CONNECTED is delighted to announce that our virtual Alumni Lecture Series will kick-start with Reading graduate, Olympic medal-winning rower and respected diplomat, Dr Cath Bishop.
Taking place online on Wednesday 21 October at 18.30 (UK time), Dr Bishop will be exploring ‘The Long Win’: how our obsession with winning is holding us back and why it’s time to rethink what success means.
Olympic champions may cross the line first but can still experience emptiness and anti-climax. Astronauts talk of desolation in their lives after their incredible adventures in space. Business leaders face increasing levels of burnout and poor engagement levels across organisations. Pupils leave schools with clutches of A grades but struggle to operate in a world that requires different skills than are tested in exams. Meanwhile, politicians persist in trying to find a way to win against global issues that require a completely different approach.
All these traditional winners are finding that winning isn’t what they thought it would be. If winning isn’t working well for the winners – let alone the rest of us – then it’s time to reconsider our definition of what success means in our lives, personal and professional.
Dr Bishop has encountered the search for success and desire to win at every turn and has become fascinated over recent years with the deeply ingrained role that winning plays in our lives.
She is an Olympian who rowed at three Olympic Games, winning World Championships gold and Olympic silver. She studied for her PhD at the University of Reading and went on to work as a diplomat with the Foreign Office, specialising in stabilisation policy in conflict-affected areas of the world. She now works in leadership development and organisational cultural change as a coach, consultant and speaker and teaches on leadership programmes at the Judge Business School, Cambridge University.
In her talk based on her new book, ‘The Long Win: The search for a better way to succeed’, Dr Bishop examines our obsession with winning, how it is holding us back in schools, businesses, sports and politics, and proposes a new approach: ‘The Long Win’.
Dr Bishop said:
“I’m really looking forward to connecting with University of Reading alumni and supporters and having the opportunity to share my experiences and stories from across my varied career.”
Don’t miss the opportunity to put your questions to Dr Bishop in a live Q&A at the end of the event on 21 October.
Register your place now.
