Happy Christmas to one and all

I have done my last piece of paid work before Christmas, have a couple of Guiding phone calls to make and then I am ready to celebrate an exclusively family Christmas. The turkey is in the fridge, the children are decorating the house, my son is desperate to make pigs in blankets (sausages in bacon to the uninitiated) and there is the spare room to prepare for my mother in law. Tomorrow my PC will go into its bag and not come out, my mobile will be answered selectively and you will find me slaving over a hot stove making turkey stock, mincepies and so on. I hope I find you in the same happy place, looking forward to a quiet/festive/party time according to your preference. I hope you all get the presents you most want and that the new year will see you refreshed and ready to get back into Guiding.

I look forward to working with you all in 2009 - and the start of the Centenary.

Every time I think things are getting quieter!

Christmas is coming (I thought) so everyone will have family things on their minds (I will). But I continue to be busy with paperwork to complete, messages to circulate, arrangements to make. Sadly, however, Guiding will need to take a back seat as I my Great Aunt (who I helped care for) has just died. Please bear with me while I work through this difficult time.

What it does remind me, though, is that I spoke about having a coffee and chat for anyone who fancies turning up. I might aim for the second week of January but need to find a cafe open in the evening. I'll post details once I have firmed them up so keep reading......

Christmas is coming!

Having survived a Christmas Sleepover with a full Christmas Dinner cooked in a kitchen with NO roasting tins or dishes (thank goodness for tin foil) and done most of my Christmas shopping I feel I have Christmas under control. It is our last Guide meeting this week and we will continue to do Christmas craft including a very brave attempt to teach knitting.

I have also got Carol Services to look forward to with Trefoil Guilds, schools, Divisions and others.

The one thing I am behind with is Christmas cards - I am having some printed and waiting with bated breath to see if they need to be rebranded "New Year" cards. I have plans for how to get them written and posted with minimal delay involving excel spreadsheets, printed labels and lots of family participation.

Yesterday, we held our first commissioners reception which went well. I discovered that the bag packing last weekend went very well - it looks like we could have raised a few thousand pounds - at least £2000 we already know about. We also have a logo now for the Water project (No, it does not have a toilet on it!).

I am in Edinburgh tonight so aiming to catch up with some paperwork. On Friday I am vsiting the venue for our strategy day so things are going along nicely.

Another busy week

As we start the run up to Christmas, I remain very busy at work as well as making arrangements for family Christmas and, tonight, my Guide Christmas Sleepover. My car is full of Turkey, stuffing, (chocolate) plum pudding and so on.

It has been a very busy week for Guides with the last CC supper which was again thought-provoking and gave me a lot to ponder about. There was also a Herons Wey meeting where the review continues apace, and a meeting with Surrey East to pull together a recruitment training due for March. A great deal is going on, as you can see.

I have also had the pleasure of signing off two District Commissioners' induction packs and am looking forward to meeting some of the recent appointment-holders next week. Of course, we still have some important vacancies to fill including Chair of Programme and Chair of Adult Support. Both roles represent major groups of leaders in county and will play an important role in developing our long-term plans next year. I will be advertising those in the New Year both through the Weekly News but also to Queens Guides living in Surrey but not actively Guiding (at the moment). I am confident we will find two people who will take on these roles and be enthusiastic, creative and will take the county forward. Could it be you? Keep your eyes open for these ads.

Lastly, I would like to congratulate Cindy Barnes who will be the Region Chair of Campsites from the start of 2009. I am sure she will do a fantastic job although it will need a lot of travelling as the sites are scattered across the Region from Essex to Sussex.

A quiet week

It has been a quiet Guiding week this week after the excitement last week of presenting to Surrey County Council on our application of funding. We have yet to have confirmation of the outcome but we were satisfied with the indications given.

This week it has been paperwork mainly. Also I had another Supper where Guiders shared their thoughts with me. So far 24 have come to dinner and let me have their thoughts in return for food (cooked by me so the culinary experience was not gourmet!) and good company (provided by everyone else). Next week is the last one and I think they have been useful.

I have also been pondering about the desirability of having "Coffee and a chat" sessions. These would be completely informal but let anyone who is feeling a bit stressed or lonely join me for coffee somewhere in County. I may give that a go from the new year as my work seems to involve quite a bit of travel at the moment and it may be difficult to find time before Christmas.

Lots of people to meet

It has been a few days since I last posted anything so I hope you haven't got bored waiting! There has been so much to do that time has just slipped by. There have been goodbyes to say and welcome to new appointment holders. I have met more people through a series of suppers I have been holding.

This week I will be meeting the Youth Development Service to seek funding. This is very important to us as this funding helps us manage our costs and keep them at a manageable level. The funding is aimed at teenagers and we have put together an integrated programme of bids that we hope will be attention grabbing. Most County Commissioners have to do this at least once in their period of office and, as it has happened so early in mine, I suspect I will be doing it again at some future period. I hope you will cross everything you have and think positive thoughts between 4pm and 5pm on Thursday so we get as much as we can.

Enthusiasm and Energy

Sometimes what we all need is a burst of energy. I don't know where you get yours from but I get a real buzz from bouncing ideas around with creative people who are willing to look positively on change. What drains my energy are people who always see problems and never see solutions. Fortunately, we have lots of the first group in Guiding and I am getting to know more and more of them.
Now, I don't say things must change but we do have to be ready to move if it is necessary whether it is through relaunching the website and making this the first port of call for information (No, I haven't forgotten that not everyone has access to a computer and we will make sure those people are also catered for), changing the way we do things either in response to changes elsewhere or just to make life easier, and we also need to be prepared to reject change if it makes things worse - but we should do any or all of these only after we have thought about what changes mean and what the possible consequences are. That is what positive and creative people do. So we do have lots of them in Guiding and they are very welcome in an organisation that does not stay still.
PS - By writing about the type of people who drain my energy, please don't make the mistake of assuming that I think there are lots or even any at all in Guiding.

Family comes first

As several people have reminded me recently; we are all volunteers - and that includes me. This means that family and work (usually in that order) must take priority over Guiding.
For the past few weeks I have been juggling a recently bereaved mother, a hospitalised mother-in-law and a Great-Aunt rapidly losing her sight. I have also been trying to fit in work at what is usually the busiest time of year for me. As a result I have not been able to do as much as I would have liked to as CC. So if I have turned up late, forgotten to acknowledge you, responded in a curt way or not at all, I hope you will bear with me as it is a difficult time. A little bit of patience, forbearance and support always helps as I am not super-human. Fortunately I met several people at the weekend who were willing and able to listen and reassure and I would like to say a big Thank you to them all. Things will be back on track again soon I hope.

Supper

Yesterday I had supper with six Guiders to find out what they think of or want from Surrey West. As this is the first of several suppers I am not going to say what was said apart from saying it reinforced many of my own views. I hope the participants felt it was worthwhile. At least they know who I am now.

Big Gig

Yesterday I went to Big Gig with my District and had a fantastic time. I know it would be loud so took earplugs which, bizarrely, helped hear the music while cutting out the more highpitched noises. It was a really good line-up and I was assured I would like the bands - which turned out to be true. More importantly, the girls did. What was really good was the film on "Change the World" which we think is a really exciting initiative. Our District is participating and each unit has chosen a charity. Amazingly different charities have been chosen so there will be a wide range for our exhibition next year.

Official forms

I guess this is the time of year when there is a certain amount of form filling. Apart from the Charity Commission return which, fortunately, can be completed almost entirely through the Web, it is also the start of the three year cycle to apply for funding from Surrey County Council. As funding is by no means guaranteed we have had to think quite carefully about what we might need money for. This has to be around supporting (in broad terms) our Senior Section. This is an age group where we have been successful in keeping them and converting them to leaders. Our Senior Section team does a fine job in planning and delivering a programme of activities for them and they have their own network. However, it did highlight to me that there is a rather awkward time between finishing the BP Challenge (around age 13) and being old enough to be a Ranger (14). Between these points there seems to be a sharp decline in numbers. One of the challenges we face is to bridge this gap. Not an easy challenge but one, I am sure, we can deal with.
The other thing it brought home to me was the breadth of the Senior Section programme and how much they could contribute in ideas and, possibly, time to developing the County. The Chair of Junior Council is already a full voting member of the Exec and rightly so. However, we need to make a more focussed effort to seek and act on their views. Maybe this should be through my going to their residential events and involving them in debate or by inviting them to our long-term planning sessions. I know some have been invited to supper with me in the next few weeks and so the process has started but it is, once again, a reminder that we are a youth organisation and the people who should contribute ideas to its planning are .... youth.

The end of an era

My predecessor Cindy Barnes finally retired yesterday. Her term of office ended a month ago but we held a "retirement" party for her at Herons Wey. One of the things we did was write a piece on everything she did over the past five years. This ranged through opportunities for all levels, setting up processes, enabling people to develop ideas and much more. The list was long and certainly not complete but gave a sense of what has been achieved.

Cindy has exceptional people skills and also, I would like to add, writes beautifully. I have been asked to write letters for various purposes over the past few weeks but can not improve on what she has already written. I hope she will continue to play a role in County, perhaps with the Centenary committee, but I am sure she will in time decide what the best place is for her. Can I wish her all the best in her (semi-)retirement.

As an aside, can I say we were again blessed with beautiful weather and Herons Wey looked quite magnificent in the autumn sunshine. Once again I am struck by how lucky Surrey West is to have stewardship of this exceptional asset. The people who care for it and love it do a fantastic job and more people should visit and find out just why we feel as we do.

Well done - Senior Section

The following Senior Section members have completed their Chief Guide’s Challenge:
Rachel Smith Oatlands Outdoor Group Surrey West
Emma Roberts Dunsford Brownies Surrey West

The following Senior Section members have completed their Queen’s Guide Award:
Ruth Pepperell 1st Oatlands Brownies & New Haw ‘Random’ Rangers Surrey West
Georgia Griffiths 1st Sunbury Guides Surrey West

Well done for all your hard work.

A fixation with meetings?

There have been comments about my fixation, and not always tactful insights, about meetings. There is a very simple reason for this - our energy should be focussed on the girls and the provision of fun activities for them. This needs preparation and, yes, meetings. The meetings need to be focussed on the matter at hand and should also recognise that many of the attendees come after a long day at work.
I only chair a couple of meetings and so these are the only ones I can influence. It is my responsibility that the attendees are happy with what I am doing and that it delivers what is promised. That is all I want to do and all I can do. And the only way I can find out whether I am doing it right is to ask. The only people who can answer are those who are part of it. It is a democracy not a dictatorship - and has been that way for some time.
Guiding of course delivers a great deal more than just things for the girls; it also delivers a sense of achievement, friendship and fun for all of the adults involved. It is a wonderful organisation but, like most organisations, is sometimes worth reviewing. A new "manager" is often the starting point to review things and that is what is happening here. Some people will feel uncomfortable with it, others will welcome it. What we are doing may be reviewed but found to be absolutely fit for purpose. That is very satisfactory when it happens but, equally, times move on and other approaches should be examined.
We are all individuals and just as I am different from my predecessor, and my successor will be different from me, we all see things differently and can bring our strengths to improve things. The team approach and consultation means my weaknesses will be compensated for by others strengths. The real power of a manager is in building a team who feels empowered enough to contribute to the debate even if it means telling me I should do things differently (and they do!). And, as I don't know everything about everything, I am sure that will happen frequently. It all leads to a stronger organisation.
So here is to a spiritually richer organisation where the distractions are kept to a minimum and which operates smoothly to produce the best service we possibly can to our Members. If you know how this can come true then let me know.

County Execs fruitful and interesting

In the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy a reading of Vogon Poetry (the 3rd worst in the galaxy, I believe) led to the deaths of 4 of the audience of internal haemorrhage and the president of the pan-Galactic Nobbling Arts Council only survived by gnawing through his own leg. Given how often I have been similarly tempted in several Guiding meetings, the work we did in yesterday's County Exec to make sure the meeting is as good as possible was good news for all (currently) two legged members.
We held a quick workshop (look, I am a consultant by trade and it is what we do) on what to ditch and what to keep plus the rules of engagement. From now on

• reports will be emailed and only commented on where a decision is required or where something of particular note emerges.
• Meetings will be about decisions, appropriate discussion and information exchange where there is no better way of doing this.

The rules are that

• we keep to time (8pm - 10pm agreed) although there will be the opportunity to network for those arriving earlier.
• the Chair keeps debate moving as she keeps an eye on time.
• Refreshments should be good as many of us don't have time to eat before coming to the meeting.
• the amount of preparation required extends to participants reading the paperwork beforehand and an onus on me to get it out to them in plenty of time.

Oh yes - anyone has the right to table a proposal!

We also experimented with pre-drafted proposals in an effort to improve debate and avoid it where necessary. I was very pleased with the results as I did feel the quality of decision-making was better and I certainly didn't feel I was forcing anything through on the nod. It was a little touch and go beforehand as some people had viewed circulating argued proposals was a means to my railroading them through but my intention, and indeed the outcome, was the reverse.

All in all I felt we achieved something and I am pleased with that.

Travel Show

Tonight was the Travel Show and we were treated to some very sophisticated slideshows and films of trips to Thailand, Zambia, Madagascar and New Zealand. The opportunities are fantastic. If only more people had turned up to find out about the trips. Many of the audience were already going on trips and I think there was only one girl who was thinking of going to selection.

New District Commissioner appointed

Yes - Cindy and I talked to a new DC and so I will know what to do next time. The question is whether appointing DCs could be delegated as it is a substantial commitment to finding, phoning, persuading and meeting with candidates.

No entry - dull and fruitless meeting in progress

The title comes from a cartoon in Management Today magazine and it rung a chord as I sat through a day at a meeting - one of many I have sat through over the years. We are really very poor at meeting management in Guiding. Everyone's time is precious and meetings should be held for a purpose, should achieve their objective and do so in a productive and efficient manner. Is that too much to ask? One of my District Commissioners suggested to me that meeting management is a key skill all commissioners should be taught. I would agree.

(For those who read an earlier version of this post I would like to apologise if I caused any offence.)

Could do better

It is the end of my first week and it has been busy but manageable thanks to a great deal of help from Julie in the Office.

So how am I doing? Well the letter introducing myself seems to have been well-received and the Picnic in the Park went well BUT I failed to turn up to one engagement and my ACC took me to task over appointments. She was quite right as I had appointed someone without consultation and it had always been my intention to widen the pool we appoint from. Like most Commissioners I was grateful someone volunteered so I didn't say that I would consider her offer and then look for others that might be interested so we could get the best person.

Still Rome wasn't built in a day.

Have a good weekend
Georgina

Lunch and thoughts on Trefoil Guild

It has been a busy week as you might have guessed as it is my first in post. On Monday I met with Julie in the office to sort out lots of things - not least the Exec meetings which I want to make shorter. That took all morning.

Today I had lunch with a Trefoil Guild. It was a lovely lunch, held at Weyside, but it was clear that this group, unlike many others who continue to find new members both in Guiding and retired, was finding it hard to recruit younger members. Their numbers had fallen and they were losing members as they died (sad to say). They had all known each other for some years and grown up together.

Perhaps we need to accept that Trefoil Guilds tend to be cohorts - like Rangers - where a group of friends join and it needs another group of friends to join to keep numbers up. As there are a group of Leaders close to retirement at the moment perhaps they could form a "Class of 200X" Trefoil Guild? Our Leaders in their 60s are in most cases fit, active, competent and very supportive folk. We can, and have, involved them in County events such as Dirty Hands and Muddy Boots Day and Gangstas and Glamour to run activities and play an active part and not just make the tea. They are a fantastic resource. Of course, I don't say Trefoil Guild has to be older people - I joined at 21 and had a brilliant time.

Signing off

Gold Medal at Beijing

RACHEL MORRIS Women's time trial HC A/HC B/HC C
and a Ranger in Farnham! Well done to one of our own.

First official engagements

Yesterday I had two official engagements - but only managed to turn up to one due to a diary malfunction (I forgot to write down the time). Thanks to Jenny Pratt from Camberley for not being cross with me and for giving me lots of craft ideas for my Guides. She also sells some brilliant Guide cards designed by her YL Hannah. I had 150 printed for the County. If you want some for you then email Jenny (craftyjenny@fsmail.net).
So my first official engagement was Picnic and Prom in the Park at Herons Wey (HW). What a fabulous evening - lovely weather, glorious surroundings, beautiful music and all for a good cause - improving water supply for HW. It really was a fantastic event and Enid Brewer and her team worked really hard to make it a success. If you missed it this time (and I know a lot of you did!) then we will probably do it again so get your order for tickets in quickly.
So I am sitting down doing paperwork - the joy of being a CC - and every so often someone emails me and I realise what lovely, helpful bunch of people we all are. Lots of wonderful ideas coming too. Enough to keep me busy for some time.
Signing off......

My first day as CC

So here it is at last and how does it feel?
Exciting? worrying? Those and more. Have I ever done anything like this before? No. Have I ever managed people before? No. Have I got good support? Yes! Have I got plans? Absolutely.

Today will be an admin day - changing things on the website, introducing myself to people, buying drink and food for tomorrow's Picnic in the Park where I am running the bar (agreed before I took on CC), oh and I will probably squeeze in some of my paid work and possibly find time to go to the Gym before Guides this evening. So, as usual, a packed day.

I think that is one of my concerns - time or lack of it. I hope that setting up a good team will help there and making good use of the County Office too. Also I need to find out who I have in County to help. I could do with some project management experience - anyone out there with Prince 2?

End of first post - I hope this works.