My folks lived there... on a cliff, in a lighthouse cottage with no road access for years. I love the Isle of Man but I'm very grateful that I'm not having to do that journey plus 120 steps any more. Hope it's not too bumpy 🌊

But low paid does not mean low skill or limited experience. Underestimate us and you miss out on what we can bring to the party & especially at a time like this, that would be very unwise indeed.

Recruiting & retaining brilliant leaders is arguably our greatest challenge and risk in the VCSE. For most people, the above reasons coupled with the £ does not make it an attractive proposition. And that is very hard because we need amazing people.

so unsurprising 10 years in comms, OD & higher education & a MSc before 10 years as a CEO means I have a bit more to bring to the table from that chapter too.

Are VCSE leaders universally great at all these thing? Hell no! Definitely not! Are we better than leaders in other sectors? Also no!

And the last thing I'd say is some VCSE leaders have dedicated their whole careers to working in the sector. They have extraordinary wisdom especially when it comes to the people & communities they serve. Others like me had big career changes. I worked the 1st half of my career in the public sector

7) Lots of us are very used to and very good at managing risk. The myth of the soft, fluffy low level activity in the sector is wearing a bit thin. Many of us deliver specialist, high risk, complex services. Many of us run services to for people that others have left behind & we do it well.

6) We are often gd at influencing... Whether it's driving a hard bargain to get costs down, negotiating funding, building partnerships, influencing policy & strategy change, working with politicians or advocating for our org/sector/communities... survival & impact depends on this stuff.

5) Marketing/Fundraising Director? Yep we're often that too! For a gd few yrs I ran the org's social media... building our profile, reputation & brand. Again, not as much any more but I can still write a decent comms plan, press release etc & I know how to write bids & tenders because I've done it.

That means I could write a book on managing complex HR issues & building positive cultures. Writing HR Policies & Procedures ✅ Writing & delivering training ✅ Managing TUPE ✅ Navigating pensions ✅ the list goes on...

4) We don't have the luxury of paying our staff what they deserve. That's a whole different 🧵 but it means we have to work blooming hard to create great work places where people want to stay and thrive. We are usually the HR Director. I was until very recently because only the lg orgs can afford it.

sell property, let property, manage a major fire, a range of big refurbishments & we are in the middle of a £3m Capital build. But I've also had to write planning applications, manage pest control and deal with the roof blow off. The joy is endless I tell you.

3) I'm not sure I know anyone in the VCSE (at least locally) with an Estates team. We are the Director of Estates! Landlords ✅ Major capital developments ✅ Health & safety ✅ Business continuity ✅ Managing multiple contractors ✅ IT ✅ Since I started I've had to make our assets work for us,

Have many NHS Leaders had to learn about food hygiene, till systems, commercial catering equipment servicing, barista training & be researching the price of cheese whilst simultaneously setting up a mental health crisis service?! Thought not 🤣

And we develop deep expertise in our areas of work. We are geeky as anything about them. A bit of income generation thrown in? ✅ Albeit pretty unsuccessfully,in my time I've had to learn the art of running a charity shop, cafe, woodwork shop & to sell organic veg (?!).

2) We know how to set up/run services. We do it over-night & can adapt & change to the needs of people & communities. There isn't someone else to do it, no PM or BA team to assist. I've done it several times. Now we are bigger not so much but I know exactly how to do it down to every last detail.

So that means learning from everything from the nuance of charity accounting to dealing with audits and VAT exemptions.

1) We are MASTERS of making the £ stretch. We mix complex, ever changing cocktails of £. There are no bail outs. If you have reserves, when they are gone, they are gone. & in v.small orgs we are also the Finance Director/team too.

Frankly this naffs me off. So here are some reasons why you should NEVER underestimate the skills & experiences of VCSE Leaders (especially those who have experience leading small orgs.)

I have also this wk reflected on system meetings I've been in. I am there as a VCSE Lead & advocate for the sector & it is extremely clear that, for many my leadership, is very much pigeon holed as a specific/singular area of contribution.