Fruitburst
February always seems to fly by with fewer days to pack lots of things into.
There are so many things happening in our world at the moment from cuts to catastrophes, not to mention people making their voices heard. We all feel fit to burst with ideas and feelings.
So have our voices been heard about leadership? Has Sync made a difference? What do you think? We are closing the project next month, so we are now thinking about this.
Sync started with CLP's help. The idea came from a few of us thinking that our work lives could be so much better if we thought about things in a different way with more energy and more positivity.
We had been left out of leadership, like you leave a tomato out of a fruit salad, even when it's a fruit!
Tomatoes
  Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad. (anon)
Why is it such a problem having a tomato in a fruit salad?
If we think about ourselves as tomatoes and we want to have a place in the leadership fruit salad bowl, we have to look at this carefully.
It's not easy to move into a place where people think you don't belong. It's like coming out of your comfort zone.
Sync has encouraged people to jump in and get on with it. There are a thousand ways to be a tomato - sundried, sunblushed or straight up. We've learned how to be like the other leaders in the bowl, but we've stayed sharp, tangy and interesting as only a really good tomato can be!
Sweetener
Sync has focused on people and how to win them over. Sync has learnt that leadership only works when you take time to bring people in to your way of thinking.
This month’s case study comes from Faye Stewart – Relationship Manager for Arts Council in the South West.
Her professional life has often been about shaping and working with other people’s feelings of discomfort about her not using her voice and using British Sign Language to communicate.
She's like a ‘sweetener’ but this helps her to be sharp at what she does.
Read more from Faye
Sharpening your thinking
Look at this photo on the left or close your eyes and picture yourself sucking half a lemon. Notice what is happening in your mouth. Ah yes…our minds have just created juice. We stopped for a ‘what might be’ moment and made something happen (Ms Motivator)
Look at this picture, does it make your saliva flow. Ms Motivator is a coach and every week she sends an email out to people interested in her ideas. A few weeks ago, she came up with an idea of 'mental lemons'.
A lemon stops us in our tracks. We need to stop and sharpen up our day and as well as doing the admin stuff, we need to make time to think about our vision and what next.
Bright Sparks
This spark, firing up within me, lights up my mind and I find the challenges and possible solutions just suddenly emerge in those moments of inspiration. (Sue Austin)
Susan Austin is on our Sync Intensives programme.
She makes time to sit and think. When she does she makes sparks fly!
You can read more in her article this month and how Sync has helped her change those sparks into flaming torces.
Next month, we'll be reporting back from our Sync Thinking event in London on the 8th March and closing the Sync Leadership coaching programme on a happy note.
Sarah and the rest of the Sync Team
Read more from Sue
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