A mantra of small steps

I feel elated, but it’s only over a small thing really.  I think it’s because I’m waiting for a bigger thing and the longer I wait the more I’m becoming superstitious so a bit of good news gives me hope.  I shall explain – briefly.  The big thing is that I’m waiting to find out if a funding bid we have submitted has got through the first stage…and I’ve been waiting for 3 months.  The small thing is more complicated. Children Unite has six fantastic supportive individuals who have agreed to become Trustees – and have taken on this role for the past year.  But all this time, one of these fantastic supportive people has not ‘officially’ been a Trustee (because of a ‘technical’ barrier). This technical hurdle has been successfully straddled and Children Unite now has its full complement of fantastic, supportive Trustees….and I’m elated, I feel like breaking open the champagne!

But I still seem to be in some kind of wider crisis of confidence – it feels as though all the ‘trappings’ of a solid organisation are being built up (website is on it’s way, I’m renting a small office etc.) but we need a good solid piece of work.  We need someone who isn’t necessarily fantastic and supportive to say  “yep, you seem to know what you’re talking about.  I’ll invest in you”.  There is a game show in the UK called ‘Dragon’s Den’ where people who have business ideas present these ideas to a panel of ‘investors’ who decide whether or not to invest their money.  My children love it.  I don’t, because I can too easily put myself in the position of a contestant in the show, waiting to go on, desperately trying to remember why my organisation is worth investing in!

I suppose, when you’re playing the waiting game, it’s a good time to get your house in order.  I should use this time to ensure that Children Unite has solid foundations so that when I face ‘investors’ my numbers make sense and my thinking is straight.  But I guess I’ve realised that my wider crisis of confidence comes from feeling daunted by the scale of the foundation stones I need to lay.  At our recent Trustees meeting we agreed a three year strategic plan, which was a good step but Children Unite still needs a business plan and a fundraising strategy.  We need to articulate our ‘theory of change’ and develop an outcomes framework….all BIG things.   OK - now I don’t feel so elated!!

However, on reading through this post again I'm reminded of a mantra that a colleague once whispered to me when I was feeling overwhelmed ("small steps, small steps") and that I do like to write lists.  If I can break these big things into smaller steps I can create a list of tasks which I can tick off gradually and feel like I’m making headway.  

AND I’ve just realised I can tick one thing off already - Children Unite now has a full complement of (fantastic supportive) Trustees! 

Now to get onto the second item on the list – the champagne!! (only kidding).