Be part of a series of online conversations designed to make sense of our rapidly shifting context and create insights into ‘what next?'

As 2021 rolls out, we continue to experience a transformation of what we thought we knew, interrupting ‘business as usual’, and leaving us with questions and unknowns that we’re trying to make sense of.

In this series of online events, the RSA Fellow-led Coaching Network are creating a space for conversations to respond to and contribute to navigating challenging circumstances, so that we can thrive and flourish in the 21st century.

The Network aims to share an understanding of coaching and a coaching perspective at the intersection of RSA strategic themes and emerging current events. Each attendee may interpret ‘coaching perspective’ differently, and each bring a different experience and expertise. These events, intentionally, lean into a transformative approach which seeks a deeper examination and resolution of the nature of challenges as much as taking external, strategic action.

The themes will remain responsive to current events, and each event in the series will take place on the third Tuesday of every month at 18:00 – 19:30.

These events are free to attend and open to all Fellows and non-Fellows - whether you are an experienced coach or simply interested in developing a deeper understanding of coaching skills.

We have provisionally arranged them as follows:

February 16: The ‘to be list’: an alternative approach to intention and planning

How would it be if, instead of planning and generating ‘to do lists’, we focused on how we wanted to be both for ourselves and with others? Early in each new year many of us set goals for the year and then judge our success by our output towards those goals. This may contribute toward a sense of purpose, achievement and added-value. But the deep impact on well-being of the pandemic is widely recognised and many of us are finding that busyness and output are not remedies. This conversation will explore what it means to be well, how we can bring that into our planning and intentions, and how we might savour the quality of how we have been, as much as what we have produced.

March 16: Open Meeting: What does the coaching network do and how can we help?

As the coaching network of the RSA we have been active for almost six years, and we have been hosting these online events for exactly twelve months--since March 2020. We would like to use this event to do two things: firstly to go ‘behind the curtain’ of our philosophy and reveal why we do the events the way we do them, and how we think this complements other RSA and networks’ activity. Secondly, we would love your input on what we are doing, your experience at our events, and what we could do differently, or additionally.

We also want to create more ways for you to get involved, one of which will be a ‘buddy’ system, inviting you to plan and co-facilitate an event alongside members of our steering group. We hope this will give you first-hand experience of what it’s like to be involved in the network and also be a developmental opportunity for your own events.

April 20: How to deal with distractions

If you did not know that mental distraction has become a big issue for mental health, productivity and social stability then you must have been concentrating on something! Congratulations!

Online marketers, media organisations and brands have become adept in getting our attention through social media and websites even when to do so is often not in our best interests. Some of us are powerless in the face of the onslaught and others less so. What makes the difference and how can we get some control back? But is it all bad and are there any upsides to our information rich world? In this conversation we will explore the different ways that you feel you are using to cope and what we can learn together from them. We will also explore a little of the science behind our susceptibility to distraction that can help us get our power back.

May 18: Work cultures that liberate

Whichever type of organisational structure we’re part of, work culture permeates how we work and what we feel about work. Research suggests reform is needed to improve wellbeing and performance sustainably in most countries. In this conversation, we’ll explore the range of experiences work brings and the factors that facilitate/impede a sense of freedom and creativity at the individual, team and organisational level. We’ll also touch on the concept of boundaries and their role in contributing our energies to collective efforts.

June 15: Collaboration: How do we turn a feeling of connection into practical change

The pandemic has shone perhaps even more of a spotlight on altruism and the desire to contribute to our community. But what is the practical nature of collaboration, what enhances it, and what gets in the way of working together? This session will take a coaching-oriented approach to these questions and will help you understand, and be able to implement, more effective collaborative projects.

More dates will be added in due course.

We also invite you to share with anyone in your networks who may be interested. All are welcome to join from anywhere in the world, and attendance is by no means restricted to RSA Fellows or practicing coaches. 

RSA Fellow-led Coaching Network: Please note: after each event a short read-out will be circulated to the Network. Not a Network member? Sign up here to receive these updates or invitations to future events.

Taking Part in RSA Online Events

For our interactive online events, the RSA uses the platform Zoom.

To participate in the event, you will need to register for a ticket to receive the details to join.

Please note that for this event, latecomers who arrive more than 15 minutes after the start time will not be admitted.

Attendees will need to register for a free Zoom account and download their software. To understand more about how Zoom uses your data, please read their Privacy Policy in advance.

We record many of our online events. By attending this online event you accept that you may appear in RSA videos as a participant. Our intention is to use any recording of this event for learning purposes and to document the content of the discussion. Currently we do not have plans to share this recording publicly, but may do so in the future.

If you have any questions, or to let us know of any access requirements or reasonable adjustments you require, please email: networks@rsa.org.uk

By registering for this event you consent to receiving communications about this event, both before and after, and you agree to the sharing of your name, organisation & title with the Fellow(s) and/or partner organisation(s) hosting this event. Attendees also agree to the sharing of their name and organisation with other delegates at the event so that they might contact you through MyRSA. If you do not wish this information to be shared, please let us know by emailing: networks@rsa.org.uk.

The information you provide when registering for an event will be retained by the RSA and will be used to record attendance at the event. To understand more about how the RSA uses your data, please see our Privacy Policy.