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This #CloreSocialFellowFriday, we sat down with Oliver Standing to talk about collaboration, systems leadership, and his work as the Director of Collective Voice. Oliver is a 2019 Clore Social Emerging Leader Fellow.
Can you give us a little bit of background information about yourself and your organisation?
I’m the director of Collective Voice, which is the National Alliance of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery charities. We advocate for drug and alcohol treatment and support, and its transformational power that enables people to recover and reconnect with their families and communities.
The majority of the work we do is outward facing policy and advocacy work, so we advocate with civil servants, MPs, and ministers. This means putting in written submissions to government policy consultations, speaking at roundtable events and at conferences to advocate for the needs of people who use drugs and alcohol. Our other goal is to support the drug and alcohol sector itself so that it focuses on collaboration and good practice sharing. We run events and work on projects to bring people together and create shared positions and approaches to topics that people may hold very passionate positions on! To do this, we try to use a systems leadership approach which identifies a common core that we all agree on but leaves space around the perimeter for people to do their own work on issues of particular interest.
What current projects are you working on?
At the moment, we’re running a number of working groups that bring together national providers of drug and alcohol treatment with colleagues from the NHS, public health commissioners from local government, Public Health England, and people with lived experience to focus on a specific issue. One, for example, is looking at benzodiazepine use, which is a family of drugs that present a particular set of challenges and are often used alongside opiates and alcohol. We’re investigating if there is more we could do to support people who use benzos, develop good practice and ultimately reduce the harms that those drugs cause.
In June, the government is due to release an incredibly important independent review of drugs by Professor Dame Carol Black. As the national alliance of drug and alcohol treatment charities, we’re working with other national alliances and people with lived experience to prepare our response to the report and help shape how we believe the system should work and how we can work together. So, we’ll be making the case for what we need from the government, how we want to interact with Public Health England, and how we can be more ambitious to help more people in meaningful ways.
It sounds like you’re in a really crucial position in terms of pulling all of those partners together. Could you share a bit of wisdom about fostering a culture of collaboration?
If you’re an alliance structure, then by definition you’re working on bringing people together and looking for the overlaps in the work that different organisations are doing. In that sense, your role is to generate a safe space for collaboration, peer support, and discussion. I’ve found that collaboration is about relationship building on the one hand, and about a clarity of shared purpose on the other. As individuals, we can model that behavior by being open minded and bringing people in to talk about successes and difficulties. We can also be generous with our time and resources. If you want to collaborate with people, you have to understand them in their role as leaders, clinicians, or commissioners, but also as human beings. That really comes from spending time with people and listening in meaningful, reflective spaces. In my experience, a lot of what makes collaboration work is characterised as ‘soft’ skills or process, but without those relationships to glue everything together, the ‘harder’ things like governance structures or position statements tend to fall apart.
You graduated from the Emerging Leader Programme in 2019. Which elements of the course have stuck with you the most?
When you think of professional development, you perhaps think of pursuing a qualification, and when you think of personal development you think of something more human and emotional. While I attended the Clore Social course in a professional capacity, a lot of the learning was quite personal, and I really benefited from the reflective elements of the programme. I graduated with a greater understanding of my strengths and weaknesses as a leader and a greater sense of purpose, or at least a greater ability to try and develop a sense of purpose. For me the sumtotal of that was greater confidence in myself as a leader but also a human being within the social sector.
The course was also a doorway into the concept of systems leadership, which really resonated with me as a more realistic approach to leadership (this article lays out some of those key principles). Being a leader within one's own system is about working with other leaders and constantly balancing a commitment to one’s own organisation (and one’self) with a commitment to the wider system. It’s about stepping forward at points, but stepping back at others, and being honest about what we know and what we don’t know. I learned that it’s possible to reconcile a desire to be a confident and effective leader with an ability to say, “I don't know, I don't have the answer.” Unlocking other viewpoints is absolutely critical to this approach.
What are you excited to see in the next couple of years?
At the moment, it feels like on almost every level--as family members, as citizens, as professionals--we've interacted with the world through the lens of the pandemic. I suppose like any disruptor, it has shaken things up and caused some real challenges and inadvertently catalysed some positive change along the way.
As an example, during the pandemic, a lot of people have not been able to physically attend drug and alcohol treatment services and get support from a clinician or a counselor, which forced a move towards digital delivery of interventions through Zoom or on the phone. In many ways this has been a welcome change because it increases the convenience of receiving services and opens services up to more people, and I’m excited to see this expand in the years to come. There are lots of people who don't want to walk through the door of a treatment center because they don’t have time, or there's not sufficient motivation, or they feel it would be stigmatising. So, if you can be supported at home in your nice warm flat on a rainy afternoon, talking to someone over a cup of tea, you might be more likely to reach out and make a positive change in your life, which is brilliant. However, the new technology is not without its limitations, and for some people the face to face support is essential, and some service providers are finding it very difficult to connect with some people remotely. So, in the next few years I’m excited to see the sector hold on to the best bits of the progress we’ve made with digital services, without losing sight of the need for traditional support as well. We must move towards a broader, person-centred view of care and support which meets people where they are with just the right intervention and approach to catalyse change.
This #CloreSocialFellowFriday, we sat down with Leon Ward, a 2019 Clore Social Emerging Leader Fellow. We talked about his leadership development journey, hopes for the youth sector, and work as the programme innovations director at Future First.
Can you give us a little bit of background information about yourself and your organisation?
I've worked in the youth sector for over 14 years now, and I've spent a lot of my career working around governance and helping charities diversify their boards with young trustees. I’ve been the trustee of several youth organisations, and am currently Deputy Chair of Brook, which is the largest youth sexual health and relationships charity. I'm also the newly appointed programme innovations director at Future First, an organisation builds alumni networks in state schools, recognising that relatable role models are critical in helping young people realise their ambitions and provide the connections they need to achieve success.
Often, students know what they want to do as a career, but they don’t know how to get there because the jobs they want are filled up by people that don't look like them, sound like them or have similar backgrounds to them. We have a core product, which is a programme to get alumni back into schools to engage with students, typically around careers but also around well being, building confidence and resilience. A key aspect of my role is to showcase what alumni can give back to their state secondary school. For example, they might talk about their pathway to work, how they have overcome challenges and barriers, or run a homework club, or they might help run Sports Day or raise funds for a new music room. My job is to make sure we are continuously innovating in response to young people’s needs and schools’ goals, mobilising their volunteers to help today’s students.
Are there any projects that you’re working on at the moment?
On a daily basis, we help schools reach out to alumni who are living in the community or working away, and we use a mixture of social media and traditional media to try and get people to sign up. Alongside that, we help schools to work out and plan what alumni can do for them and how to use their expertise to relate classroom learning with life outside of school.
Core products aside, we’re also looking at some really interesting trials and innovations. One of the things I’m most excited about is trialling the role of alumni in primary schools and using local people to break stereotypes and open students’ eyes to the world of work. The alumni of primary schools include secondary school students who have an important role to play, especially during transition to ‘big school’. Our pilots have been really successful so now we just need to find a funder to help us get our great work out there. The Tottenham Hotspur Foundation are funding a piece of work with students in alternative provision, and Esmee Fairbairn is supporting the development of an exciting project to support Black boys (who are disportionately excluded), including alumni mentors and role models. It's really exciting because we have the opportunity to put time, thought, and investment into building programmes that make a difference for young people. We are focussed on measuring our impact and doing what we know works.
Can you tell us a little bit about your experience with leadership development and Clore Social?
My Clore Social programme was life changing for me, because it gave me the time to reflect on my life and career progress and think about where I was going next. The action learning sets, personality profiling, and understanding 360 degree feedback were all really formative parts of the course. Not least, my cohort was full of a really amazing group of people, a lot of whom I’m still in touch with. I have a couple of ongoing projects, partnerships, and conversations with some of the cohort as well.
I was 27 when I started the Emerging Leader programme, and I graduated when I was 28, and I think that it really came at the right time. Often, I think we have the tendency to coast from job to job without direction and just jump on the next thing that comes up. For me, investing in professional development gave me the clarity to be a bit more proactive and formulate a plan.
What are you excited to see in the youth sector this year and beyond?
Well, I’ll be damned if I hear the words ‘COVID catch-up’ in schools, because kids have been learning this year, even if they haven’t been doing their core subjects. They’ve learned about resilience, the healthcare system, and about their role as citizens by protecting older people and staying home, and so many other things. I think we do young people a disservice by underestimating the value of their learning this year, whilst at the same time recognising the need for education recovery programmes for those whose learning has fallen behind. For too many disadvantaged young people the gap between themselves and their peers widened, and we are working to help narrow it.
In terms of what I’m excited about, I think we should be ambitious, so I would like to see an alumni network in every state school. Are we going to achieve this in the next few years? Maybe not, but we have the research that shows that if a young person has three interventions from role models they can relate to, they impact that young person’s choices, aspirations, ambitions and engagement with their school work. Seeing ‘someone like me’ be successful is a powerful motivator for study and helps build the confidence students need. I think the education sector is going to go through a difficult period around COVID recovery. However, it’s an opportunity to pause and reflect on what we're teaching our students and how to capitalise on some of the good that has come out of COVID. For example, what is the role of digital in learning and access, especially around careers? Now, we know that it’s possible for you to be a kid in Grimsby where I’m from in the northeast but still access an online work experience placement with JP Morgan or Clore Social in London. The other crucial bit is doubling down on trying to level the playing field for poor kids, because we know that disadvantaged young people were more negatively affected throughout the pandemic at every key indicator.
I believe that we're going to enter a really difficult period, but there is also a chance to innovate and grapple with the social mobility crisis in this country. I’d be delighted to talk with anyone who has a passion to drive change, a commitment to young people, and who understands the power of role models and networks in transforming young lives. Future First is happy to collaborate to make an even greater difference in terms of outcomes for young people. So, please do get in touch.
Posted By Clore Social Leadership,
23 April 2021
Updated: 23 April 2021
This #CloreSocialFellowFriday, we sat down with Syreeta Allen, the head of student outcomes at Kings College London. Syreeta is a 2018 Emerging Leader Fellow, and is passionate about tackling structural inequality in education.
This #CloreSocialFellowFriday, we sat down with Neil Mapes, a 2010 Clore Social Leadership Fellow, to talk about career transition, peer support, and his work as the manager of Green Hive.
Tell us a little bit about your leadership journey and current role.
I was part of the very first Clore Social fellowship cohort, back in 2010. When I started, the organisation that I founded, Dementia Adventure, was in its infancy. In August 2019, after working there for 10 years, I decided to hand the reins over to somebody else and relocate my extended family to Scotland for a different quality of life.
Now, I'm now the manager of a charity called Green Hive, which is based in the town of Nairn, the third largest in the highlands. Green Hive is a local environmental and community development charity. Our overarching mission is to make Nairn a happier place to be for its people and for the environment. All of our activities are designed around individuals in the community, and taking action to improve the environment and make themselves feel better at the same time. As a community organisation, we are run by the local community, for the local community, so all of our projects come from local needs. Because we've got a relatively small geographical area, we're able to really make an impact.
What has the transition to your current role been like?
I started the role on the first day of lockdown last year, which was a very challenging and unusual time to start a new job. However, it has been a great year despite the challenges, and we've been able to do a lot of things that we wouldn't have had time for in a ‘pre-Covid’ year. For example, we launched a new website, and we’ve converted fact-to-face activities to starter kits and webinars. We’ve also redesigned a lot of our group activities. Now, instead of doing large beach clean ups, we send people bags, grabbers, and gloves so that they can go and pick litter individually when they're taking their exercise.
We’ve also set up a new online shop, where we’re able to sell some of the items that our volunteers make with recycled materials! Our handcrafted items include clocks and coasters made from milk bottles, and Aprons and Bumblebags made from repurposed fabrics.
Can you tell us a little bit about your experience with career transition and changing sub-sectors?
Before moving to Scotland, I had always worked in the dementia sector. So, when I was initially thinking about leaving Dementia Adventure and trying to put it in the best possible position to continue to thrive, a mentor told me that I was going to have to look for a dementia job in Scotland because people associate my expertise with dementia. A lot of the conversations I had with people almost made it seem like it was impossible to change sub-sector, especially in your late 40s.
But actually, one of my passions is outdoors and the environment, and a lot of the things that we did at Dementia Adventure were to get folks in contact with nature and with the outdoors. So, working for an environmental charity actually tied really nicely into my passions and my expertise. Rather unusually, we moved to Scotland primarily for a quality of life change, and the job came second. So, once we moved here, I volunteered for a couple of organisations, and Green Hive was one of them. And then a few months after that, the job came up, and I jumped at the chance to apply.
Since starting the role, I’ve found that there are actually a lot of parallels between starting up a social enterprise that was focused on folks with dementia and starting up and building a social enterprise and a charity that's focused on the environment. You still need fundraising systems and financial systems that can cope with growth, you still need a really good core staff team, and you still need to support volunteers in the same way. For me, the key is that I’ve come across another job that I’m passionate about, and the transition has been really fascinating and really refreshing. I loved my time in the dementia sector because of my family history of dementia, but at this point in time, climate is such a pressing issue and Environmental Action must be at the top of everybody's agendas, so to have a job in this sector now feels like the right time to have made the change.
Since graduating from your Clore Social Fellowship in 2010, which elements of the course have stuck with you the most?
Perhaps most importantly, the fellowship gave me the confidence to bring ideas to fruition. It’s one thing to have an idea, but it’s another thing to follow through and do something about it. It is another thing to successfully hand over that organisation and transition out to a new role.
The fellowship also gave me a network of peers that I still draw on today. I’m now the chapter lead for the Clore Social north of Scotland chapter, and one of the things that I learned on the programme was the importance of support networks that aren't necessarily tied to your current role or organisation, and there are some really dynamic, amazing organisations in fairly remote parts of northern Scotland. Now, under the banner of Clore Social Leadership, I’m excited to build up leadership support in this region and create a space where we can all talk about shared issues.
Looking to the future, what are you excited for this year?
There are about 105 active volunteers with Green Hive at the moment who haven’t had the chance to come to the workshop in recent months. Now that we’re coming out of lockdown, we’re really excited to get them back into the workshop. We’ve made a lot of improvements to the space over the last year, including brand new double glazed windows, LED lighting, and a new air-source heat pump heating system and a new e-bike and trailer. So, not only can we welcome them back, but we can welcome them back to a warm, well-lit community space.
We’re also looking to take on a shop on the Nairn high street in the centre of town to engage partners like schools, businesses, and other charities in climate activity, all working towards a net-zero and zero carbon approach. So, in the next year, we're hoping to identify the shop and secure the funding for that as well.
This #CloreSocialFellowFriday, we sat down with Dr Wanda Wyporska, a 2020 Experienced Leader Fellow, and the executive director of The Equality Trust.
Can you give us a brief background on The Equality Trust and your history with the organisation?
I joined The Equality Trust in 2016. During that time, inequality has become a more pressing issue in public consciousness, and the Trust has also grown in terms of its profile and reach. So, it’s a very exciting time to serve as executive director, and I liken my experience to an apprenticeship where every year I’ve been able to focus on different aspects of the role, and have grown my leadership skills immensely.
We know that inequality impacts people, not just during the pandemic, but throughout their lives. We also know that there currently are high levels of inequality, as well as higher levels of violent crime, poor health, poor educational attainment, poor mental health, increased imprisonment, and increased crime. All of these things are linked, and we must tackle inequality as a root cause rather than tackling these issues in silos.
What has it been like to lead the charity during the past year?
A lot of the work we do is face to face: we have about 20 local groups around the country, and we run campaigns to raise public awareness. This year, like many organisations, we have had to adapt, rethink, and reorganise to bring people together without being face to face. I’m really proud of my team, because we were able to do that really quickly despite navigating the initial challenges of working from home. Whereas we once would have had 80 people in a room, now we’re able to have 800 people in a virtual webinar. This increases not only the amount of people, but also the geographical reach of programmes, which is really important because often charities can be very London-focused.
For our young people's project, we’ve also been able to set up a website for them to share their artwork on race and experiencing inequality as young people, which you can find at imnotyour.co.uk.
Can you share a little bit more about your experience on the Experienced Leader programme, and how it has helped you on your leadership journey?
I have an inordinate love of learning, whether it's crafts, academic subjects, professional development, or anything else. That being said, sometimes the timing has to be right for you to accept learning, and although I've done a lot of management courses along the way, it was only really the last year and with Clore Social that I felt that I was in the right space to receive that learning and that I was hitting the ground running.
One of the most powerful aspects of the course was receiving feedback from a cohort of peers who were having the same problems and asking the same questions as I was. Through that process, I gained a lot of self-awareness, and realised that sometimes you need to hear someone else articulate what you’ve been struggling with to really process it.
The opportunity for self-analysis has also been extremely helpful, which was a bit surprising because I’ve always railed against analysis of personality and character traits and putting people in boxes. However, over the last year I’ve done a number of those psychometric tests, and they’ve given me the chance to reflect on myself as a leader, even if that means coming face to face with uncomfortable truths.
What is your relationship with authentic leadership, and is being an authentic leader something that you are conscious of in your role?
I think authentic leadership is absolutely crucial, and I don't think there's any other way to lead when you're CEO, because you are so closely identified with the organization that you become the ambassador of the organization. However, there are good sides to that and there are bad sides. When you practice authentic leadership, you have to be very mindful about what you're prepared to share and what you're not prepared to share. For those of us who are women, or black, or Asian, or LGBTQ+, or disabled, many of us have an additional job, which is not just being CEO of our organization, but also being a spokesperson on those various issues. So, I think we have to be careful to protect ourselves and to be very clear where our red lines are, and to be clear when we want to take on that role of spokesperson, and when we don’t. I've made a conscious decision to talk about race, gender, and class, and I have no problem with sharing a lot of my experience, but we mustn't assume that everybody is prepared to do that. A lot of people might just really want to do their CEO job, rather than being such an authentic leader that their whole self is out there in the spotlight all of the time.
I spent many years in jobs where my voice and perspective wasn’t heard, so I enjoy having a platform to be heard. I also feel the responsibility to raise voices that aren't often heard, and raise points which aren't often heard. At The Equality Trust, we try to use our influence in order to give other people a voice in all of our work.
Looking forward, what are you excited for in the future?
I'm currently building a new team and recruiting more staff because The Equality Trust is growing and blossoming, which is wonderful to see. This year, I’m really looking forward to putting what I've learned in the Experienced Leader course into practice with this new team.
I would also love to see the charity sector really come together. One of the things that we are doing is setting up a coalition of organizations in the sector that want to tackle structural inequalities. We really urge organisations to start to think about what they're doing in terms of tackling the root cause of inequalities. Collaboration between the right partners takes a lot of work, but can produce huge results, because we become more than the sum of our parts.
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