Lurking with intent

Research conversations, with thanks and huge appreciation!

I want to thank my colleagues at C-Change this week; they've been so very generous giving me time, space and positive energy to help me move forward with my research. They are an inspiration, I’m always re-energised by their commitment to social justice and the well-being of people they serve. Such a distinctive culture, with its positive emotional tone, makes the organisation a great place to think about human rights in relation to accountability and sustainability. The purpose of my visit this week was to share a number of quite meaty ideas emerging from what I have observed and discussed over past months during visits to the organisation. I was hoping to release my internal dialogue, hear other people's thoughts, in order to move towards a more shared conversation over the next few months. For me it is really important to build a shared picture as far as I can. While as an author I'm aware of the power I hold writing my story, my intent is to describe the observable and relate the motivation – their story.

It's an odd thing, as a researcher you spend years reading about, thinking about and writing about your chosen area of inquiry, and the day comes when you have to share - it's blooming scary! It was a precious time with colleagues, a delightful and a rare opportunity to unravel the complex ball of thoughts I carry with me these days.  Not for the first time their great kindness was life affirming, their listening a generous gift... even if the intensity of it all was a little overwhelming at times. I thank them for insight, thoughts, many metaphors and much laughter!! I earned the name of compost, possibly my rich and fertile mind?? [not sure!]

I have visited numerous workplaces over the years and C-Change is very different - because people matter!  So it's an ideal place to explore innovative practice and inclusive culture. It's not unique, but it's unusual, in the way it was set up and how it operates today.  The culture is interesting - especially for a budding ethnographer.  It's always a pleasure to visit! The offices are inviting and the welcome warm. It's light, bright, and open plan, there's music playing and dogs pottering. It's busy, however there's a feeling of purpose not one of frenzy. You get a sense that people are invested in their work. I always feel that there’s strong community of practice – a shared knowledge base and a willingness to learn more. Even in the kitchen (my favourite place to lurk) people talk about things that matter. It is striking how much people question what they are doing – the intentionality and positive energy is palpable. It’s hard to describe respect, but I feel it at C-Change, it's one place I'm at my best - I feel valued for who I am.

C-Change is a unique in my view, not because it offers support to people with sometimes quite complex needs or specific requirements with care and consideration. But because people are central, and their support is provided in ways that are tailored to individual choice. Known by name, and recognised by face, each person is treated with respect. The community approach is honoured within a person-centred philosophy, allowing people more control over their lives. Choice, as evidence suggests, is so vital to daily happiness and long-term well-being. Relationships are also a central concern, viewing people as connected to place, through meaningful exchanges with friends and family within their locality. Again, evidence suggests this is good for individuals and groups, with the value of relationships an essential aspect of social capital. Stronger ties, increasing (w)health and trust within populations.

As a visitor it soon becomes apparent that workers care about the people they work for. The very phrase they use, ‘people we work for’, spells out the central place of their interest and focus within the organisation’s purpose. Unlike the use of ‘client’, it’s people that are central to all the work that goes on - not their cash. However, it's unusual to find people working together that are so willing to talk about the bigger picture: discrimination, inequality and society. It’s seems understood that proper care involves effective working, not simply more efficient use of time. People’s preferences really matter. Colleagues acknowledge that there is a far more human dimension to supporting people than a paid exchange. Getting to know the individual is imperative, and therefore matching relationships with sensitivity is critically important. As workers go into homes, they share a private and personal space, this in itself has a bearing on how they talk about interest and choice. This alters how things are discussed because the conversation does not take place in a market setting - it's not purely a financial exchange devoid of feeling.  In similar organisation I have witnessed a pull towards a consumerist ideology, where human interests are disregarded and working practice is defended in business terms: efficiency and cost.

The technicality of quantitative costing is certainly seductive, particularly where it is mixed up with hierarchical ideas of professionalism, but can it qualify worth of care. Equating efficiency with the bottom line often obscures a more alarming reality for those in receipt of services - poverty. What is possibly efficient monetarily may not be effective in achieving well-being outcomes that serve to strengthen the principles that fulfil a human rights agenda. Namely:

The broad number of choices needed to achieve happiness in the short term, to ensure well-being long term.

The wider agenda of interests a constituency [disabled people] may have to politically address group inequalities long-term.

Within some organisations, what is presented to clients [gilded certificates, formal dress codes and tight procedures] is more important than what the people in receipt of the service want from it. Unfortunately, where box-ticking and targets take precedence over the fluidity of human interaction, knowledge development and individual responsibility can be eroded.

To honour ‘voice’ of a constituency through an organisational story would highlight the worth and thereby qualify the value of service for a specified constituency more effectively. In simplistic terms what qualifies as worth in the following equation: 

Value = Cost + Worth

From an empowerment perspective, there is a greater chance that people's well-being will be forgotten in the pursuit of missing hours. The sensitivity to individual preference, and the expectation that these will change, is less assured where boxes are ticked and conformity is rule.  Thankfully, this doesn't appear to be the case at C-Change, as colleagues show an ease and fluency when expressing these ideas. Their heads are thinking, their hearts connected, to those in need of respect - the nuance is evident in our conversations .