Listening to Each Other: Inclusive Practice
The topic for this meeting was: ‘Why is it that some groups of people don’t get listened to properly, and what can be done about it?‘
The first speaker was Karin Woodley, CEO of Cambridge House in Southwark, London. She is the ‘thought leader’ for the Better Way on the theme of radical listening.
Our second speaker was Helen Phoenix, Head of Co-Design & Improvement at the South Yorkshire Housing Association.
Here are some of the key points made by speakers and in discussion:
Many organisations are structurally resistant to sharing power and control. The philanthropic tradition may be well intentioned but is often paternalistic in its practice and can stigmatise groups of people. We should guard against a ‘saviour’ mentality.
There can be a lack of cultural competence – poor diversity, at the front line of a service, as well as in management and governance, contributes to this. We need to employ different people.
We should be ‘person-led’ not ‘person-centred’ - inviting those who are outside to step in and take charge.
We need to shift our efforts from an equality agenda to an equity agenda, it was suggested. This means, for example, understanding the circumstances that enable or constrain people’s lives, and taking action accordingly. And wherever possible taking a strengths-based approach, not focusing only on the problems.
We need to invest in small locally-rooted neighbourhood organisation, and be willing to reach out more widely, including beyond ‘professional lived experience’.
When listening we should be aware of power dynamics. Where there is an agenda we should consider whose agenda this is, and be willing to discard it in order to listen properly.
We should ask rather than presume. We recognise that many organisations suffer from ‘fear of what we are going to hear’ – being challenged to do something they feel they cannot do. Rather than closing down the conversation there may be things they can do, for example acting as a bridge to those who can respond.
We need to practice ‘conversational leadership’ it was suggested, hosting discussions that can scale up from the personal to the system. Those in positions of power need to become a ‘river’ allowing the ideas of others to flow.