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.