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Dr Neil Thompson

Neil Thompson is a writer, trainer and consultant who has published several best-selling textbooks. He edits THE humansolutions BULLETIN, a fortnightly e-zine. For a no cost subscription go to https://www.humansolutions.org/bulletin. He also tutors the online learning community, The Avenue Professional Development Programme: https://www.apdp.org.uk.

Developing a community of learning Individual Well-being

Developing a community of learning

In the build up to launching the Avenue Professional Development Programme a few people have asked me what the thinking behind the initiative is. Perhaps it would be helpful if I put it in the context of how my thinking has developed. For several years I taught students week in week out and the advantage of that was that I was able to link ideas together from one session to the next, respond to any concerns or confusions and help people grow as they took their learning forward over time. The disadvantage was that I was influencing the learning of only a very small proportion of the practitioners who are engaged in professional practice and not influencing managers at all.…
Dr Neil Thompson
January 21, 2013
Learning for life Workplace Well-being

Learning for life

I have just completed a very busy period where I provided a great deal of training for a number of organisations. Reflecting on the experience what strikes me is the huge difference in attitudes to learning. At one extreme we have the semi-burnt out cynic who seems determined to let their negativity spoil the positive learning environment I have worked hard to create. Thankfully such people are in a small minority. At the other extreme are the people who become fully immersed in the process of learning. They show an enthusiasm for taking on new ideas, reviewing and/or consolidating their existing knowledge and skills and really want training to make a positive difference to practice. They embrace learning opportunities with…
Dr Neil Thompson
December 15, 2012
Be tutored online as part of my Avenue Professional Development Programme Uncategorized

Be tutored online as part of my Avenue Professional Development Programme

I will soon be launching the Avenue Professional Development Programme. The SILVER version will allow members of the people professions to be part of an online learning community, with me as the tutor. The GOLD version will include all the facilities of the SILVER programme, but with the addition of one-to-one e-mentoring with my good self. Find out now how you can be part of this important innovative online learning programme at a surprisingly low price! Download the full-colour brochure here.
Dr Neil Thompson
November 10, 2012
Asking the right questions? Workplace Well-being

Asking the right questions?

I was recently contacted by someone who wanted my advice on asking the right questions in a coaching context. He explained that he worked as a coach and regularly used certain questions to encourage his clients to think about how they can move forward with their work and their learning. He asked me whether I thought they were the 'right' questions to ask. Of course, I had to reply by saying that it all depends on the context. What will work in one set of circumstances will not necessarily work in others. I went on to explain that this is what reflective practice is about - having a 'reflective conversation with the situation'. That is, we have to think carefully…
Dr Neil Thompson
October 29, 2012
Taking diversity seriously

Taking diversity seriously

A recent survey carried out by HR Magazine found that a high proportion of organisations were claiming to take diversity issues seriously but only 57% had a diversity strategy in place. This reminds me of the early days of anti-discriminatory practice when there was a lot of rhetoric about the importance of tackling discrimination and oppression, but nowhere near as much evidence of concrete steps being taken to promote equality by translating the verbal commitment into actual practice. Tokenism is what it was called in those days, so perhaps that’s what we are seeing today. Back then an additional problem was that much of the discussion generated more heat than light and led to a lot of people backing off…
Dr Neil Thompson
September 30, 2012
Learning from each other

Learning from each other

I was lucky to have the opportunity recently to play host to two Latvian visitors, two university lecturers interested in developing workplace well-being in their country. They had received funding to help them research how workplace well-being is being developed in other countries, hence their time with me to talk about the UK scene. They enjoyed their trip and were pleased with what they learned, and so they were very grateful to me and my colleagues for our time and hospitality. However, it was not one sided. We very much enjoyed our time with them and learned a great deal from them too. It reminded me of a previous visit to India where my colleagues and I were helping Indian…
Dr Neil Thompson
September 23, 2012
The further tragedy of Hillsborough

The further tragedy of Hillsborough

For 96 people to die in what was intended to be an enjoyable and exciting sporting event is tragic enough, but the recently published inquiry report adds a new layer of tragedy by revealing how the victims were vilified and how efforts were made to conceal the truth. By coincidence, on the day the report was published I was running a training course on loss and grief. We had been discussing how major losses can seriously disrupt our framework of meaning and leave us feeling confused, insecure and vulnerable. We looked at how grief can be understood as a painful process of constructing new meanings, developing a new ‘narrative’.  Often events or the actions of others can block the development…
Dr Neil Thompson
September 16, 2012
Spirituality Individual Well-being

Spirituality

Our humansolutions bulletin e-zine has featured a few articles on spirituality recently. A couple of people have asked me whether I have 'found religion'. The short answer is no, but I found spirituality quite some time ago. My long-standing interest in existentialism has incorporated an interest in how we find meaning in our lives, how we make sense of who we are and how we fit into the wider world. Religion is obviously a major form of spirituality embraced by billions of people across the world. However, it is not the only one. In whatever form of people work we operate, whether in the caring professions, in management or human resources, it is important that we remember that, while not…
Dr Neil Thompson
September 10, 2012
Tragedy Individual Well-being

Tragedy

My wife and daughter were recently at the Beamish Open Air Museum on the day that a 7-year-old boy was killed in a tragic accident. We all know that death comes to us all eventually, but for a child to die is very different, and for him to die in a place of leisure and education seems particularly misplaced somehow. Many people bemoan the fact that they are growing old. Perhaps we should rejoice about the fact that we have been given the opportunity to, as sadly not everybody is.
Dr Neil Thompson
July 31, 2012