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Posted By Clore Social Leadership,
05 June 2017
Updated: 22 October 2020
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About halfway through my Clore Social fellowship, shortly before the birth of my third child, this was the phrase I muttered to myself as I posted on a local parents Facebook group about setting up a ‘baby bank’ – where people could donate their great quality, unwanted baby clothes and kit, in order to pass them on to other local families in need.
Little did I know that 18 months on, I’d be running a fully-fledged charity, with two branches, and a third in the pipeline. In our first year, Little Village helped nearly 400 families across Wandsworth and Camden, and we’re on course to more than double that this year. This 4 minute video tells you more about our work and what’s important to us.
Little Village on Vimeo.
Little Village grew, without question, from the things I learnt during my Clore Social journey. I love a good catch-phrase (see: Start by starting) and these are the ones I’ve lived by since launching the charity.
What would you do if you were ten times braver?
This question, posed to us on our first residential, remains one of my favourite provocations. I still ask it every time there’s an important decision to be made about Little Village’s future. Asking this question gives me permission to be authentic. It reminds me that I don’t want to play safe, I want to play true and aim high. It has led to having the difficult conversations rather than brushing them under the carpet. It has given permission for my dreams to breathe, and to guide Little Village’s evolution.
Keep things simple, even when they’re not
One of the things people often say to me about Little Village is “how great, that’s such a simple idea!”. I nod my head while thinking ‘if you only knew the half of it’. I’m someone who loves complexity and has spent most of my career working on abstract concepts in the thinktank world. And yet building Little Village as a practical, approachable, friendly organisation has been one of the great pleasures of this journey. I’ve seen how the simplicity of what we do, underlined by our brand, draws people to us. It’s very powerful.
Harness frustrated female energy
One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced is juggling Little Village with 3 kids under 5. I’ve worked some pretty interesting hours, my kids are definitely better acquainted with CBeebies now than they were, and I’ve pulled in a LOT of granny favours. Little Village is powered by an incredible network of women who are skilled and talented and yet can’t find work that fits with their family life. That’s crazy. We work with the grain of people’s family needs. None of us work more than a 3 day week; some of our volunteers bring their children with them; we offer flexible shifts – and we have access to talent that extends well beyond our core business as a result.
So – start by starting. Putting one step down almost inevitably leads to the next step – so be ready for the consequences, and take great joy from the journey.
Visit Little Village to find out more about their work. Share your comments below, or you can join the conversation with Sophia on Twitter.
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Posted By Clore Social Leadership,
04 April 2017
Updated: 04 December 2020
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‘How does social change happen?’ This question was posed at a leadership training residential which I attended as part of my Clore Social Leadership fellowship.
It stuck with me. I realised that in some form it has fascinated me since I was teenager studying history at school: How does change happen - any kind of change, but particularly major societal or political change?
The Clore Social programme gave me a chance to re-examine my thinking around change, and particularly the role leaders play in working for positive social transformation.
Margaret Wheatley, in her writings on leadership, suggests: ‘We live in a world of complex systems… These systems are emergent phenomena – the result of thousands of small, local actions that converged to create powerful systems with properties that may bear little or no resemblance to the smaller actions that gave rise to them. These are the systems that now dominate our lives; they cannot be changed by working backwards, focusing on only a few simple causes.’
In my longer provocation piece I consider the implications for leadership if the causes of radical societal change are the result of systems that generate their own results. How can we find agency and have an impact for positive change in such a complex world?
I suggest that the election of Donald Trump and Brexit are the consequences of the function of complex systems – systems that are failing. These events are the result of intricate feedback loops that arise despite – perhaps even because of - concerted efforts of those working for change in the other direction.
If this is the case, what can our response be?
Drawing on the work of system thinking experts, I propose that there is a need for a different kind of leadership, one that no longer relies on the emergence of ‘heroes’, the strong leaders that we often idolise. Instead we need leaders to act as hosts to facilitate others to find solutions. We need leaders who genuinely embrace wider perspectives. We need leaders who are exactly the opposite of Trump.
I also consider Donella Meadow’s suggestion that the most effective intervention in a complex system is the power to transcend paradigms and that the way to achieve this is to refuse to accept the status quo, and instead to loudly and publicly assert the reality of a different model. Instead, we often find ourselves ‘Diddling with the details’ as Meadows calls it, tied up with the exact details of what impact this or that action will have, justifying this to funders and regulators.
Here we can aspire to be more like Trump: Trump didn’t care about the existing paradigm and certainly not about details. He asserted a new reality, and claimed it. Woefully, this reality is built on hate, exclusion and a version of human nature that believes in putting up barriers not building understanding.
I suggest our response needs to be on a similar level. What could we do, how would we act, if we genuinely believed that we are not constrained by our existing paradigms? What could we create if we exercised empathy, cared less about being a hero, and started to behave as if equality and inclusion were already the reality? Let’s start to claim that new reality.
Ruth is a 2016 Clore Social Fellow; she developed this blog as part of her Fellowship. You can download her full provocation piece here. Share your comments and views below, or join the conversation with Ruth on Twitter. You can connect with her on LinkedIn.
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Posted By Clore Social Leadership,
03 April 2017
Updated: 04 December 2020
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As part of her 2016 Clore Social Leadership Fellowship, Amelia Viney developed a video blog where she explores what could be done to unleash the power of young people to help them transform their worlds.
Amelia said:
‘We all want young people to have the power to influence decisions about their lives, but the vast majority feel excluded from participating in our democracy. Not having a voice in the big conversations that directly affect their futures - like housing, crime and education - has a dangerous impact on confidence and aspirations of these young people. It also means that valuable voices are missing from the debate, leading to policies and provisions that fail to reflect the diverse experiences and interests of all our communities.’
Amelia debates these issues in her vlog, which includes some of the young people she works with at The Advocacy Academy. Join the conversation with Amelia on Twitter.
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Posted By Clore Social Leadership,
09 November 2016
Updated: 04 December 2020
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This week saw the publication of my Fellowship research Collateral Damage. In it, I have sought to shine a light on the hidden problem of children who witness police home raids. These children, whose parents or siblings have committed crimes, are the unseen victims of those crimes, often left deeply traumatised by the raids, and overlooked by the police.
In the report I have sought to make clear recommendations to key groups to encourage them to take some simple steps which have the potential to bring about significant change. But in those recommendations are some important lessons for leaders seeking to bring about change in a far wider range of sectors.
1. Easy does it
In San Francisco, inspired by the testimonies of young people, the Chief of Police has adopted a trauma informed approach to all arrests. This means that the police now do some very simple things to reduce the traumatic impact on children such as getting down to their level to talk to them or, when possible, giving the offender the chance to say goodbye.
It is easy to be lulled into believing that, because a problem exists and is deeply entrenched, only those with the ability to develop complex and intricate responses will be able to bring about solutions. But sometimes the most powerful responses are simple and straightforward. They just need people willing to get on and do them.
2. There's no I in team
Following on from the report, key charities such as Pact and Banardos, have made a commitment to working in partnership with their local police forces to develop solutions - such as the police providing families with contact details for those charities following a raid.
Leaders seeking to bring about social change can't do it in isolation. We must be able to work in partnership, across sectors and within sectors with 'rival' organisations. This means moving beyond the blame game and developing shared goals. And this will often require leaders who are willing to not take the credit or get all of the recognition they might deserve.
3. Talk isn't cheap
It almost defies belief that until now we have been willing to turn a blind eye to the harm being done to the children and siblings of offenders - and to the impact this has on society as we increase the likelihood of them becoming swept up in the currents of criminality. But it does not take many conversations on the topic to realise that this is because as a society we have a deep-rooted belief that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. And unless in the longer-term we tackle this narrative, we will never see really systemic change in how these children are treated.
This is the case for many of our most entrenched social issues, yet 'communications' is still seen by many leaders as an afterthought, the fluff to get around to when the real work has been done. But through communications - changing mind-sets, raising awareness, and bringing together stakeholders - we have a chance to move beyond sticking plasters to long-term solutions.
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Posted By Clore Social Leadership,
18 October 2016
Updated: 04 December 2020
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One of my favourite leadership quotes from Peter Drucker, management is doing things right; Leadership is doing the right things - sums up how I see leadership. Leadership is often about tackling difficult but pertinent issues. With this in mind, my Fellowship research explores why social leaders must ensure they build inclusive workplaces which value diversity.
Inclusive workplaces welcome diverse talent; they do not discriminate against individuals on any basis including age, disability, sexual orientation, marriage, gender, race or religion. Such workplaces are important because they have been proven to contribute to social integration (social integration being the extent to which people interact with others who are different to themselves).¹
My Fellowship research involved interviewing five inspirational leaders who were identified by peers and colleagues as having consistently nurtured inclusive environments: Julie Bentley - Chief Executive, Girlguiding; Sharon White - Chief Executive, Ofcom; Simon Blake OBE - Chief Executive, NUS; Sue Owen - Permanent Secretary, DCMS and Tunde Ogungbesan - Head of Diversity, Inclusion and Succession, . Inclusivity lessons from these leaders were highlighted for others who may seek to emulate them.
As we enter uncharted waters of what a ‘hard’ or ‘soft’ Brexit might mean for the social sector, our work must continue to tackle the root causes of societal discord in a multicultural society. Unquestionably, as social integration has never been more important, there is a need to ensure that our work and workplaces are more inclusive.
Leaders who wish to champion inclusion must avoid ostrich strategies which ignore the following:
- That diversity is still absent in some of our workplaces.
- Efforts to promote equality and diversity should aim to nurture inclusive workplaces.
- Attempts to nurture inclusion will falter without measurable targets to evidence tangible progress.
- Inclusive workplaces are critical to social integration.
On diversity:
Workplace diversity is about ensuring that people who work in an organisation are representative of the wider society². Even though progress has been made over the past few years, the reality is that certain groups are still excluded from many UK workplaces.³ As social leaders are people who lead change with a social purpose, the social sector should lead in ensuring that workplaces truly reflect wider society.
On inclusion and social integration:
With more organisations working to promote equality and diversity in the workplace, recognition must be paid to the fact that strategies which focus solely on championing equality and diversity are ostrich strategies as they fail to acknowledge the importance of inclusion.
As a first generation immigrant, workplaces have played a vital role in my social integration experience. An openly gay colleague and a manager - who just happened to have cystic fibrosis – were two amazing people who exemplified why difference should be valued and how talent was not monolithic. However, it was the fact that the working environment valued ‘difference’ that engendered a cohesive team.
A clarion call to avoid ostrich strategies:
While compelling evidence shows that a diverse workforce boosts innovation and stimulates productivity , my Fellowship research distinguishes between organisations that focus on developing a diverse workforce, and those that strive to nurture inclusive workplaces. This is because the latter not only makes good business sense, but it facilitates social integration and social mobility.
In today’s world, nurturing inclusion goes beyond being a ‘nice to have’ business consideration because inclusive workplaces are critical to social cohesion. Despite the numerous challenges, workplace inclusion and social integration remain lofty ideals that we must aspire to. Leaders in the social sector should be exemplars of good practice.
Visit here for my Fellowship research which draws on inclusivity lessons from the five leaders interviewed to make eight practical recommendations for other leaders and managers seeking to nurture inclusive workplaces which contribute to social integration.
¹ ³ Social Integration Commission 2014. How integrated is modern Britain? Available at: http://socialintegrationcommission.org.uk/SIC_Report_WEB.pdf
² Inclusive Employers. 2016. Inclusion, Diversity and Equality. Available at: https://www.inclusiveemployers.co.uk/about-us/inclusion-diversity-and-equality
Hewlett, S. A., Marshall, M., Sherbin, L. 2013. How Diversity Can Drive Innovation. Harvard Business Review (online). Available at: https://hbr.org/2013/12/how-diversity-can-drive-innovation
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