
A year ago I ran in the elections for President of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR). I only decided to stand a week before the deadline, while working in Ghana, to ensure there would be an election.
What started out as a last-minute, genuine desire to do good became horribly distorted with the divisive nature of electioneering; imagine the recent Referendum campaign but this time it’s personal, coupled with the ignominy of my being disqualified, and got even worse.
Standing for election was a huge cost in time, energy, health and well-being – even hurting those I love the most in this world.
Like any negative experience, time can often be a great healer. It enables you to put the torrid times in a wider perspective. You unearth dividends from disruptive thinking – sparking new insights and ideas you wouldn’t have garnered had you not found yourself in an unexpected situation.
Crucially, the bad times provide valuable lessons to learn and grow from.
Here is my account of the positives gained and hopefully serve as a guide for the 3 excellent candidates standing in this year’s CIPR Presidential election. (I happen to be backing Sarah Hall.)
I am sure they won’t have to go through what I did, but there’s still some wider lessons. Read more
7 lessons from running for President of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations September 20th, 2016Andy Green