ACEVO’s digital leadership festival is back this year from 2-4 November. The full programme is available on the website and in this blog series, you will get to know our speakers a little bit better.
A narrated version of this blog is available at the bottom of the page
Gary Buxton, executive coach
At #ACEVOFest21, Gary will equip you with a number of practical tools and insights that will give you just what you need when you need it most.
What makes you hopeful?
That the world and in particular younger adults are more aware of issues around social justice. People have started to see their own privilege and I hope this will start to inspire everyone to do more around equality and calling out injustice.
What do you know now that you didn’t know at the beginning of 2020?
How much a pandemic would change the world and what we consider to be normal and responsible.
What message you’d like to send to yourself to read a year from now?
Remember all those lovely people you met at the ACEVO conference? Why not message a few and say hello for a Zoom coffee and see how their year has been!
Can you recommend: a book, a series/film, a podcast?
I’ve really enjoyed Yuval Noah Harari’s recent books (I know, I’m late to the party!): Sapiens and Homo Deus. Both really gave me new perspectives on where we are and where we might be going. He’s an incredible writer. Clear writing for big concepts.
Did you incorporate a new habit in your day to day routine in the past 18 months that you can share with us?
I started keeping a paper gratitude journal over the last seven months. I had been doing a digital one intermittently for a few years, but I really found putting it onto paper helped me to be more consistent. In a period of lockdown, it’s really helped remind me of all the little things I appreciate each day.
What do you miss the most from working at the office and what do you love the most from working remotely?
I definitely miss the social quality of being with people, but I am also incredibly grateful for being a coach during this time. It has meant that even through lockdown, every day, I was able to have really high-quality conversations with people to help them navigate what is likely one of the most challenging moments in their career.
What’s your favourite thing to do for your own wellbeing?
Every day, after work, I go for a walk with my partner. It’s 1-2 hours where we don’t look at screens, we’re not cooking or entertaining and we really have a chance to talk about our day. I recognise that we’re really lucky to have this time each day and it has to be a total Manchester downpour before we miss it.
