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New Year: New Newsletter
Welcome to the inaugural bi-monthly Capability & Learning newsletter which will highlight development opportunities provided by HR, delivered through Civil Service Learning, the Whitehall and Industry Group (WIG) and access to other free digital alternatives such as webinars and TED talks.
New Year: New You
Do you make New Year resolutions? For many people, these are a great way to kick-start your plans for the New Year. For other people, these don't quite hit the mark (and some don't even last into the second week of January…!) That's when more rigorous planning and goal-setting are called for to ensure your future success.
Read on to discover what the New Year brings to build your capability and finding new ways of learning.
In this issue:
New Year’s Resolutions – Planning a Year of Achievement
Resources to help you develop your career
TED Talks – ‘Your body language shapes who you are’ – Amy Cuddy
Head Heart & Brain – How to tame your ‘Gremlins’
Confident and Resilient Leadership Events for Grade 6 and 7s
Civil Service Learning (CSL) Leadership Masterclasses
Whitehall & Industry Group(WIG) Events Calendar – Jan to March 2016
Getting a Mentor
Free Webinars
CSL News
Share your L&D stories
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Capability & Learning Newsletter – January 2016
New Year's Resolutions - Planning for a Year of Achievement
Are you busy making your New Year resolutions, or have you resolved never to make a New Year's resolution ever again? If the latter, you're not alone. So many people get demoralized when, year after year, they make resolutions that they keep for only a few weeks or maybe even just a few days.
Why is this? After all, we all have the best intentions and the timing (new year, new start) couldn't be better. The problem may lie in the fact that we place a huge amount of pressure on ourselves. During the last week of December and the first week of January, all you hear is, "What're your New Year's resolutions?" "What are you going to work on this year?"
And the focus is on the ‘what’ not the ‘how’. When you are more concerned with the goal you set than on the specifics of how you are going to accomplish it, or even whether it is realistic and achievable, you can set yourself up for failure.
So if you resolve to set successful New Year resolutions in terms of building your capability, learning something new or developing new skills this year, then read on. Let's focus on how, this year, you can set yourself up for a year of achievement!
New Year Resolution Mistakes
There are two common mistakes that people tend to make before they even start to make their New Year resolutions: They think about what they ‘should’ do, rather than what they really want to do. And worse they think in about what they should stop doing, rather than what they actually want to achieve. ‘What should I do this year?’ ‘What should I stop doing?’, ‘What do other people suggest I should work on?’
To be successful at any change, you need to really want it. Unless you take time to consider what it is you really want you (rather than what you should do or should stop doing) you will invariably end up making a resolution to which you are not entirely committed.
Without commitment, you aren't motivated and after the first setbacks or obstacles you will quit. So the first rule of New Year Resolutions is to only make ones that you are committed to - don't make a resolution simply because it is "the thing to do", or because someone has told you that you should.
The irony of it is that New Year's resolutions have the potential to be very powerful because they are such a well-recognised practice. Everyone knows that everyone else is setting resolutions. And what a great mutual
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support network that can provide! This external motivation and support, along with your internal motivation - the desire to succeed - is what can make the difference between success and failure.
Eight Rules for New Year's Resolutions
Our Eight Rules for New Year's Resolutions will help set you up for success right from the start. Inevitably you will come up against challenges and road blocks along the way; however by planning ahead and following these rules, you will be better placed to negotiate these easily, rather than stumble and quit.
Rule 1: Commit to Your ResolutionSuccessful resolutions start with a strong commitment to make a change. To succeed, you must believe that you can accomplish what you set out to and that belief is bolstered by the unwavering support you give yourself.
Choose resolutions that you really want to achieve - and make them positive. Announce your resolution to everyone around you - they will help hold you accountable. Develop a ceremony to mark the beginning of your commitment - this makes it more "real" and special
for you. Don't leave your choice of resolution to the last minute - take time to think about your goals. If you
don't, you risk reacting to your current environment and missing the big picture. Questions to ask yourself to determine if you can take ownership of your resolution include:
Is this resolution my idea or someone else's? Does this resolution motivate and invigorate me? Is this resolution sit comfortably with other factors in my life such as my values and long-term
plans? Remember that there's no reason why your New Year's resolution should take all year to achieve.
Tip:Imagery is a powerful technique to help you own and commit to your goals or resolutions. Try picturing yourself having attained your goal. How do you feel? How do you look? Where you are, what you're doing? How do others react to you? By visualising yourself in the position you desire, you can bolster your belief that you can do it and strengthen your motivation.
Rule 2: Be RealisticThe key to achieving goals is continued motivation. If you set the bar too high, you risk failing. Consistently failing at something is profoundly de-motivating (It's no wonder that after a few dismal attempts some people abandon the idea of New Year's resolutions altogether!)
Consider carefully before setting the same resolution you set last year. If it didn't work then, you need to make sure there is good reason to believe you can achieve it this year? What has changed? Do you have
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more commitment to make it work? (Be careful, or else you will end up with a repeat performance, and another failed resolution).
Aim lower, rather than too high – aim for something that is challenging but that you have a good chance of accomplishing. If there is any doubt, err on the side of caution and expand your goal later if you still want to keep improving.
Don't bite off more than you can chew. There is no reason to set more than one or two resolutions. Anymore than that and you divide your focus and energy and lessen your chances of success in any area.
Rule 3: Write It Down!A simple but powerful technique for making your goal real is to put your resolution into writing. There is something inside us that creates more commitment and drive when we take the time to do this. Consider writing it down on pieces of card and keeping it where you'll see it often - on your desk, the fridge, in your wallet.
Rule 4: Make a PlanThis is where so many resolutions fall down. Articulating what you want to achieve is one thing; deciding how to do it is quite another. Don't miss out this step!
Start by envisioning where you want to be. Then work back along your path to where you are today. Write down all the milestones you note in between. Decide what you will do to accomplish each of these milestones. You need to know each step and have a
plan for what comes next.
Rule 5: Be FlexibleNot everything will work out precisely the way you planned. If you are too rigid in your approach to resolutions the first minor obstacle can throw you off your course completely.
When creating your plan try to predict some challenges you will face - make a contingency for the ones that have the highest probability and mentally prepare yourself for the others.
Realize that your resolution itself might change along the way as well. That's not failure, it's reality. As your life changes so will your goals, dreams, and desires. Remember Rule 1 (Commit to Your Resolution): If you need to make changes to the goal so you continue to care about it, do so.
Tip:There is no fixed rule saying that a resolution must be set in January. If your circumstances say it is better to wait until March, then do so. Resolutions and goal setting are a year round activity. Don't get too caught up in the New Year frenzy!
Rule 6: Use a System of RemindersIt's hard to keep focused on your plan when you have many other commitments, responsibilities, and obligations. The best way to stay on top of your resolution is to develop a formal reminder system.
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Have your written down resolutions visible as many times of the day as possible. Leave reminders at work, at home, in the car, on your calendar, in your briefcase, etc.
Make sure the planned actions are on your to-do list (perhaps have a special section for them at the top).
Set up reminders in your desktop calendar or subscribe to an email reminder service. Be as creative as you can to keep being reminded, and so make sure your goals stay in the front of your
mind.
Rule 7: Track Your ProgressYou won't know how well you are doing unless you keep track of your progress. This is why your detailed plan is so important. You need to know when each milestone in accomplished. The excitement around the little successes will keep you motivated and keep you pushing forwards.
Use a journal and make an entry regarding your progress regularly. Note when you felt particularly pleased with your efforts. Note when you felt down or felt like quitting - over time, look for common themes and decide if there is
an underlying issue that needs to be addressed. Record challenges you faced as well as things that went better than planned. Look back at your entries on a regular basis and use your past experiences to shape your attitude as you
move forward. Ask a friend or family member to call you on pre-defined occasions to discuss your progress.
Rule 8: Reward YourselfAlthough knowledge of a job well done can be reward enough, we all enjoy a little treat from time to time. Even the most committed person needs a boost and sometimes that is best accomplished through an external reward.
When you are developing your plan, make a note of a few milestones where you will reward yourself once they are achieved. But spread them out - you want to make sure the rewards remain special and are not too easy to get.
Key Points
New Year's resolutions can be a pain or a pleasure. The choice is yours. If it's a pain, you may resolve never to make a resolution again. So resolve to make it a pleasure! The starting point is to focus on something that you really want and are ready to give your commitment to. Do this and you'll be in a great position to stay motivated and be successful!
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Developing your career
'Achieving your Potential' is an on-line CSL resource that sets out what support is available to you as you develop and progress in the Civil Service. It includes plenty
of links to a variety of places where you can find further information, tools, tips and resources.
Your body language shapes who you are
Social psychologist Amy Cuddy, Associate Professor at Harvard Business School, uses experimental methods to investigate how people judge and influence each other and themselves.
Amy’s recent work focuses on how we embody and express competence and warmth, linking our body language to our feelings, physiology, and behaviour. Her latest research illuminates how “faking” body postures that convey competence and power (“power posing”) – even for as little as two minutes -- changes our testosterone and cortisol levels, increases our appetite for risk, causes us to perform better in job interviews, and generally configures our brains to cope well in stressful situations.Watch Amy’s TED talk and be inspired - Your body language shapes who you are
Tame your Gremlins
One of the things that can get in the way of successfully persuading your stakeholders are your own gremlins, those parts of yourself that get in the way of your goals and best intentions. This short video from, Head Heart & Brain is a tool to help tame your Gremlins and even use them to good effect. Take a look
at the other short video clips on this website as a way of broadening your learning in this area.
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Coming soon to a training room near you……………………..
Confident and Resilient Leadership Events for Grade 6 and 7s
Following the successful pilot sessions that ran during November, we will soon be launching the roll out of these events to all Grade 6 and 7s.
The aim of the ‘Confident and Resilient Leadership’ events is to help you build on your leadership skills and further communicate the BIS 2020 vision with confidence, authenticity and impact and to maximise your influence and engagement with those
you lead, and your key stakeholders.
A direct email will be sent to all Grade 6 and 7s. This will guide people through a link in the letter to a specific learning and development page which holds details of the course outlines, instructions of how to book on an event and course dates on EventBrite.
BIS values this training very highly and expects all Grade 6 and 7s in BIS to attend this opportunity in 2016.
CSL Leadership Masterclasses
CSL have announced their forthcoming programme of leadership masterclasses aimed at SCS and Grades 6 and 7; they are now ready for booking. Please note that bookings should only be made where requests have been agreed with your line manager. All events are scheduled for central London. For further information on each masterclass please follow the links below:
Be the Leader You can be: An Introduction to Future-Engage-Deliver: 26 January 2016
Creating a Powerful Personal Presence: RADA Studio 15 February 2016
Emotional Intelligence Masterclass: 27 January 2016
Grade 6/7 Leadership Masterclass with Steve Radcliffe Associates | Future Engage Deliver: 15 December 2015; 9 February 2016
Leading Cultural Change: 23 February 2016
Neuroscience of leadership masterclass: 9 February 20167
Personal Resilience for Senior Leaders : 19 February 2016
Securing Employee Engagement: 14 January 2016
Visible Leadership: 12 January 2016
Wicked Problems and Clumsy Solutions: The Role of Leadership: 2 February 2016; 26 February 2016
Whitehall and Industry Group (WIG)
BIS has corporate membership to the Whitehall & Industry Group who put on free events for members. Details of events and bookings are provided below.
You can also apply for a place via the links below or go to
www.wig.co.uk/what-we-do/events/our-next-events
WIG Events CalendarJust released 2016/17 leadership programme dates. Find out more.
January 2016
Tuesday 12 Meet the Expert series - Diversity & Inclusion, session 1of 4
Speaker: Sarah Churchman, PwC UK Head of Diversity & Inclusion and Employee Wellbeing
WIG Members £750+VAT for series
Wednesday 13 Breakfast Briefing: Martin Wolf, Chief Economics Commentator, Financial Times
Free to WIG Members
Tuesday 19 Breakfast Briefing: Melanie Dawes, Permanent Secretary, Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG)
Free to WIG Members
Friday 22 Sustainability Network Workshop: Valuing Natural Capital Free to WIG Members
Monday 25 Roundtable: Heads of Learning & Development Lunch Free to WIG Members
Wednesday 27 Workshop: Workings of Brussels - An Insight into the EU and How Policy is Developed
WIG Members
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£250+VAT
Friday 29 WIG-BIS Innovation Series: UK and EU Innovation – increasing collaboration within the EU, including access to EU funds
Free to WIG Members
February 2016
Monday 1 Workshop: People Reporting - Fairness, Transparency and Latest Thinking Free to WIG Members
Tuesday 2 Employment Law Briefing: Tribunals and Early Conciliation, Two Years On Free to WIG Members
Wednesday 3 Productivity Series Breakfast Briefing: Susan Acland-Hood, Director of Enterprise and Growth Unit, HM Treasury
Free to WIG Members
Wednesday 3 Europe and International Network Evening Roundtable: John Kittmer, British Ambassador to Greece
Free to WIG Members
Thursday 4 Regulatory Network Workshop: The Evolving Role of Regulators Free to WIG Members
Thursday 11 WIG/Executive Action Workshop: So you want to be a Non-Executive? WIG Members £750+VAT
Thursday 11 Workshop: Northgate Public Services Devolution & Collaboration Realising the Benefits
Free to WIG Members
Friday 12 Communication Directors' Roundtable: Crisis Management, speaker: Richard Stephenson, Communications Director, Civil Aviation Authority
Invite only, for more information please email
Tuesday 16 Transport Series Breakfast Briefing: Dr Michele Dix, Managing Director, Crossrail 2, Transport for London Free to WIG
Members
Thursday 18 Meet the Expert series - Diversity & Inclusion - session 2 of 4
Speaker: Uzma Hamid Dizier, Head of Diversity & Inclusion, Slaughter & May
WIG Members £750+VAT for series
Tuesday 23 Breakfast Briefing: Una O'Brien, Permanent Secretary, Department of Health
Free to WIG Members
Wednesday 24 Workshop: How to effectively use social media for crisis and reputation management
WIG Members £338+VAT
Friday 26 Breakfast Briefing: Responsible Innovation – speaker: Dr Jack Stilgoe, Senior Lecturer, University College London
Free to WIG Members
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March 2016
Tuesday 1 Breakfast Briefing: Getting sustainability onto the Board agenda, speaker: Liz Barber, Group Director of Finance and Regulation at Yorkshire Water
Free to WIG Members
Wednesday 2 Breakfast Briefing: Leslie Evans, Permanent Secretary, The Scottish Government
Free to WIG Members
Tuesday 8 Meet the Expert series - Diversity & Inclusion - session 3 of 4
Speaker: Jumoke Fagbemi, Head of Talent, Diversity & Inclusion, BATWIG Members £750+VAT for series
Wednesday 9 Rountable: Heads of Learning & Development Free to WIG Members
Thursday 10 Regional Employment Law Briefing: Tribunals and Early Conciliation, Two Years On (Leeds)
Free to WIG Members
Monday 14 Workshop: Workings of Whitehall WIG Members £250+VAT
Wednesday 16 Evening Reception with Rachel Sandby-Thomas, Director General, Enterprise, Skills and Legal, Department for Business, Innovation & Skills
Free to WIG Members
Thursday 17 WIG Conference: Cyber Security - Risk, Governance & Leadership WIG Members £299+VAT
Wednesday 23 Roundtable: Heads of Diversity & Inclusion Invite only, for more information please email
Thursday 31 Productivity Series Technical Visit: Unipart Free to WIG Members
Getting a Mentor
What is mentoring?Mentoring is a well-established approach to enabling people to reach their potential and is offered in many of the best organisations.
As a mentee, you can expect to work with a colleague who has different skills and experiences to you. Your mentor will help you to think about the challenges you face and bring a fresh perspective, new possibilities and practical actions to overcome them.
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For many people mentoring happens informally, but to get the most benefit, a formal, agreed mentoring relationship offers a regular opportunity to discuss development needs and work with someone on a one-to-one basis.
Mentoring relationships work best when they move beyond the directive approach of a senior colleague ‘telling it how it is’, to one where both learn from each other. An effective mentoring relationship is a learning opportunity for both parties. This is particularly productive when used to encourage inclusive working practices and equal opportunities, for example where a senior female or ethnic minority leader mentors a more junior colleague from a similar background. Reverse mentoring (where a more junior colleague mentors a senior leader) can also be effective in encouraging sharing and learning across generations and/or between role levels.
How to get a mentor in BISmentorMe, the BIS Mentoring Scheme gives you a chance to step back and think about what you do and how you do it.
mentorMe is an online, self-managed mentoring scheme, open to everyone in BIS. Mentees or mentors can register and enter into a partnership at any point during the year. All information is provided online, as well as the application form and matching process. Access the mentorMe portal to get further information and register.
To learn more about mentoring and how to access and use mentorMe, come along to one of the following drop-in sessions:
Thursday 21st January between 10am and 11am (5th Floor Business Lounge)
Monday 25th January between 2pm and 3pm (4th Floor Business Lounge)
Wednesday 27th January between 11am and 12noon (3rd Floor Business Lounge)
Thursday 4th February between 2.30pm and 3.30pm (2nd Floor Business Lounge)
Free Webinars
Why not try a different approach to learning in the New Year. A webinar is a live presentation which takes place on the internet. Participants view slides on their computer screen and can interact with the presenter by typing questions or comments.
In our continued quest to promote a more blended learning approach, we are pleased to announce the latest free webinars on various topics on offer from
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Shorebird, which have been receiving very positive feedback. All the webinars are free to attend for any member of staff, so please share them with your colleagues.
For full details or to register for an event, please click on the title of the relevant webinar below.
Date Time Webinar Title PresenterTuesday12 January 2016
Start – 8:30amFinish 9:15am
Neuroscience Breakfast Club Energy in Organisations
Jan Hills of Head Heart and Brain
Wednesday13 January 2016
Start – 1pmFinish 1:45pm
HR How will the world of work be changing in 2016
Michael Millward - CIPD
Tuesday19 January 2016
Start – 1pmFinish 1:45pm
HR A Practical approach to Project Management - Part 2
Jane McPhillimy of Jem Coaching
Tuesday26 January 2016
Start – 1pmFinish 1:45pm
All Managers The Art of Meaningful Conversations
John Rice of Bowland Solutions
Wednesday27 January 2016
Start – 1pmFinish 1:45pm
Law Discussion and Q&A on Redundancy and the Law
Marie Walsh of Consilia Legal
Tuesday9 February 2016
Start – 8:30amFinish 9:15am
Neuroscience Breakfast Clubhttp://www.shorebird-rpo.com/hr-breakfast-club/item/the-consulting-process-and-the-brain The Consulting Process and the Brain
Jan Hills of Head Heart and Brain
Tuesday 8 March 2016
Start – 8:30amFinish 9:15am
Neuroscience Breakfast ClubYou can achieve anything if you change your behaviour
Jan Hills of Head Heart and Brain
As the events are getting much busier and are limited to 100 seats, we would advise that you log in early to avoid disappointment and guarantee your place on the live event.
So come on – don’t be a technophobe! Embrace the new technology, enhance your digital skills and learn something useful – all for free!
CSL News – New Suppliers
Learning in the Civil Service is changing and you’ll see a number of big improvements to learning over the coming months. A new high quality programme of learning will be available from March, which is being developed with Civil Service Learning (CSL) and new suppliers, who have recently been appointed.
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Alongside the new learning, CSL is building a new website, to make it simpler, easier and quicker for you to find and book the learning you need.
Booking your learning
Here’s what you need to know about booking learning with CSL before March:
All CSL courses will be available until the end of March – but book early to ensure you can do the learning you want
A smaller sub-set of courses will be available March to May, and you’ll find a list of them on the CSL website from early January.
Brand new courses will be added to CSL’s website from March.
To keep updated on the changes to learning, check back here and look out for emails from CSL. You can also find out more by reading CSL blogs such as our vision for learning and how we’re building our new digital service.
Share your L&D Stories
We would really like to hear about some of your interesting L&D stories. It would be great if you could share your experiences to encourage others to take up learning opportunities. Post your stories on the Learning & Development Forum – we look forward to reading them. We would also welcome feedback on our newsletter.
Commit to learn – shape your New Year and your future
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