By Charlotte Young. Chair of Trustees, SSE.
What do you think when you hear that one organisation has a much better customer satisfaction rating than another? Does it make you feel it is a better organisation and nicer to deal with? Well, be careful because it just isn’t as simple as that- especially not in our world of social entrepreneurship where we are trying to change the world! Continue reading
by Charlotte Young, SSE Chair of Trustees.
I was recently at one of those events that crystalizes all that I love about SSE. It was of course a graduation ceremony for some of those exceptional people who become Fellows. Hearing about their lives and the impact they are making always has the same impact on people at these events for whom it is the first time they’ve encountered SSE – emotion, inspiration and renewed optimism about what is possible. And it has exactly the same effect on me.
Charlotte Young, SSE Chair of Trustees
In November last year some new SSE students contributed to the blog as part of a ‘Student Spotlight’ series. As their time with SSE is now coming to a close (where has the time gone?!) we thought it would be good to catch up and see how things have progressed, here Florence Norman, CEO of Sweet Cavanagh gives us an update.
Florence at her workshop.
The middle of the summer is always the quietest time; we are working with about 7 women at the moment. One of our graduated members Amy, is a wonderful example of someone who has thrown everything into her recovery. She’s now back in full time work and had this to say about her time at Sweet Cavanagh:
“Having the support and structure of Sweet Cavanagh enabled me to feel safe in the early stages of my recovery. It is so important to have a routine. Being creative is also key to my personal recovery. For many years, my illness saw me loose interest in doing anything enjoyable. Making jewellery reignited a creativity in me that I had suppressed. This social enterprise is so important – not just as a safe environment but also as the provider of free support (something that is few and far between). I am now back in full time work and miss my time there, but am extremely greatful for the support it provided. I feel my experience there is directly relevant to my current ability to work productively and do my job well. “
The Best of Both Worlds: 5 Ideas for Teachers and Adult Trainers
Taking part in SSE’s Scale Up programme has been great for me. SSE’s approach has been carefully developed: it involves self-discovery, peer support and a lot of learning from failure. My wife jokes that it’s like Alcoholics Anonymous, but for social entrepreneurs (‘Hi, I’m Tom and I have a work problem…’). As a teacher, I can’t help but think how different it is to what generally takes place in schools.
While we spend plenty of time in the early years focussing on a child’s social skills and emotional development, this generally ebbs away as they reach secondary school. Too often, our school system prioritises exam results to the exclusion of almost everything else. Yet when employers are asked what they want, they are looking for well-rounded individuals. They want to employ staff with strong communication and social skills, a positive work ethic, and the ability to apply their knowledge – of maths or IT, for example – in practice. Furthermore, this is the kind of training that adults typically get sent on – courses on leadership, customer service or presentation skills.
Before he became CEO, Alastair was a student on the very first cohort of School for Social Entrepreneurs back in 1998, as a result of attending SSE he set up his own social enterprise which he ran for 3 years.
These first-hand experiences have shaped his leadership style, here he gives his top 5 leadership lessons for social entrepreneurs:
