Hello I'm Colin

Thanks for taking the time to look at my profile.

For the last ten years, I’ve been (and still am) a curious challenger, creator and coach in the field of human performance (HP).  HP has many definitions and is grounded in a number of areas. 

On a simple level, I view it as an individual's ability to flourish by giving positive regard to their sleep, mental and physical well-being and what they eat.  Combining this with culture and leadership enables us to really see the person and get a sense of the ‘lifescape’ that shapes what they do and how they do it. 

During my journey, I’ve undertaken continuous personal development with Cranfield and Aberdeen Universities, along with Chimp Management.  I’ve qualified as a psychotherapist in the modality of Transactional Analysis and trained to become Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Insomnia  (CBTi) practitioner.

Before this, I served in the Royal Air Force for twenty-four years.

I’m really blessed because I have two marvellous families.  My home family and my work family.  At home, there is Tracey, my indomitable wife and our three daughters, Rebekah, Rachel and Rosie.  I’m extremely fortunate to have them in my life.  They are a constant source of learning and wonder.  Most importantly, they keep me grounded.  Also at home are my five furry friends.  Shelia and David are my walking companions, my listening ears.  William, Henrietta and Henry are the house clowns bringing energy and anarchy to the home.

My work family have an encyclopaedic knowledge and an unbridled generosity to share what they know.  Their unquenching desire to make the world different is infectious and invigorating.  I’m grateful for what they have taught me to date, and I’m excited about what I’m yet to learn from them. 

For me, one word sums up my relationship with all of these great people in my life, Umbutu: “I Am Because We Are,” or to put it another way “My happiness depends on yours.”  

I’m fortunate to be one of those really annoying people who say, “I love my job so much that I don’t go to work.”  You know the type, if they won the lottery, they profess they would still go to work.  At my “working” core is the principle that everyone should be able to go home safely to their loved ones every day.  That creates a belief in me that shouts that is our moral and ethical responsibility to do all we can to enable our colleagues to go home in the same physical and mental condition, if not better, than when they arrived.  

If we want to make the world a safer place, I believe organisations can take four fundamental steps towards it:

• See safety as something that is co-created everyday.  We need to be curious and treat people with dignity.  At the same time, we need to tap into their knowledge and experience.
• Accept that blame and punishment, fix nothing.  They create fear; they won’t create the right learning; they drive behaviour underground.
• To view the world through the lens of what goes well as opposed to what goes wrong.  The normal is almost universally ignored, and it’s worth paying attention to.
• Understand the efficiency and thoroughness trade-offs that employees make.  Accept that, for them, they are doing what they believe is ‘the right thing to do' based on all the information that is available to them at the time.

My life beyond work involves being outdoors either with David and Shelia, on my bike or shooting arrows.  I have a love of music and reading.  I enjoy going to the cinema, and I cherish quality time with my family.

As a human, I’m a work in progress. The metaphor I offer is that of the Japanese practice of kintsugi.  For me, it is a constant reminder to stay optimistic when things fall apart and to celebrate the flaws and missteps of life.  It is an opportunity to embrace stillness, and it is a reminder of the beauty of human fragility.  

If I was to sum myself up in a quote, I would borrow the words of Maya Angelou “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”  

Take care

Colin