Saying ‘Yes’ to change

“Voluntary and community organisations are optimistic by nature,” the chief executive of NICVA, Seamus McAleavey, said today. “They believe they can make a difference.”

“The very reason they exist is to improve the lives of people by creating change for the better,” he told NICVA’s annual management conference in Belfast, Making Your Mark II. “The voluntary and community sector is all about the management and promotion of change.”

Watt Nicoll, voted the world’s greatest motivator, was the main presenter. He said people can have anything they want, provided they want it enough. “If you put your mind to it you can achieve it”.

But Watt, who has worked with football stars David Beckham and Wayne Rooney and many other high achievers, warned that the first step in change will be the most uncomfortable. He stressed the need for continual learning: “Change and development is not a once-off, but the more you change the easier it gets.”

Angela Peacock from the People Development Team said the voluntary and community sector needs to be ahead of the game. “‘Why?’ is the most under-used question in the world of change,” she said.