Whatever you feel about Queen Elizabeth II and the monarchy, the events of the past 2 weeks have created an emotional response. Whether that be anger, grief, loss, fear, bitterness, love or connection. It is in times like these that emotions rise. Your response is personal and unique and for many the desire to express that publically was very strong.

Noticing and making sense is about taking time to see moments when our emotions rise, when a truth is revealed, when something needs to be said.

For me this weekend I found space to process in surprising moments.

• Looking at the skyline of Manchester at sunset.
• Deciding to pop into Manchester Cathedral and seeing these beautiful angels.
• Watching a video about Lowery's life and seeing his works of art.
  

These are moments that could have passed me by in a busy weekend. As humans we need these moments and we need to seek to notice them. The ritual and ceremony we whitnessed over the past 12 days has evolved through...

I spoke to several leaders last week here is a gist of what people are saying...

“I’ve had the hardest week of my career.”

“I feel like I’m going to break down - I’m not sure what is going on.”

“I’m exhausted and feeling really unwell.”

“I need to let go of the detail and support my team to make more decisions and drive things forward but we’ve been in crisis mode for the past year so I’m not sure how to drive this forward.”

"I'm excited and energised about what is to come but I know some people in my team are burnt out."

Whether you are feeling exhausted or energised I think it is really important to recognise that we have been through a crazy year. But we can’t dwell there. We need to work out how we can move forward. It’s not as simple as just stopping stuff or taking a break or just keeping on pushing forward.

I’ve identified three stages we need to go through both...

I’m sure you are all familiar with the comfort, stretch and panic zone. In my career I’ve worked in all three and I am pleased to say that I’m currently working in the stretch zone and it feels good. First let me share what it feels like to be in the other zones.

 My first paid job was a trainee direct marketing role for a large development charity. It included one year in the legacy team and one in the acquisition team. I had just come from two years in a volunteer marketing and PR role where I had autonomy and was producing newsletters, developed the web site and ran events. To my surprise the new role was way within my comfort zone and I didn’t have enough work to do. There is nothing more demoralising than trying to make one task to last a morning. You feel undervalued, demotivated and disengaged.

 I’ve also worked in the panic zone. When I took on a Head of Fundraising role there were times when I was in way over my head, the workload was...