explored the nature of leadership (considering
the leader as 'the servant and holder of a story') and also what we mean by
success. What defines success for an individual? Do the effects of what we do
in life have to be felt widely in order for what we do to be worthwhile? This
was followed by a panel discussion, with audience questions and participation encouraged,
in which the role of culture in change was considered.
The panellists in
deep discussion
The festival featured a number of other key speakers, and
many further panel discussions, and also put aside time for an 'open space'
session in which attendees could suggest their own topic areas for debate. I particularly
liked the many smaller 'in conversation' sessions in which topics as diverse as
agriculture, personal burnout, and the role of the Lake District in leadership
and wellbeing, were explored between a subject-matter expert and interviewee.
Some of the programme was dedicated to how we look after ourselves in order to
make us more effective in our work, with speakers sharing insight into their
own perceived weaknesses and vulnerabilities and how they attempt to deal with
those.
'In
Conversation' with Åsa Giertz (World Bank) and Katie Carr (CDEC)
Being a research festival, there were over 40 research
papers presented over a series of paper sessions throughout the programme. I
was particularly intrigued by those which focused on behaviour change and
psychology and, because there were several paper sessions running concurrently,
it was a shame I couldn't have visited more of them. The best of the papers
will shortly be considered for publication in a book on Leading Wellbeing by
Taylor and Francis, and for inclusion in a special issue of the Sustainability
Accounting, Management and Policy Journal (SAMPJ). The abstracts, and some of
the papers, are also available online on the Leading Well website.
Dispersed amongst the formal activities were the 'buzz
sessions' held by Futerra. These were short explorations into subjects such as
identifying purpose in your organisation, and how to create momentum for
change. For those who missed the sessions, or want to reflect further on these
topics, there are a number of guides produced by Futerra which are available to
download from the Futerra website.
A Futerra buzz
session with Ed Gillespie
After such a full timetable of discussion, the organisers
had also made time for a very wide range of reflective and high-energy
activities, made possible by the beautiful surroundings at Brathay and its
close proximity to the lake. I think the photos speak for themselves!
One of Brathay
Trust's whaling boats on Windermere during the reflective activities
I chose a couple of workshops based on personal interests
which include writing and music. During the storytelling workshop, Georgia
Wingfield-Hayes explained that every leader needs a strong story to tell, and
we were each given the chance to mould and share our own stories with others. I
also took part in a creative writing workshop with Ian Chapman (University of
Cumbria), where I was surprised to find myself reconnecting with what I enjoy
most about the writing process from the creative perspective. In the drumming
workshop, held in one of the yurts, musician Kevin Sharkey introduced us to
group drumming, with the reminder that music is very powerful at sustaining our
wellbeing. The energy amongst the group was fantastic, and lots of people came
by to listen!
The group
drumming workshop
Some of the most valuable experiences I took away from
the festival were not just from the planned programme. I really enjoyed the opportunity
to chat with such a wide range of interesting, sharing and committed
individuals, and to hear about their backgrounds and opinions of the subjects
being discussed. This really enriched my understanding of what I was hearing in
the more formal sessions.
The atmosphere was really warm and welcoming, with
enormous attention to detail from the festival organisers at IFLAS and Brathay
Trust. The food (again created by Brathay) was fantastic, as was the evening
entertainment.
So what's next? First of all, to stay in touch with other
attendees of the festival and to receive IFLAS updates, we were invited to join
the IFLAS LinkedIn group and
Facebook page. There are
also several IFLAS leadership programmes coming up, including the SpringSchool in 2016. Attendees will have noticed that many of the marquee sessions were being
recorded, and videos from some of the key speeches are now available to viewonline.
For an attendee's take on what was covered, you can also search for
the #leadingwell hashtag on Twitter, which attracted a huge number of
contributions throughout and after the festival.
The festival was intended as a place to obtain knowledge
and inspiration, and a space in which to reflect, explore and develop on a
personal level. From the many people I have spoken to who went to the event, it
more than succeeded in doing both. I know that from what I have already gained
by attending, both professionally and personally, the experience will stay with
me for some time.
Janine
is a communications consultant
based in the Lake District, and has a particular interest in the communication
of sustainability issues. She has been blogging for IFLAS in the lead-up
to the wellbeing festival.
Photography except drumming image by No Routes Found.
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