Monday, 16 June 2008

This morning we welcomed a new member of staff, Kerry Assell, who will take charge of reception between 10:00 and 4:00. She seems very capable and cheerful: what more could we ask?

The other high point of the day was the first meeting of a CEO network for Watford. There was a turnout of just eight CEOs. But of Watford’s 400+ community groups, only about 75 have any paid staff at all and of these only about twenty or so will employ someone who would think of themselves as a “Chief Officer”. So eight CEOs on a Monday afternoon is actually pretty good. And this was always about quality rather than quantity; a key aim is to help clarify roles and make it easier for people to think of themselves as a “Chief Officer”. The discussions were pretty good, and I think this group could become an important feature of Watford’s voluntary landscape.

Later in the day, I had further meetings on the Watford Learning Partnership and on next week’s networking lunch on Watford’s older people.

I missed the last course meeting of my Leadership and Management course. I now just have four short essays to write and it’s all over.

For the second morning running, our starlings failed to appear today. A few days ago, we could count on at least 20 starlings feeding on our lawn each morning. I learned that at a certain time each summer, starlings gather in bigger and bigger flocks to go off feeding. I’m not sure what this teaches about leadership and management.