Weeknote 10th March 2023

What did I do to make a difference this week

International women’s day happened to coincide with my annual lecture to mammography students about the BRCA mutation that I deliver as part of my voluntary work. What better way to honour the memory of the most important female role model in my life than to tell my mum’s story and raise awareness that could help women to have choices that could prevent cancer. I deliver the lecture in conjunction with a genetic counsellor who explains the genetic science aspect alongside the stories of people who have the mutation. Each time we deliver it, I see first hand how impactful lived experience is on the audience and also on me. It is always a reminder of how emotionally draining it can be to share your experience with others and relive difficult aspects of your life. Whilst the change it can and has created are incredibly valuable, putting my paid work hat on, we need to make sure that whatever work with do with people who have lived experience is valued and drives real change given the impact it has on individuals themselves .

I was in the office for two days this week which lead to a number of unplanned conversations with people which in turn led to new ideas, new ways forward and new connections that I could develop between people unknowingly working on similar things. The power of bumping into someone in the kitchen when you are making a coffee and just having a chat was very much in evidence. I realised I had never actually met one of these colleagues in person but the fact we happened to say ‘Hi’ whilst preparing our drinks meant that effort wasn’t duplicated and an opportunity for collaboration was created.

I actually spent time in a room with a white board and post its with Sam and Tero to work out a problem. It was probably one of the most productive meetings I had had in a long time which I think in large part was due to just being in a room rather than on a call with a virtual white board. It is such a different interaction, collaborative, thought sparking way to work. I realised how much it is missed in the current every day ways of virtual working

I also identified an opportunity to obtain budget that would enable me to get a team together to work on some ops infrastructure that we have needed for a while but is too big a task for the current team to do alongside higher priority work. If I land it, then it could make a difference wider than just UCD.

I had some chats with my mentees, supported a trust with their digital strategy and advised on ways of working, supported a team with an assurance issue and started to pull together work on professional standards.

What I need to do to make more of a difference

Balancing being inclusive of others not able to be in the room, I need to do more face-to-face collaboration sessions and meetings. I really valued the one we had this week. Getting people in a physical room rather than virtual can be difficult but it creates sparks and interactions that you don’t always find online.

It has been a poor week for outdoor exercise for me. I only did one 30 minute run due to workload, meetings and snow. Need to do better next week.

I also still need to find a way to not be writing my weeknotes on the Tuesday of the week after!

Next week

• Chairing session on UCD in the new operating model
• Meeting with behavioural science colleagues to keep the conversation going on collaborative working
• Inclusive design conversations with senior stakeholders
• A few days off to use up some leave so a much shorter week