Our Impactful Values
Ethicality
At Lit Synergies, we believe that success and ethicality go hand in hand. Working with ethicality means that we are committed to achieving our goals with integrity, transparency, and accountability. We strive to create an environment where ethical considerations are at the forefront of every decision we make, ensuring that our actions not only comply with legal standards but also reflect honesty, fairness, and respect in the services we provide, and the example that we set.
By prioritising ethicality, we foster a culture of trust and responsibility, where every person feels empowered to speak up and act in the best interest of our goals. This commitment to ethical excellence drives us to deliver high-quality results while maintaining the highest standards of professional conduct. Lit Synergies strives to build a sustainable and reputable organisation that we, our clients, and our partners can be proud of.
Reflection
At Lit Synergies, we recognise the profound impact that thoughtful reflection has on personal and professional growth. Working with reflection means that we have built a process of pause, evaluate, and learn into everything that we do. This practice not only enhances performance but also drives collective innovation and continuous improvement.
By fostering a culture of reflection, we empower our communities to make informed decisions and align actions with ethicality. Here at Lit Synergies, we believe that taking the time to reflect helps us understand our successes and challenges, enabling us to adapt and evolve in a rapidly changing world.
Through reflective practices, we aim to build a resilient and agile service to our communities where learning and growth are integral to our journey. Together, we strive to create communities where every experience is an opportunity for insight and every insight is a step towards true synergy.
Empathy
At Lit Synergies, we understand that empathy is a cornerstone of a thriving and collaborative workplace. Working with empathy means that we prioritise understanding and valuing the perspectives, feelings, and experiences of others. This commitment to empathy fosters a supportive and inclusive environment where every person feels heard, respected, and valued.
By embedding empathy into our daily interactions, Lit Synergies enhances communication, seeks to build stronger relationships, and creates cultures of trust and mutual respect. Empathy drives us to be more compassionate leaders, better colleagues, and more thoughtful problem-solvers. It encourages us to approach challenges with a human-centric mindset, ensuring that our decisions positively impact our clients and our communities.
Through our dedication to empathy, we aim to cultivate cultures where kindness, ethicality and understanding are at the heart of everything we do. Lit Synergies strives to create communities that are synergistic and harmonious, where empathy is not just a value, but a way of life.
Steven's Story
Why this all matters to me...
So, if you'll forgive me, my present day actually starts around 20 years ago...
I studied English Language and Literature at Newcastle University in the North East of England and the plan, as for many English students, had been to go into teaching. On the most part, this went promisingly; I read a lot of books, completed some school placements, and I was successful in my application to move onto my PGCE and teacher training. It was during my PGCE, and on my first placement, I suffered from my first anxiety attack. Unfortunately, this happened in front of a rather scrupulous year 9 class, almost as soon as I stepped up in front of them. I vividly recall the cold sweats, the loss of vision, and muffled voices from the audience.
The school were frustrated. My tutor was concerned in equal parts for me and their reputation with the school.
I was ashamed.
At the time, it was assumed to have been the result of tiredness, fatigue, stress, etc. Per my GP’s advice, I took a bit of time off and then came back raring to go.
Next time, the attack happened whilst photocopying resources in a staffroom, just before my lesson was set to start. The room was pretty full, with pockets of teachers scattered around having their lunches behind me. I don’t recall the attack so well, just the sight of a paramedic above me saying my name after the fact. I’d hit my head on the photocopier pretty hard, which it seems had caused quite a stir. I remember being worried I’d have to do all that photocopying again, if there was blood on it.
Needless to say, my career trajectory took somewhat of a knock. I ended up dropping out of the PGCE – several questions were asked of my ability to stand up in front of audiences. After all, they told me with sage wisdom; “it’s not for everyone”.
Of course, what they actually mean - It’s not for you, Steven.
Yet, no-one could tell me WHY.
Fast forward and my new path took me to where I am now. Since being told public speaking wasn’t for me, I've stood up in front of literally thousands of people to speak publicly, delivered training sessions to groups of leaders at all levels, across the world, and across a variety of different industries. I've been able to move on, gradually, from where I was 20 years ago to where I am now because of my understanding of who I am. Over time, I've come to terms with my neurotype and, with this, my natural strengths. I've used these to develop learned capabilities to make up for my short-falls and allow me to achieve things that a highly introverted, reflective, neurodivergent individual might otherwise not be at home doing. In fact, public speaking, arguably a pastime that is one of the least associated with my high introversion, is something I thoroughly enjoy doing. I also happen to be very bloody good at it. I joke that it is my equivalent to thrill seeking where others might find their adrenaline fix in sky-diving.
It's assumed too often that neuro-awareness is to be confined to the world of neurodivergence and, whilst this is a very important part of neurodiversity, there is much more to it than that. By thinking of neurotypes as something for other people to worry about, so many of us fail to fully appreciate the nuances and details of our own way of thinking. This, for me, is a shame, because our neurotypes impact on literally EVERYTHING that we do. They are the processors inside of us. They impact our ability to adapt, to be resilient, to innovate, and to interact.
They guide us through learning new skills, adapting to new roles, achieving promotions.
Your neurotype will influence how you make new friends.
How you fall in love.
By understanding our neurotypes, we get to overcome barriers, to defy “it’s not for you” and to find joys in things that don’t come naturally to us, because we understand why they don’t come naturally to us, and we learn to understand how to develop the skills to overcome this.
So my point, if indeed I have one at this late stage, is that neurodiversity isn’t just about “them”.
It’s about you.
Learn about your natural strengths and how you respond to the world and people around you. This way, now consciously-competent, you have the opportunity to leverage your neurotype and chart your own path forward more efficiently, more joyfully.
And helping individuals and organisations do this is where my passions lie.
This is why I set up Lit Synergies Ltd.