The challenge in the discussions around a local GDS and other such things.

The debate and discussion around a Local GDS is now over a decade old and still going strong (Phil Rumens has curated a list here) and yet we appear not to be any closer to an agreed way forward… I know I certainly disengaged with this subject for some time as It didn’t feel like anything would change and it felt like wasted energy when I could focus on the local council I was working in, after all change and transformation is hard work in one organisation let alone the whole sector and wider system.  

I’ve accepted though, that essentially I am and have been complicit in maintaining the status quo and yet at the same time, working really hard to change the very system I work in.  I suspect others may have been doing the same, maybe not, I’m not here to judge, just making a personal observation and making an assumption that others may have been in similar spaces…

I don’t believe we’ve not been able to resolve this due to a lack of ideas or options or recognition of the deeper, more fundamental problems facing the sector.  So why then are we pretty much where we were when we started this all those years ago?

My observation and I’m going to be intentionally provocative here, would be that as individuals and groups coming together we aren’t yet capable of holding the space for the inevitable tensions and discomfort that need to emerge by having such deep fundamental discussions.  In my experience and through observation we get caught up either agreeing too easily with each other (after all it is energising feeling connected with people), or defending a position we believe to be right (we might be motivated to get our idea to the top),  or unintentionally talking down other people’s ideas who may have traction (we may feel challenged by others ideas), or we might suggest to each other that the bold visions are too blue sky, unrealistic, say it will never happen (we may struggle to wrestle with the tensions that sit inside us), or even brushing aside and sweeping under the carpet and ignoring the deep truth in the sector that it’s just broken and we might be watching and residing over the steady and managed decline of local government (we might find comfort in painting a picture of the reality that is easier to accept). 

For me all of this is about how we have the conversation and how we understand what might be playing out for individuals in those discussions.  

There are three models I’m going to provide a very brief overview of that have helped me lean into having honest, productive and accountable conversations and I believe these will help those who are having conversations as well as those who need to have the conversations.

The first is advocacy and inquiry, the second is understanding creative tension and the third is working with polarities.

I’ve included very basic pictures and models for each one below to hopefully help people access / understand the tools a bit more, it is essentially about practising this and developing the skills to use them in actual conversations and discussions.

Advocacy and Inquiry:

Why this model: Through observation I think there is a tendency to only choose one of these approaches and I believe the debate would be enriched by helping create a balance.

Summary: Chris Argyris and Donald Schön pioneered the conversation tools of advocacy and inquiry. These tools allow for the right balance of meaningful dialogue and exchange among people in conversations/discussion. Advocacy is about how one influences another’s thinking and behaviour by stating one’s beliefs and thought patterns and inquiry is a process for understanding a person’s perspectives and assumptions by exploring his/her reasoning and conclusions.

Creating conditions for productive discussion: Balancing Advocacy and Inquiry
STATE and ASK

When working with groups or individuals with these tools, I’ve often been asked how does one start to develop their practice, as a result I created the following which is drawn from a variety of sources online and I simply summarised it into a simple table.

Opportunities for increasing productive discussion

Understanding Creative Tension

Why this model: Through observation I hear and see the tension collapsing as either people believe bold visions are unrealistic or too far fetched or that we are not acknowledging the current reality and situation and knowing where we are starting from.

Summary: Built on the concept of “creative tension” proposed by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in his famous “Letter From a Birmingham Jail,”  Creative tension is the gap between our creative vision and our current reality, this ‘structural tension,’ exists in all parts of our lives.

During any creative process, one has an eye on the future, where you want to go and you also need to understand and be clear on where you currently are.  There will always be structural tension in the beginning of a creative process, this is due to the inevitable gap and discrepancy between what you want and what you have. Peter Senge, The author of The Fifth Discipline explains that for many of us, Creative Tension is our source of energy and motivation.

However it can also be a burden and can lead us to collapse this tension as we perceive the distance between the future and now is too much…

All tensions seek a resolution and the creative tension is no different, we either learn to build the muscles that help us hold this creative tension (the distance between future and now) or we will choose to be drawn to one of the other…the risk here is one will either misrepresent the future or current reality to make it more palatable and manageable as a tension.

Working with Polarities

Why this model: I think what I am hearing in discussions, articles and posts is a number of polarities to manage, and we maybe in danger of simply seeing this as a problem to solve, this may help uncover aspects of the discussion that have been missing before.

Summary: Polarity Thinking, founded by Dr. Barry Johnson, over 45 years ago, provides an easy way to make visible and actionable what may have been hidden in the past. It is about tapping into the power of the “and.” and harnessing the ability to see and act from two very different strengths simultaneously.

Key points to note

• Inclusion and recognition of “and” thinking
• Polarities are not problems to solve
• 2 parts of the same whole – e.g. centralisation and decentralisation
• Important to map the context to understand where and how you can get best of both worlds to avoid having the downsides of just one side or worst case downsides to both

Example

Here is a very useful 4 min Introduction on Polarities by Jennifer Garvey Berger

As mentioned above these tools require and take practise and are proven to help increase the effectiveness of conversations and discussions. If there was a space in which we needed to do this, this is one of them…

The benefits of making time for connections

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

My last post acknowledged my gratitude for reconnecting with people who I had for various reasons lost touch with, This week I spoke with Nick Hill and much like the conversations I’ve had with others the conversation left me energised and connected to a deeper purpose.

I’ve known Nick for a long time and very much value his commitment and energy to make stuff happen and mobilise people and help people gather and network. It is a powerful and much needed contribution to the transformation of the public sector, maybe an unrated and undervalued aspect…This prompted me to think about why relationships matter and why connecting outward is important. It also sparked memories of the UnMentoring offer from LocalGovDigital which was essentially a hack of Nesta’s randomised coffee trials – the connections people made during the time it ran were incredibly powerful and long lasting.

One of my reflections and a key learning I’ve discovered over the years is that not only do relationships matter but more fundamentally it’s the quality of the relationships that matter most. This learning came to me through two specific but very much connected domains, the first through my experience in systems change and service redesign and the importance of relationships in particular in complex people based services and how the absence of a relational approach predictably causes duplication, wasted effort and frustration. The other domain being leadership learning and development where relationships between leaders and critically the relationship leaders have with themselves is the foundation for change and transformation at individual, team, organisational and system levels.

So as I look forward to this year and think about the important transitions that I will be experiencing personally and professionally, I am incredibly grateful for the quality of relationships I have, much like Sarah Lay has committed to making new connections, I also want to make a commitment to seek out and make new connections and investing in the very thing that unlocks deep transformation and change – relationships.

Rediscovering connections

People gathering on a beach – Photo from https://unsplash.com/@kimsondoan

Last week, I had the pleasure of reconnecting with a wonderful person, and that person is Sarah Lay. Sarah was one of the first people I connected to outside of Devon many many years ago when I was involved in the corporate web and digital space.

The great thing about talking with Sarah was that it sparked a reconnection to those times when we first met, speaking about similar challenges, similar hopes, and similar frustrations — imagining, dreaming, wondering what could be…. those kind of conversations, reflecting back to probably 2011/2012, are what led to the wider connections and strong network of people that eventually became LocalGovDigital, a network of professional people who all shared a similar purpose and felt under-represented and misunderstood, but all wanted and needed to see public services improve and get better for people and communities.

We reflected on what occurred for each of us in the last 8 years as both of us took a step away from the LocalGovDigital space in 2016, each choosing different paths and each growing, learning, and developing who we are as people. We both found it fascinating that we are both in a similar position of wanting to seek out and find the people with the energy to disrupt, innovate, and be radical in thought and imagine a new public service landscape. 

I can see that some of the people I used to connect with have moved on, some have moved out of the sector and have taken the steps into consultancy or have joined organisations who really do understand the challenges of the sector and are not the big consultancies who are not seen as really focusing on purpose and value.

With so many platforms for connecting now, it is hard to know, where and how to find people in the same way it was 10-15 years ago. When I joined twitter in 2008, it was very easy to find people who were talking about reimaging public services, not just in the UK but globally, it wasn’t populated with millions of bots. I remember attending UKGovCamp in 2009 in London and the first LocalGovCamp in 2009 in Birmingham and those events changed the way I connected with people…The people I connected with back then were and still are some of the most influential people in my professional life and there may even be a few who I’ve never met in person but whose perspectives and views stimulate and challenge my own. 

I remember last week in the conversation with Sarah, we laughed a few times, one of the things that made me laugh was when Sarah shared the memory of being at a GovCamp event and we simply pitched for a room with the title “reflective practice”, the idea being that anyone who may have needed a quiet space or some recovery space after the pre -event food and drink could use the room to simply sit and reflect. It was well attended and I remember we invented the idea of penetration testing hashtags and were just tweeting random things…but it also sparked connections and friendships.

So coming back to now, I shared with Sarah that when I started to think about reconnecting with wider networks, my first thought was LocalGovDigitial because of the history I have with it, but somehow it didn’t feel like a space I belonged anymore, I wasn’t directly in the Digital space, more in a space of organisational change and transformation, but for me it felt like I was an imposter…I suspect that says more about me than the network, but it didn’t feel right, so I have tried over the last few years to make new connections and find spaces to find new people, but they aren’t easy to find. Or am I just missing the obvious?

I must acknowledge and thank Dave Briggs here who has helped me get some perspective on joining back into things and I respect and admire Dave a lot, he has been incredibly influential for me since back in the day, almost holding a place of “he’s famous” frame. I suspect Dave will love and hate this comment in equal measure 🙂

As I finish up this post, I caught sight of a couple of posts by Catherine Howe. Catherine is another person who has been such an influence on me, someone whose views and perspectives really challenge my thinking and I love the way Catherine leads herself and others, it is hugely inspirational. Catherine’s posts are sort of linked to my reflections, but written far more succinctly and intentional. Her post on “so long twitter” resonates so much with the reflections Sarah and I shared that it is worth a read. and her other post, “Fantasy System“, is an invitation to bring together people for something different, new and radical…

So my final reflection on where to find people is linked to Catherine’s invitation, if the spaces don’t exist, then the only response is that one has to create them with others. This is really the key learning from all those years ago – if it doesn’t exist yet, then create it and see what emerges, after all it may just be the thing that generates the spark.

Chilling out in the igloo discussing blogging

Please note, this is not the real Innovation Igloo
Instead this is a photo by Augusto Baldera on Pexels.com

Good friends Dave Briggs and Nick Hill have been hosting a fortnightly “discussion” space online and each session the topic is different.

I’ve now attended 2, the first was about Service Directories and the most recent was about Blogging.

When I looked back on my blogging history, I surprised myself to find that I started in 2008 on this blog, 100% of all the early posts were nonsense but an essential path toward building and growing confidence.

The discussion was fun and invited people who do blog to share what got them started, and for those interested, provided an opportunity to hear the mistakes and pitfalls of others as well as the benefits. So I thought I’d share a short perspective on what I currently think about blogging and why it is a good practice to take up.

Finding Your Voice and Creativity

Blogging provides a unique platform for self-expression. It serves as an open canvas on which you can paint your thoughts, ideas, and experiences. It’s an avenue where you can explore your creativity, develop your writing style, and refine your thoughts. With every post, you’re inviting people to help you refine and challenge your thinking and ideas, opening you up to new and different perspectives, and yes there is a risk of creating an echo chamber, so reflect on how you might avoid that happening.

Building Connections and Community

On a personal note, when I started blogging in 2008 I felt like I was blogging in isolation, I was certainly the only one in my organisation doing it back then, but I’m grateful now I took that risk as it opened me up to new and different people who were all connecting through a shared passion around transforming local public services and that network and community was and still is incredibly supportive and provided constructive challenge. It created a safe space, allowing me to refine my thinking and sense checking stuff before sharing internally, I remember those early days, finding myself sharing documents, ideas etc and saying person X at council y or organisation z has already shared their views on this and saying this developed credibility and validity to those early ideas. Those early days were hard though as It simply wasn’t the normal ways of doing things, sharing and working out loud, so there were occasions where people looked and responded with confusion as they had no idea what I was doing and how I was doing it…
BUT and important for connecting to those people online and through the blog as well as social media, created a community and over time that grew, matured and looking back, I can easily trace the origins and seeds of the LocalGovDigital Network in those early connections and networks. It’s great to see how relationships are what has sustained the work, not just the topic…

Personal Growth and Self-Reflection

My main motivation in 2008 and now with blogging is to compliment and support my reflection and learning, Whilst my blog hasn’t been busy over the last few years, I have a ton of week notes that I’ve created. The practice has stayed with me even if the choice of platform has shifted and continues to shift.

I experience blogging as an introspective process, that encourages self-reflection which hopefully translates into learning. As you craft a post, sometimes you can feel paralysed by the blank page in front of you, but what kept me going and what keeps me interested and curious about it is I am essentially blogging for my own benefit, I found that when I tried to write for other people, I developed barriers and and needed the post to be “perfect”. Writing for myself, feels less pressurised, even though I know on occasion someone might read it, enjoy it or challenge what I’m saying. That’s ok, as the wider engagement by people is a by product of my own commitment to make visible my reflections.

So for anyone who is reading this, embrace that blank page and just start writing!

The first signs of autumn and looking ahead

As I’ve been cycling to work this week, I really noticed the colour of the leaves had changed and some trees had such vibrant colours that it warmed my soul on such a chilly morning commute. Its moments like that which you remember…I must take a photo before it changes too much.

I know that I’ve not blogged as regularly as I used to and I’ve been thinking about how I can start to rediscover or rethink my approach, until then, the sporadic nature will continue.

I wanted to share some thoughts and reflections around what has happened since coming back to work from a refreshing summer break.

I wanted to just share some of the activities that have stuck with me the most and things that have happened since returning from summer…it isn’t comprehensive – didn’t have time to pull that list together 🙂

• The main change is that one of our organisation change team (Julie) is working with me to better define the digital transformation picture for the county council…that has provided some really helpful support in a range of things.
• I’ve started Digital Coaching sessions with one of our Cabinet members (Cllr Barry Parsons), which simply formalises an informal catch up session approach we previously had been doing over the early part of the year. We spoke about making the conversations more visible to the organisation and making them more relevant and strategic so that is how it started – simple really. The first conversation started well with some really productive discussion around digital operating models, government as a platform, Buurtzorg and the Simon Wardley Value Chain
• I’m also working with procurement colleagues to start to engage suppliers around our digital direction and strategy. I’ve been invited to a provider marketplace day in November which will provide an opportunity to share some of our thinking and direction.
• I’m working with our Social Care colleagues to work-up the details of a strategic Digital session where we can explore what digital means and the opportunity across social care.
• We had a visit from colleagues at Suffolk County Council to share digital transformation lessons and will be exploring further opportunities for collaboration
• Mike Bracken came down and spoke to our Corporate Leadership Team and Heads of Service around Digital and the approach of the Government Digital Service around change and transformation. That visit triggered a range of responses internally (all positive) and has unblocked some minor barriers and opened up new conversations which is great.
•   I had a couple of visits to London for discussions with Local CIO Council, Socitm and other colleagues including some fellow localgovdigital folks (Dave Briggs, Paul Brewer, Ben Cheetham and Phil Rumens) around Place as a Platform. It was a fascinating session and we still have quite a way to go before we really avoid putting technology first in our discussions about Digital…the example from Adur and Worthing by Dave and Paul demonstrated that it is all about rethinking the fundamental operating model of the council.
• A visit to the treasury with some other colleagues to have discussions and explore the technical architecture of a digital platform approach to Libraries working  – this was something which our Head Libraries (Ciara Eastell) had asked if I could support as she is the current President of SCL (Society of Chief Librarians)
• I managed to fit in two coaching/mentoring sessions with my Chief Executive and Mike Bracken..I’m finding the coaching/mentoring sessions really productive and helpful and they are having such a positive impact on how I see myself and it has improved my confidence and I believe (although others may disagree) my outputs as well.
• A fascinating and insightful provider perspective day as part of the Far South West Commissioning Academy – This process really highlighted to me the challenges of procurement and commissioning and the impact on relationships and trust in this process. I’d always suspected as much but to hear the details and insights from providers really validated that.
• Further mind-boggling fun with the Design Council and in particular an awesome master class from Becky Rowe from ESRO – we shared our thoughts and reflections on the design council blog here
• Following the design council session we (myself, Kevin Gillick and Jo Prince-White) ran a couple of prototype user insight sessions for around 30 colleagues from across the council – it was a fascinating process to rapidly pull the workshop together and the feedback from the participants was great so we plan to run some more plus other workshops as we continue our learning through the programme.
• Outside of work – this week I was Elected Chair of Governors at my local primary school. I’m really proud to have this role and it is an exciting time for the school, we recently had a OFSTED inspection and were graded a solid Good and the report outlines some outstanding aspects which we are very proud of as a school. I now look forward to continuing to work with the other governors and the school and most importantly the children to improve outcomes.  I’ve been fascinated by the work of primary schools in particular for a while now and the work they do is such a great insight into how organisations can approach change as well as. In the last few years I’ve witnessed more design thinking in a primary school than in the wider public sector. I suspect the autonomy and relentless focus on children’s outcomes is a great place to start. In a recent conversation with the Head Teacher she outlined an approach to a piece of work around well-being with staff and every step matched the Design Councils principles of “Human centred” > “Being Visual” > “Iterative and collaborative”. It really is fascinating to see this in a different context. OR maybe my connection to design thinking is helping me see the wonder in everyday decision making of good and outstanding leaders.

The one thing I feel I’ve done very little of though is broader LocalGov Digital stuff, However my thinking around this is that unless you have a focus on local delivery and change you can’t effectively engage on a broader level as you end up disconnecting on both levels.  This is all part of the system leadership challenges we all face.  But my aim over the next few weeks and months is to properly re-engage with colleagues in that space as I missed LocalGovCamp which I was gutted about.

But I’m even more passionate and committed to providing support and leadership where I can to help Devon and the whole sector transform.

I’ve said it before in my last post but it is worth repeating here….

The primary purpose of public services is to improve people’s lives not to effectively manage the money, that is an enabler much like digital is, information is, data is and of course the people in and around the system are enablers.