What's Your Gardening?

Good morning, my dear friend, and welcome to a new week.

This week’s newsletter contains three main points:

 1. Finding balance and fulfilment:

I talked with a colleague about finding satisfaction in work, having an activity outside one's regular job that fuels passion, and creating a life where each part brings joy and purpose.

2. Leadership lessons from sports:

Observations about resilience, teamwork, strategy, adaptability, and encouragement learned from attending a school sports day and how these lessons can be valuable in leadership.

3. The power of collaboration:

The benefits of bringing together people with different expertise, the recognition from respected organizations, and the potential for other fields to work together to make significant strides in health policy and entrepreneurship.

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Table of Contents

• What's Your Gardening?

• 5 Leadership Lessons from Sports.

• The Power of Collaboration

What's Your Gardening?

I chatted with my colleague Dan the other day during our coffee break.

I asked him what he would do if he didn't work in healthcare, and he surprised me by saying he would be into gardening.

This was unexpected because Dan is very dedicated to his job, and it was hard for me to imagine him finding joy in something so different.

As we talked more, I began to see where he was coming from.

We ended up discussing finding satisfaction in our work.

I learned that for Dan, gardening was about finding balance.

The stressful healthcare environment needed a peaceful and personally fulfilling counterbalance.

Dan's garden isn't just a land but a sanctuary where he can relax, nurture life, and find fulfilment.

This got me thinking - how many of us have that 'other thing' that fuels our passion?

Can we have a job that pays the bills and another activity that fuels our soul?

Our conversation made me think deeply about what true happiness in our careers means.

Maybe it's not always about finding a job that does it all but about creating a life in which each part brings joy and purpose.

So, what's your 'gardening'?

What fuels your passion outside of your regular job?

Let's share our thoughts and inspire each other to find that perfect balance.

5 Leadership Lessons from Sports.

I recently attended Chimamanda's school's annual sports day, and watching the children play made me reflect on the leadership lessons that can be learned from sports and games.

Here are some things I observed:

1. Resilience:

- Witnessing the children fall and then get back up showed me that leaders need to be able to bounce back from tough times.

It's not about how many times you fall but how many times you get back up.

2. Teamwork:

- In the relay races, the key to success was smoothly passing the baton.

This made me think about how leaders must recognize their team's strengths and work together seamlessly.

3. Strategy:

- Some children were adept at planning their moves, which made me realize that good leaders think ahead.

Having a good strategy can be more important than just using brute force.

4. Adaptability:

- When the weather changed unexpectedly, the event continued with some adjustments.

It made me think about how leaders must be flexible and adapt to unexpected situations.

5. Encouragement:

- The children were cheering on each other as loudly as possible.

It made me think about how leaders should create a culture of support and encouragement, lifting their team whenever possible.

Leadership isn't just about being in charge at work.

Sometimes, the best lessons can be found in unexpected places like a school field.

Have you ever learned a lesson about leadership from an unusual source?

The Power of Collaboration

I've had the opportunity to witness the fantastic results that come from bringing together people with different expertise.

By joining forces with those who know about medicine, public health, and business, I've seen the incredible things teamwork can achieve.

This collaborative approach has been advantageous for me as a fellow of the Royal Society of Public Health, a member of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, and a member of the World Economic Forum.

They have shown me the potential for different fields to work together and make significant strides in health policy and entrepreneurship.

It's important to highlight that when we combine our unique skills and viewpoints, we don't just come up with ideas – we open doors to new ways of doing things and inspire others to follow suit.

Drawing from our individual experiences allows us to lead with a broader vision and have a significant impact.

How do you use your experiences to make meaningful changes and lead with a broader perspective?

I'd love to chat about this!

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