Debbie Adams
Director of Organisational Development, CHILDREN 1ST
Show/Hide Biography
Some of Debbie’s earliest positive memories are connected to her local community centre and that has shaped her choice of career. Her first job was a community worker in Paisley before moving onto more strategic roles in national organisations, such as Community Learning Scotland (CLS) and the Scottish Adult Learning Partnership. In CLS she managed the Scottish Youth Issues Unit where she managed a number of innovative projects related to youth justice, health and housing for young people. After a stint as a consultant and Director with Rocket Science, she moved back into the sector she is passionate about as the Director of Organisational Development and Deputy Chief Executive of CHILDREN 1ST (one of Scotland’s leading charities for children and young people).
She is learning how to play golf (after giving up 20 years of trampoline coaching), enjoys reading – including discussions with her book group, taking advantage of the Edinburgh Festivals and loves hanging out with her friends.
I’m genuinely amazed at how hearing other people’s story of their solo day can keep my attention for a whole day. I’m also intrigued by the things that people hear in others’ stories. We all spent a bit of time piecing together a story of our day to tell to others (no more than 15 mins). Members of the group can then told each of us what they have heard from the story without adding any analysis or judgement: “I hear a story about a man/woman who…”
People hear such different things from the story and the bits they pull out can be quite illuminating. One thing a couple of people heard from my story that I was ‘up for it’. Funny because I didn’t feel particularly up for it but it’s interesting what you convey when you describe your day. This has made me reflect on the need to listen well but also, from a work perspective, that having the reflections of others can add dimensions that you have not thought of. It also highlights the age-old problem of communication: people often hear different things than what you meant to convey and that this might not always be in your control.
How difficult can it be to find a place to spend the day doing not very much?? More difficult than I’d imagined; nothing seemed to feel right. To be fair, two of the spots I voted off were not suitable due to bad smell and too many midges. I didn’t want to hold my nose for 10 hours or sit with the midge head cover on all day; neither of which are conducive to deep contemplation or, indeed, just hanging out in nature.
Eventually settled on a spot and settled into the day. OK, bring on the revelations… anytime now…I’m waiting…I don’t have all day you know (well, actually, I do, but that’s not the point)… When the solo day was being described we were warned that many of us might have a quite mundane day. I think if I try to describe the detail of my day here it will sound pretty mundane. I’ve been quite amazed at how much I enjoyed all of nature’s creatures. I knew I’d like watching the birds on the water but had no idea I’d enjoy watching spiders building a web. I was even careful that I didn’t step on them when I jumped around to keep warm. When do spiders eat their prey? A few webs had trapped some unsuspecting insects but the spiders weren’t trying to scoff them down. Do they need to be fully dead before spiders will eat them?
I did spend a bit of time thinking ‘what’s the point in all of this’ but I think that was defeating the purpose. I’m hoping the debrief tomorrow helps to make some sense of it all. Maybe the others will help me to ‘get it’ Once I gave into the day itself I enjoyed the natural habitat. I even gave drawing and writing a poem a go. I also thought about things that matter to me in both work and personal life.
What did I learn at the end of the day:
- I can while away a day in the natural environment
- I don’t need to have my brain functioning at 100 mph all of the time
- I need to remind myself this programme is a process and have faith in it at this stage (although I think we need a bit more of an understanding about how all of this fits into a broader framework).
- I have artistic inclination (as opposed to ability)
- I’m reminded that we are lucky to live in such a beautiful country
I’m awoken by a bell at 5.30am and struggle to locate the gear I’ve laid out so I can get to the bell tent for 6am. It’s strange to navigate around 11 other people in total silence. Non-verbal communication skills come to the fore. What’s the international symbol for ‘do you think I have packed enough warm clothes and food to ensure that I’ll not freeze or starve’? Feel slightly panicked as I’m sure I’ll not have something vital with me (like a helicopter to rescue me should the going get tough) but also feel strangely calm as I think the day should take care of itself. My mental plan is:
- Find a space with a good view of the sea and not too many beasties
- Ensure said space is on a bit of Knoydart we’ve not already been too (that rules out the beach our tent is on and the scarily uneven ankle-breaking hill we walked up yesterday)
- Hang out and see what happens (Plan B – if nothing useful happens create lots of ‘to do’ lists for when I get back so the day isn’t wasted)
Heading out of the tent while it was still dark and walking through the village at half-light was pretty special. Felt really peaceful so was quite pleased to be heading out. After passing a yappy dog I came across a baby deer (I’ll admit to first thinking it was a large dog – I blame a city-centre upbringing and the earlier yappy dog). We stopped and looked each other up and down. It didn’t care for what it saw and hot-tailed it to the forest. I carried on to find “the spot” to spend my day.
How many of us will start with the weather and its effect on the surrounding scenery?? Maybe my Natural Change colleagues will have better words than me to describe the journey up the west coast of Scotland to Mallaig and across to Knoydart. It was so beautiful to see Knoydart against a cloudless blue sky (yes, in Scotland in October!). If we could guarantee a few weeks of this weather a year Ullapool would have an international airport.
So far so good. I learn best when interacting with others so the engagement I’ve had with the group so far shows real promise for my learning opportunities; all really interesting and experienced individuals. I think they will also be a good group to laugh with – very important!
Tuesday morning found us outside the tepee (sorry Gill, bell tent) talking to each other about ‘what we need right now’. It was quite hard to identify this because I recognise that I already have a lot (and not just material possessions). I settled on a need to ‘feel inspired’ and connected to making a difference. It’s important for me to continually think about the aims of my organisation and find ways to see the difference we make. How much does this translate into my personal life? What kinds of activities make me enthusiastic and happy?
Dave reminded us of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (and other models) and no one had identified a ‘need’ that was in the bottom two levels (physiological and safety -think there may be a copy of these theories on the website somewhere). Most individuals within developed western societies have these levels met so we tend to be more concerned with the three higher levels (love/belonging, esteem, self-actualisation). One theory is that only Jesus and Ghandi have truly reached self-actualisation. Is self-actualisation something we should aspire to? These examples do not make me want to reach self-actualisation – sounds like too much self-sacrifice for me.
Dave said that first gear was the most powerful one as it gets you moving. My first gear was sticking but I gave it a good shove and have now started blogging.
The journey ahead – I’m still a bit vague about the desired end point in all of this. I’m remaining open to the experience but find it difficult to articulate to others (and myself) what I can expect to get out of it all. Makes it difficult to mentally prepare. I’m keeping faith in my ex-colleague who attended last year’s course who encouraged me to participate based on her reflections on positive changes to her leadership style (as well as her own development).
I must admit to lack of enthusiasm right at this point – sitting at my desk with a huge list of things to complete before heading off (think I’ll be working the weekend) but isn’t that always the way?? Although I’m feeling positive about the potential of learning with and from group members and the project team – good first impressions. Also feeling positive about the fact that I’m quite intimidated by what might lie ahead. But that worry is one of the reasons I want to do it. Everyone needs to be challenged.
Let the adventure begin…
