Capturing that circus vibe

It's a cliche that the ability to juggle is one of the requirements of any manager involved in public services - but few can claim to have the literal ability to juggle on their cv. Tim Woolliscroft, manager of community health charity Healthy Cross, is one such manager. As he explains in today's Society Guardian , his background as a freelance circus performer has given him an excellent grounding in some of the skills essential to his present role. Healthy Cross was set up 19 years ago by a combination of community members and health professionals, to tackle the high levels of poor health in one of the most deprived areas of north Sheffield, where people could expect to live, on average, 15 years less than those living in more prosperous areas of the city. Stress and depression, together with smoking, drug use and alcohol have taken their toll in this area, but Healthy Cross is tackling many of these issues, with a small team of part-time staff and a roster of volunteers. It has four main areas of work: health improvement consulting, training, developing volunteers and delivering activities to improve people's lifestyle. Woolliscroft has been the manager at the organisations for a year and faces a number of challenges, not least of which is that in the past a third of Healthy Cross's funding has come from the Sheffield PCT. Well aware of the likely funding challenges ahead, the organisation has recently started to deliver services for other organisations, such as training for other community groups, based on the expertise it has gathered from its own work. But one strength I have in this role is that I have had an unconventional role as a freelance, which actually gives me a better understanding of business than some community sector managers Woolliscroft acknowledges the challenges, but says he's fairly optimistic about his own organisation. "It seems clear that over the next few years a lot of community organisations will disappear and those that do survive will have a bigger workload, which will they will probably have to meet without additional resources," he notes. "But one strength I have in this role is that I have had an unconventional role as a freelance, which actually gives me a better understanding of business than some community sector managers." Woolliscroft didn't expect a career in the circus. He started out in urban regeneration. But a stint of voluntary work in the Balkans prompted an interest in circus skills, and that led to his time as a performer and to him setting up a circus company. For the past five years, he's worked at Swamp Circus Trust . Now, in addition to running Healthy Cross, he is also on the local strategic partnership health board. His roles mean he works not only with key people in the PCT and NHS, but also with volunteers from a wide range of different backgrounds. "If I bulletpointed my job description now, even though I am in a very different field, I think I have a very similar kind of role, but with a slightly different focus," he says. He also claims his background has equipped him well to work with both his board and his staff. "At the very beginning, I started a range of sessions for both the board and our staff to bring everyone together, to look at where we needed to go as an agreement, and we then agreed a business plan. That has been very important. I need to know I'm working from something that has the approval of both my staff and the board." Woolliscroft still keeps up his circus skills as a hobby, and also now does jive dance. "Part of the reason for that is that our organisation advocates physical activity, so it would be bad if I didn't find time for these things," he says. "But also, I'm happier and have more energy." That's a particularly good thing for a man who was diagnosed with lymphoma 10 years ago. "I was not very well for a while, but I am now in remission and I'm fine," he says. "But certainly one element of working for a health organisation is about remaining better informed on how to maintain my own health and wellbeing.