Tag: autism
Being Bettina’s Dad and Thelma’s Son: Being Stoic
From Grandmother to Granddaughter Thelma Kelly sits patiently waiting for Holy Communion to begin at her Parish Church in Stockton on Tees. Suddenly her thoughts are interrupted as two church wardens walk assertively past her, towards the Vicar. They whisper a message in his ear and the Vicar nods. He turns towards his congregation to… Read More ›
Being Bettina’s Dad: leading a life less ordinary
“Say it’s true, black and blue, I can share your situation Been holding our emotions back, will only make us cry If you go, I know, but you know, it ain’t so serious anyway When the clouds arise we’ll live on Ocean Drive” I look in my rear view mirror as I am driving and… Read More ›
Being Bettina’s Dad: Find people who make you better
(And six fun things I get from being Bettina’s Dad) I think I can safely say we are not an especially religious family, however, we do often say that our youngest daughter Bettina is a ‘gift from god’ (we also say that she is our ‘crown jewels’). This morning, Bettina is in our sitting room… Read More ›
Being Bettina’s Dad: Bettina’s Code of Conduct
In our family we each have a code of conduct, but we all work and support Bettina’s code of conduct.
Being Bettina’s Mum: Why not me, why not you?
No matter what we face in life, we all have a choice on how we handle it.
Being Bettina’s Dad: Influence – a force for good
So this post is about ‘Influence’. I think it is perhaps one of the most important traits of leadership. When you have influence and when you influence others you know you are a leader.
Leadership pack (June)
Welcome to this month’s leadership pack. In January 2016 I wrote a blog about what I thought were the makings of a good to great boss. I chose two people I have previously worked for and my current boss. I believe one of their common traits is that they are all ‘mentally tough’. What does… Read More ›
Being Bettina’s Mum & Dad: Ogres of Optimism
Over the years we have nudged many professionals working with Bettina out of their comfort zones by persuading them to take risks and push Bettina’s knowledge and skills forward, on the basis that until we do this we will not know what she is capable of achieving.
Being Bettina’s Dad: Today we go again
One of the many lessons Bettina has taught me, that I strive to include in my life, is that no matter what has gone on in her world the day before, when she wakes up to Joyce’s knock on her bedroom door she is ready ‘to go again’
Being Bettina’s Dad: Bettina’s lessons in Concentration and Focus
During my participation in athletics in the 1980/90s, I modelled my levels of concentration on other athletes such as Sally Gunnell, Seb Coe and Steve Cram, closely watching them prior to races as they physically and mentally prepared for their next winning performance and taking the best bits to build my own model of concentration and focus.
