So the time is finally here. For the next five days I am unemployed until I ‘Take Up Duty’ on Monday in my new role. I am very much looking forward to my training in London next week, although less excited about the fact I will be back in London just over a week after I escaped. Continue Reading…
Category Archives: Learning & Development
Life in the (not-so) new role…
I’m conscious that I’ve not written anything here for many months since I signed on the dotted line to join my current employer, a global investment bank in Birmingham. Initially things were just too busy and more recently I’ve not known what to write, but with a new year comes a renewed enthusiasm for picking up habits which have lapsed and a motivation to start writing.
The new job has been going well and I’ve learnt an awful lot in the past 7 months or so. I’m enjoying working in a truly global team, perhaps spending more time on the phone working with colleagues in Frankfurt than I do talking to those sat next to me here in Birmingham. I’ve enjoyed my visits to Germany too and have been brushing up on my basic German, although I’m still not confident enough to use it on my colleagues. I do enjoy listening to them though and trying to work out what they are saying. It has also been interesting to learn about some of the more quirky aspects of German employment law. Last summer, shortly after I joined, I spent 5 weeks delivering training to our 2015 Global Graduate class, which was an amazing experience and I am looking forward to doing the same again this year when the next cohort joins. Continue Reading…
Top 10 Tools for Learning
This post was originally found on my business blog and has been reposted here in May 2015.
So Jane Hart is currently compiling her annual Top 100 tools for Learning list, as voted for by learning professionals worldwide. It includes tools used for both personal or professional learning, as well as tools used to create or develop learning in all forms, so it is often an eclectic mixture of online, productivity and creativity tools.
Below you can see my vote – it has a social feel to it, with a touch of academia. For me, the best learning is social, preferably online and on demand. These tools are just a few of the many tools that help facilitate that. Continue Reading…
Applying improv to life and business…
Over the past two years I have been introduced to the wonderful world of improv comedy. It all started when my partner signed up for an 8 week Foundation in Improv course with ComedySportz UK Manchester back in autumn 2012. He’s always been fairly shy and thought improv would be a great way to step out of his comfort zone, improve his confidence and have some fun. Soon enough he was addicted and trying to encourage me to get involved. I started watching lots of improv shows and once I had also got to know most of the ComedySportz UK crew, I was being roped into signing up for the classes as well. Continue Reading…