The Palms of Their Hands

In my personal study this Palm Sunday morning, I was drawn back to some images from our time serving as mission leaders in Belgium and the Netherlands.
As I thought about that first Palm Sunday, not just the crowds in Jerusalem, waving branches as Jesus Christ entered the city and not just the cries of “Hosanna” – please save us.
But what sticks with me most is this…
𝑯𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔.
I remembered the photos of our sister missionaries in 2023 and 2024.
Words written across their palms – simple, and yet powerful.
At the time, they were part of what we were building with our social media missionaries.
We were learning how to show up, how to share faith in a digital space, how to reach people we might never meet.
But looking back, it wasn’t just about content.
It was about connection.
Those hands said something words alone often don’t. They pointed, in a very human way, to something deeper. A reminder that the message we share isn’t abstract. It’s personal.

A personal message…

That’s what makes President Russell M. Nelson’s invitation from 2021 stay with me: “I invite you to make this coming week truly holy by remembering – not just the palms that were waved to honour the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem – but by remembering the palms of His hands.”
And then the promise from Isaiah: “Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands.”
That changes how I see those images.
The missionaries wrote on their hands to share a message.
Christ bears marks in His hands because we are the message.
He has felt our pains, knows us personally, loves us unconditionally, and will never abandon us.
Palm Sunday isn’t just about a moment in history.
It’s a reminder that even when we feel forgotten, we are not – we are never forgotten.
And whether it’s through a post, a conversation, or even a simple image, the mission is still the same: to help people remember that.
How do you remind yourself that He hasn’t forgotten you?

26 Names. No pressure.

Yesterday I saw something I’ve only witnessed a handful of times in my life.
As my co-facilitator Kelly and I kicked off Module 2 of our Lead the Way programme in Perth with Aviva, we met our cohort of leaders for the first time.
It was their second time together, though. They already knew each other. More importantly, they knew each other’s names.
Kelly and I, on the other hand, were starting from zero.
To get things going, I ran a simple line-up activity. It’s one of those exercises that looks easy until I realised, I was struggling to remember even three names in a row!
My idea was simple: learn as many names as possible without making it obvious I was guessing.
While I was doing that, Kelly stood back, observing. I casually (and somewhat jokingly) challenged her to see how many names she could remember.
We got to the end of the line. Twenty-six people.
I turned to her and asked how she’d done.
To my astonishment, she started at the very beginning and worked her way through every single person.
One by one. A couple of tiny stumbles, but even those she almost rescued.
There was a quiet, collective “wow” moment.
Later, I asked her what her secret was.
She said she imagines a friend of hers standing just behind each person – someone who shares the same name.
That was it. No complicated system. Just a simple, human connection.
And that’s what stayed with me.
Because this isn’t really about memory. It’s about attention.
As leaders, we often look for big gestures to make an impact. We think it’s about strategy, vision, or saying the right thing at the right time.
But moments like this are a reminder that leadership often shows up in much smaller ways.
Learning someone’s name.
Using it.
Making them feel noticed.
It’s easy to underestimate how powerful that is. But in a busy, distracted world, being remembered is rare. And being remembered by your leader? That sticks.
The lesson for me was simple: people don’t need us to be impressive. They need us to be present.
If leadership is attention, where are you placing yours?

Formulas

Recently, I’ve noticed a bit of a trend at work… formulas.
Not the kind that take me back to school (thankfully), but the kind that try to capture a value, a virtue, or a principle in a neat, almost mathematical way.
Simple and memorable is the key.
So naturally, my colleague Annmarie and I thought… let’s give it a go.
In a recent virtual session on accountability, we introduced the idea right at the start and invited people to notice any thoughts, ideas or impressions that came to them during the session.
We then got on with things as per normal, breakouts, discussions, shared experiences. All of the usual good stuff.
As we came towards the end, we returned to the idea and gave everyone a few minutes to create their own “accountability formula.”
And then… we triggered a chat storm.
(If you’ve never seen one, the idea is everyone holds their response… and then everyone hits enter at once. Instant energy and instant insight.)
The chat lit up with some brilliant thinking.
But one response stopped me.
One participant captured his thinking using just a handful of emojis.
No words.
No explanation.
And yet… it said everything.
Accountability = 📖 + 🥺 +🤯 + 😎
I caught up with Robert Miller yesterday and asked him to walk me through it again.
It was thoughtful, simple, and spot on.
I was going to explain it here…
But actually, I think it’s far more fun (and perhaps more revealing) to leave it with you.
Sometimes the most powerful ideas are the ones that are simple enough to be shared, understood…and open enough to mean different things to different people.
And when we create space for everyone to contribute at once, we often hear from voices that might otherwise stay quiet.
𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮: What do you think Robert meant by his formula?

Unhurried

Recently, I received a message from a few of our returned missionaries – thank you everyone!
It was an invitation to watch a BYU Devotional by Shayla Bott.
The core message of her talk was “𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠”.
It reminded me of an experience with Monic, whilst we were in Copenhagen at a Mission Leaders Seminar in October 2021.
During the seminar there was a moment in which the Area President – Massimo De Feo – felt to play a video of Sissel singing “Slow Down” with The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square during the 2019 Pioneer Day concert.
There came into the room, the sweetest, most beautiful spirit that not only filled the entire room, but it also penetrated deeply into all of our hearts.
It changed me.
It changed our hearts.
And it changed our mission.
From that moment forward, we regularly shared that video and message to “slow down” with all of our missionaries in order for each of us to better understand the invitation to “Be still and know that I am God” – Psalms 46:10.
We shared it at every opportunity we could.
It became my personal mantra.

Accents

…Lots of missionaries tried extremely hard to copy my Scottish accent and repeat “slow down” and, truth be told, some of those attempts were quite something!
I always appreciated them, not because they got it right… but because they felt it.
There was something kind, almost sacred, in their willingness to try and it wasn’t really about the accent.
It was about the invitation.
An invitation to pause, to breathe, to notice, to feel and to listen a little more carefully to the Spirit, to others, and perhaps even to ourselves.
I know the more present we are in the now, the more joy we can tap into.
Listening to the BYU Devotional this week has been transformative.
I purchased a book by John Mark Comer “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry” and have enjoyed my studies this week – more than ever.
My invitation – listen to the devotional, maybe even buy the book.
For me, it’s been about creating just enough space for heaven to get a word in.
In a world that so often rushes, pushes, and hurries… the Lord simply invites us to “Be still.”
What might the Lord be waiting to say to you… if you slowed down just a little?

Check in – Check out

I bought myself a ball recently.

In fact, I bought three, one for each learning room in Perth.

At the start of every session of the Lead the Way leadership programme at Aviva, we check in with one another.

We assess how everyone is feeling, and we determine what we want from the learning opportunities that day.

At the start, no one really knows each other yet.

There’s that quiet shuffle, a few polite smiles, and the unspoken thought of “please don’t pick me first.” 🫢

It can be awkward and even a bit intimidating. Especially when you’re asked to share something real in a room full of near strangers.

On our final day, we check out and consider again our feelings and what we have learned over the duration of the programme.

I noticed some of my fellow facilitators experimenting with different tools and activities on each occasion.

Sitting, standing, line ups, circles, balloons and balls of all different sizes and colours.

Checking in and checking out, is a big thing.

So, we each bring in the big support…!

For me – it is a rubber ball, nice and bouncy… ⚽

No pressure, no spotlight, just a simple rule: if you’ve got the ball, it’s your turn.

If you don’t, you can relax (or plan what you’re going to say while pretending not to).

And somehow, it works.

And the psychology of it is quite simple.

Turns out, giving people a ball gives their nerves somewhere to hide. And when that happens, the words seem to come a bit easier.

The ball gets passed around (or tossed, bounced or rolled), the room softens, people start to smile, and before long, proper, honest stories start to come out.

Funny how something so simple can help people feel a bit braver, a bit more comfortable, a bit more themselves.

Sometimes, all it takes is a ball to get things rolling.

A small reminder that when people feel safe and at ease, learning has a much better chance of sticking.

So, I’m curious… what simple things have you seen make a big difference in helping people open up?

Past Blessings, Future Promises

Last week we had two of our missionaries from our time in Belgium and the Netherlands come and visit with us.
Joey de Sousa from Chorley and Lucas Montoya from San Antonio Texas served together in Arnhem four years ago. It meant a lot to have them come and spend time with us – it was such a joy!
Lucas stayed with us for a few days and was able to visit Edinburgh, Pitlochry, and Stirling while he was here.
Whenever missionaries visit, the conversation often turns to our memories of our time together.
We talk about people we visited with, experiences we had together, and moments that shaped us. I think it’s quite natural to look back and think those were the best times.
But a thought kept coming to me: in the gospel, the best times are not only behind us. With the Lord, the best years are 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒂𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅.

Looking Forward

I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about progression.
The Lord is always inviting us forward, helping us grow, refine, and become more than we are today.
No matter our age or stage of life, there is still more joy to feel, more people to bless, and more that the Lord can do with us.
I was reminded of the promise in the Book of Mormon, in Ether 12:4 : “Whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world… which hope cometh of faith.”
That promise applies to all of us. The Lord is not finished with any of us yet.
Some of our sweetest experiences in the gospel will undoubtedly still be ahead.
So maybe a good question for us to reflect on is simply this: Are we looking forward with faith as much as we look back with gratitude?
I’m so grateful for the wonderful memories the Lord has given us, and I have faith that as we continue to follow Him, He still has many good things prepared for us to come.

A View From the Other Side

I’ve always liked learning something new.

Last week was no different, when I got the chance to spend some time with my new buddy, Ruth Birrell, from Personal Insurance at Aviva in Perth. She was helping me understand what it’s really like to be a call handler dealing with travel insurance calls for Nationwide and Barclays.

I realised pretty quickly that, while I’ve spent years being the person calling into a contact centre, I’d never actually seen what it looks like on the other side.
It turned out to be a really eye-opening experience.

I listened in on a number of customer calls and saw first-hand how Ruth supports each person. In my 90 minutes of observation, I learned a lot!

She talked me through how calls are handled, the kinds of questions people ask, and how she makes sure each customers get the right cover and the support they need.

What really stood out was the level of care, patience and, most importantly, listening that goes into every single call. No two conversations were the same, and I began to recognise it takes real skill to properly understand what someone needs and then to explain things clearly.

There were a few moments where I realised I’d completely missed key details… and yet Ruth hadn’t missed a thing! She made it look easy (I’m fairly sure it isn’t).

And the multitasking…? Well, that was simply the next level. Her nimble fingers danced over her keyboard at lightning speed! ⚡

Spending time with Ruth definitely gave me a new appreciation for her role and I began to understand the impact the whole team can have on the customer experience.

Swap!

After that, it felt only fair to return the favour. I invited Ruth down to the Learning Centre to sit in on a Lead the Way session for an hour.

On Friday morning she joined us and, just like me before, she really enjoyed the experience. It was great to have her there and share a bit of what we do. The session she joined was all about role modelling leadership in our personal behaviours.

She even left determined to complete a learning exercise herself, which felt like a fun thing to do.

Overall, it turned into a really nice exchange. I got a better understanding of life on the phones, and Ruth got to see how we support colleagues through the Lead the Way programme.

It’s a good reminder of how much we can learn just by stepping into someone else’s world for a short time.

A simple swap, but a useful one and I think there were some real benefits for both of us.

When was the last time you swapped roles with someone for an hour to see things from their perspective?

The Loom of Time

This morning I came across the beautiful poem 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒐𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆, which describes our lives as threads woven together into a pattern we do not always see.
Looking at this recent photo of my Mum, Monic, and our wee grandson Oscar, I was reminded how true that is.
I believe God has a design for each of our lives, even though we may not understand it fully right now.
I know that across the years, the threads of love and faith continue to be woven together in our family from one generation to the next.
I’m especially grateful today for my Mum and Monic – two incredible women – and for the beautiful threads they have woven into our family’s story…
Man’s life is laid in 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆
To a pattern he does not see,
While the weavers work and the shuttles fly
Till the dawn of eternity.
Some shuttles are filled with silver threads
And some with threads of gold,
While often but the darker hues
Are all that they may hold.
But the weaver watches with skillful eye
each shuttle fly to and fro,
And sees the pattern so deftly wrought
As the loom moves sure and slow.
God surely planned the pattern:
Each thread, the dark and fair,
Is chosen by His master skill
And placed in the web with care.
He only knows its beauty,
And guides the shuttles which hold
The threads so unattractive,
As well as the threads of gold.
Not till each loom is silent,
And the shuttles cease to fly,
Shall God reveal the pattern
And explain the reason why.
The dark threads were as needful
In the weaver’s skillful hand
As the threads of gold and silver
For the pattern which He planned.
𝓗𝓪𝓹𝓹𝔂 𝓜𝓸𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓼 𝓓𝓪𝔂

Delays, Diversions and Leadership

As I set off for work yesterday, my travel was beset with delays and diversions.
Leaving home a little later than usual, I immediately found myself in a long line of traffic as I headed out of town past the High School.
Further along, there was a road closure north of Wellwood, which meant I had to turn around and come back into town, where I was met with another line of traffic.
I then decided I’d be best to head along towards the motorway past the hospital, only to be met by yet another long line of cars as they queued at some temporary traffic lights.
My normal time to the motorway is around 8 minutes; yesterday’s was 28 minutes.
And then when I arrived in Perth, I faced another unexpected 15-minute delay as I encountered more traffic lights and roadworks again.
It was a little frustrating, to say the least.
Sometimes diversions and delays can be so annoying, and yet there is often very little we can do about them, other than adjust, stay patient, and keep moving forward.

Lessons Learned

It struck me later that the journey felt a lot like leadership.
Rarely is the road straight or predictable. Plans change. Obstacles appear without warning. Routes that normally work suddenly don’t.
In those moments, leadership is less about having the perfect plan and more about how we respond.
Good leaders stay calm when the route changes. They reassess, choose the next best option, and keep people moving in the right direction. They don’t waste energy wishing the road were different; they focus on navigating the one in front of them.
Because in leadership, just like on the road, progress rarely comes from a perfectly clear path. More often, it comes from patience, perspective, and the willingness to keep going even when the journey takes longer than expected.
What might unexpected detours be teaching you about patience and perspective?

The Breakfast TV Effect

At the end of a Lead the Way leadership session last week with Aviva in Perth, one of the participants came up to my co-facilitator Jackie with a smile and said:
“You two are like a TV hosting couple.”
Jackie and I looked at each other and laughed. 😆
In that moment, I thought about some of the hosts on BBC Breakfast and just smiled again!
Thankfully, no one asked us to read the weather or comment on traffic on the M90! 😉
The funny thing is, we’ve actually known each other for around twenty years, going all the way back to our days when Jackie worked at RBS and I was part of a management consultancy team acting as a thinking and delivery partner.
Like many professional relationships, life and careers took us in different directions for a while. But recently we’ve found ourselves facilitating together, helping leaders think, reflect and grow.
And it’s been great fun.
There’s something quite special about working with someone where there is already a shared history. Our conversations flow naturally. The rhythm of the room seems easier to read. One person picks up where the other leaves off. A question here, an observation there, a gentle challenge at just the right moment.
Perhaps that’s what the participant was noticing.
In my view, Breakfast TV hosts have that same dynamic.
They create a sense of warmth, energy and ease while guiding people through the morning’s conversations.
In many ways, good facilitation is a little like that too.
It’s not about performing or dominating the stage. It’s about creating a space where people feel comfortable enough to think aloud, challenge assumptions, laugh a little, and leave the room seeing things slightly differently.
I think that is what it felt like last week with Jackie.
When trust and familiarity are already there, the focus stays where it should be – on the learning in the room.
And yes… there was a healthy supply of Tunnock’s Caramel wafers involved last week too.
Some things never change.
It’s been a real pleasure working alongside Jackie again after all these years.
Who knows… perhaps we should start a “Good Morning Leadership” show next?!
Who is the colleague you’d happily host a “leadership breakfast show” with?