What is Gather?

At the end of 2021, having spent nearly two decades climbing the corporate ladder, whilst fighting to get and then keep a  seat at the table, a series of personal losses,  burnout and a deep and insidious unhappiness left me and my self worth metaphorically on the floor. I felt  worthless and wondered why I’d invested so much time, love, energy and capability building someone else's dream.

I really lost sight of myself and who I was. I know for certain I was not great company to be around too. 

A series of events over several years had led to that point. 

A big decision to relocate to and leave behind a team and a business I loved in London. A huge adjustment when I realised I may not have made the best choices following that change.  A couple of house sales and moves. The loneliness and isolation I felt because I’d left most of my support network several hundred miles away where I’d been for more than a decade. Covid.

Relentless stress, pressure, no true downtime. Burnout. Keep on going. Loss of confidence. Not stopping to breathe.

I realised I was fighting to stay on a path of progression that simply didn’t suit me, my talents or my best way of being. Life is too short to be that unhappy. 

After years of operating at senior board level, twisting myself into a pretzel shape to try and “fit in” I realised I was fighting for a seat at a table that I was never going to truly reach or make me happy or fulfilled. More importantly I probably didn’t want to reach there even if I could. I didn’t fit. I had wonderful support and advocacy from my colleagues, many of whom were male, but I didn’t want to have to play golf to make the right connections. 

And it’s totally fine if you do like golf, it’s just not for me and I didn’t want to have to play someone else's game. Literally.

I wanted to collaborate, make friends, and do business in a different way. I wanted more freedom, creativity, empathy, compassion and kindness. I knew there must be ways to thrive outside of the traditional system. I just didn't know how. I needed to get my head back up and re-find myself and my right path. I needed to build my own table and gather my own community and support system. 

The year that followed saw me take a different path. One where I’ve learnt so much about what it takes to get out of your own way , face the fear and take control of your own work, career and business. But I didn’t do it single handedly and I’ve made lots of mistakes and wrong turns along the way. 

I sought out help, coaching, help  and mentorship to guide me along that path. The hardest lesson for me to learn was the need to ask for help. There were times when it was extremely lonely and the temptation just to go back to what I knew was strong.

But I knew the alternative was likely to take me back down a route of unhappiness, more burnout and unfulfilled potential. I needed my work to have meaning and purpose that went beyond just accepting a pay-check. 

When your purpose becomes stronger than your fear, you can be unstoppable.

When your purpose becomes stronger than that fear, you’ll get to make better choices in your work.

Better choices, aligned to your purpose and personal values help you find the right path.

It’s the path to help you do the best work of your life. 

 Rather than what someone has told you that you should say, do or be. 

I hear a lot from people I work with about the struggle between Professional self versus Personal self.

How about just your whole self?

Our work should fuel us positively, align to who we are, enable us to be the best version of ourselves. I’d love to help you figure out how you can make the most from your work this year