by Meyler Campbell

You may have noticed that at Meyler Campbell we have been avidly supporting Anne Waldron’s tandem skydive jump on behalf of Breakthrough Breast Cancer through a couple of fundraising business events in which all proceeds going towards this amazing cause.

1. Anne Scoular Fishbowl on ‘Big Five’ Coaching –14 June, 4-6pm – £85 donation
2. Coaching Cats – an exploration of coaching in the legal profession 21 June – £60 donation

Please go to the following link for details http://www.meylercampbell.com/news/giving-back.html

How your money has helped

The money you help to raise has been fundamental in the fight against breast cancer. This week, three major pieces of research have been published by Breakthrough Breast Cancer. All have been funded in part by Breakthrough, with involvement from two of key scientists, Professors Jorge Reis-Filho and Andrew Tutt.

They have helped reveal:

1. Nine new genes which drive the development of breast cancer – a huge leap forward.
2. A greater understanding of how breast cancer develops even at its very earliest stages. This means that we should, in the future, be able to detect problems earlier so that a woman can receive treatment before her cancer progresses.
3. A previously unknown process that happens to the cells in the body and which is a driver in breast cancer development. By understanding this process we hope to be able to create targeted treatments in the future which, for example, might be able to stop the cancer from developing.

The ramifications of this work in terms of how we diagnose, treat and prevent the disease are potentially huge. You can read more about these on the breakthrough breast cancer website

This work shows how far we have come since Breakthrough was founded 20 years ago. But it also shows how important it is that we carry on, and work harder and faster, until we reach a point when breast cancer is a disease which is no longer life-threatening.

Your support has been vital in helping us to get this far. It is now needed more than ever.

We’d love to see you at one of these fundraising events, it’s for a great cause and even if you are unable to make it, you can still make a donation via uk.virginmoneygiving.com/AnneWaldron.

Thank you

by Liz Gooster (BC11)

‘Coaching should be more whisky and less water.’ This was the standout quote for me in Sir John Whitmore’s presentation at the recent Meyler Campbell fishbowl event. Rightly famous as one of the founding fathers of coaching, in business, sport and life, Sir John has also been a champion racing car driver, a ski coach and aHollywood film producer. An extraordinary character, just months after being hospitalised and in a coma as a result of a dramatically bad skiing accident, Sir John treated us to a breathstopping overview of coaching, the world economy, and everything in between.

As a newly-qualified coach whose training kicked off with Sir John’s bestselling Coaching for Performance, personally I would have preferred to trade some of the big-picture analysis for a nitty gritty display of the man himself coaching using the GROW model. However, it’s fair enough for someone who laid the foundation stones of coaching in the first edition of his book, more than 20 years ago, to want to move on to pastures new, and it was impossible not to be impressed by his vigour and forthright opinions. Standing straight and tall as a ship’s mast, he covered an exhausting range of topics in a voice booming like a captivating cannon ball. His wide-ranging speech leapt energetically from theme to theme, the core thread being that people skills are vital at a personal, organisational and even global level. The presentation was peppered with personal stories and tales of the colourful characters Sir John has met in the course of a life so eventful it would leave most of us reeling with fatigue.

Demonstrating the value we bring to clients is a constant challenge for coaches. You couldn’t get a clearer illustration of return on investment than Sir John’s example of the Royal Navy’s field gun race. This is a gruelling military competition that has been held for over a century. A top team of elite soldiers disassembles a massive gun, carries its crushingly heavy components over an obstacle course and then reassembles it at the other end – all against the clock, and against a competing team of equally finely honed men. I was enthralled to hear how a field gun team whose leader applied a coaching approach to training (having himself been trained by Sir John) raced to unprecedented victory, winning all five available cups in the tournament. Not only this, the team sustained just one injury (a broken wrist) during training, compared with an average of 16 in non-coaching teams. They went on to repeat the feat over three consecutive years. As Sir John said, ‘the results speak for themselves’. This is a stirring example of how coaching can help achieve seemingly unattainable results. (Follow the link to watch a video of the 1999 field gun race) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32s4qCCFnmk)

Less dramatic, but no less impressive, was the golf coaching video we watched, in which Sir John coached a novice golfer while a golf pro taught another using traditional training methods. The video was rather dated, and so the backdrop to the film was a row of slightly sinister looking players with 1970s moustaches and loose, grubby-looking outfits, a bit like the men in the ‘118 directory enquiry’ ads. Beyond these amusing distractions, the results again spoke for themselves. The lucky player who was coached by Sir John came across as relaxed, excited by her progress and energised by the whole process. The other was less fortunate: she appeared stressed, overwhelmed and confused. She made progress in her golf, but not as much as the coached player, and from an observer’s viewpoint, she’d had a less fulfilling journey.

So where does the whisky come in? Sir John cautioned us firmly against using wordy questions with our coaching clients, a warning which I’m sure resonated with several members of the audience, including me. Stick to the simple, clear and concise, he exhorted. This is the coaching equivalent of going easy on the water you add to your whisky, which dilutes its kick. Like an unstoppable train, he told us that ‘if your coaching doesn’t work, you’re not doing it right’ and reminded us that the responsibility falls back on us as coaches to adjust our approach until it’s effective. A legend of the coaching turf indeed, and a pleasure to hear him speak. Now, where did I put that whisky?

* Credit goes to Dena Arstall for the title of this post

(to read more from Liz go to her blog (http://www.lizgooster.com/2011/11/14/legends-of-the-coaching-turf-sir-john-whitmore/)

By Linda Wooston (BC2004)

Last year I participated in a Meyler Campbell fishbowl where I was coached by Nancy Kline in front of 50+ of the Meyler Campbell network. I only said yes as I knew it was something that terrified me, though I did know I would be in good hands with Nancy. I wondered afterwards what the session looked like to the observers, when at one level so little happened then at another so much happened. It was a real turning point for me.  I decided to go for a big topic that was on my mind but had no idea where I was going to go with it. Right until the last moment I was debating in my head whether I should go for something safer like my role as Master of Ceremonies at my niece’s forthcoming wedding . I’m glad I took the bigger question of my role in bringing about world peace and what more I could do. I know – it was big ask for a 50 min coaching demonstration……… Through Nancy’s incredible attention and seemingly simple questions I had many insights and went on to put many of the thoughts I had that evening into practice. The context to “world peace” is that a couple of years ago I heard Jeremy Gilley speak, the founder of Peace One Day, I cried as I listened to him as I sat at a table full of strangers. I was so moved that I wrote to him. As a result I have been coaching him ever since. (He is happy for it to be known that we work together).

You can see him telling his story in a TED talk that went on line this http://www.ted.com/talks/jeremy_gilley_one_day_of_peace.html

One of a number of things that came out of the fishbowl for me was the connection to the Olympics. Peace One Day is  going to be an integral part of the cultural Olympiad, and on Peace Day this year (September 21st) Jeremy will be announcing the goal of a global ceasefire and a 70% reduction in violence on September 21st 2012. It’s a big goal. Brazil will carry forward the message of peace in to the 2016 Olympics. I hadn’t realised as I thought /  talked about it that the watching audience could see the BT Tower circling over my head out of the window with the countdown to the Olympics in bright lights. What struck me in the fishbowl was that activities would take place on Peace Day all over the world, from humanitarian activity, to football games, dance, music and so on. What about in the shadow of the Olympic stadium? Where post code gangs meant that many were living in fear, young people wouldn’t cross a postcode boundary for a job for fear of violence.   So as a result of the spur of the fishbowl, I arranged a cup of tea with Jeremy,  the Head of Youth and Children’s work at Community Links and the Community Links co- Founder. Community Links is an outstanding organisation in Newham, in the heart of the Olympic area . Some weeks later Jeremy and I found ourselves in a community centre with a group of young people and youth workers. It was fascinating, inspiring and sometimes tense. A boy called Vincent, I think about 11 yrs old, looked at Jeremy and said “it ain’t going to happen”. Jeremy told the story of Afghanistan where there has been a ceasefire on September 21st for 3 years in a row resulting in 4 million children being vaccinated safely by aid workers.  If the Taleban would agree to a ceasefire for a day surely we could do something in Newham. Vincent was resolute. It was dangerous out there, nothing would change it, people wouldn’t change. After further dialogue with Jeremy, Vincent said well…maybe we could give it a go. A few weeks later Community Links screened Jeremy’s documentary for all the children and youth workers and now every youth and children’s group across Community Links is involved in Peace One Day activities and are launching a year of peace. The young people who we met at the Community Centre are all being invited as guests to the Peace One Day concert at the O2 arena to thank them for being prepared to give peace a go.

Last week Community Links organised a ‘Peace One Day’ football tournament bringing young people from different areas together (photo). This week there were riots and the world has witnessed terrible sights in England. I’m in South Africa at the moment and everyone is talking about what’s happening in England. My hope is that the riots will strengthen the desire of the young people in Newham to bring about peace in their communities and will not be seen as young Vincent’s prediction coming true. Time will tell. In the meantime I’m glad I said yes when I was asked whether I would consider being a fish in a Nancy Kline fishbowl.