The changing role of Councils

To date, Councils have prided themselves on keeping their communities safe. Their leadership style has closely matched that of a parent creating safety for dependents. In the good times the relationship between Councils and the communities they support has been peaceful and mutually respectful as dependents have felt safe and looked-after. Financial uncertainty has however created some strain in this relationship.

What is needed now however is for Councils to empower their communities to take risks in order to survive the double-dip recession and the impact of an ageing population, which means a signifiant cultural shift and a need to think differently about the Council's priorities. Councils need to embrace the fact that they are interdependent on the support and creativity of the communities they have to date supported to deliver a wider variety of services to meet their own needs. Their role needs to change from 'safety-provider' to 'risk-enabler', a change not to be underestimated (please refer back to the parent-dependent analogy)!

To reduce the risk, it is crucial for Council to be humble, use a more coaching-style of community leadership and be honest, open and transparent in the sharing of information so that communities can make better informed decisions.

What would make Councils feel more at ease with the changes required? I'd really welcome your thoughts and views.

RELATED READING:

Councils' exaggerated risk aversion puts charity contracts under threat -http://www.guardian.co.uk/local-government-network/2012/feb/27/councils-risk-aversion-puts-charity-contracts-at-risk

Letting go: how to set public services free from council control -http://www.guardian.co.uk/local-government-network/2012/mar/14/public-services-council-control

Thought of the day ... on the importance of asking the right questions

In today’s climate, no one has the expertise as none of us have been here before, yet everyone has the answer for themselves if they ask themselves and others around them the right questions.

Thought of the day ... on building your reputation

See yourself as a 'business', be passionate about your strengths, use them to benefit those who are appreciative of your support and can help build your reputation! Build your own positive future!

Understanding conflict in the workplace

When dealing with conflict, it is important to understand the reasons why relationships get stuck into ‘playing games’ from a Neurlogical and Psychological perspective. It is all to do with our Fight, Flight and Freeze (survival) responses, as in essence we are primitive beings living in a sophisticated society. In our pre-historic environments, treats came in the form of lions and wolves etc. which triggered our survival responses. Today it is often these neurologically-driven responses have that makes us, as human beings, distrust others’ actions and take them to heart.

As we all are driven by our neurological survival responses, it has a major impact on how we communicate and form relationships. Stephen Karpman suggested that, due to the way our brain functions, every person plays a number of roles. Linking my perspective with that of Stephen Karpman, it appears that the fight response in us brings out a ‘persecutor’. In the Culture Continuum model this is presented on the left-hand side as the ‘under-protective parent’/judgemental role. The flight response appears to bring out, what Karpman refers to as the ‘rescuer’. On the Culture Continuum this is represented as the ‘over-protective parent’/putting others first role. The freeze response brings out a ‘victim’, represented as the ‘dependent’/learned helplessness role in the Culture Continuum.

In relationships with others, these roles ‘feed’ each other into a vicious circle of distrust and paranoia, always leading to LOSE-LOSE situations. Example – a teenager lacks confidence to do something (victim), a parent may step in and do it for them (rescuer). The parent may feel overwhelmed and resentful (LOSE) and the teenager never learns and gains confidence (LOSE).

Some more details on Karpman’s Drama Triangle and examples of interactions:
http://coachingsupervisionacademy.com/thought-leadership/the-karpman-drama-triangle/

How to move to WIN-WIN communication and relationships by being more aware of our brain neurological responses:

• The key – make time to REFLECT on your own neurological survival responses. In any given situation, are you in Fight (judgement), Flight (overprotective) or Freeze (dependent) mode?

• Treat others as adults and trust them to make their own decisions and cope with the challenges they face, including mistakes

• When you feel your FIGHT responses kicking in (e.g. being defensive, judging the actions/behaviours of others, feeling frustrated, anger etc), step back, reflect and when ready acknowledge how the other person is feeling and responding (according to their survival response), separate the behaviour from the person and constructively challenge without judgement. Be a constructive, but critical friend and offer some 'tough love' where needed.

• When you feel your FLIGHT responses kicking in (e.g. feeling sorry/pity for others, indulging others in their poor judgements, wanting to step in to take over from others etc), step back, reflect and when ready acknowledge how the other person is feeling and responding (according to their survival response), ask coaching-style questions that help you understand them better and empower the other person to find their own solutions.

• When you feel your FREEZE responses kicking in (e.g. not knowing where to turn, requesting others to step in, pushing others away and help/problem-solve etc), step back, reflect and when ready take control and create a plan of action. PLEASE NOTE - This does not mean you have to be eternally independent. Instead focuss on inter-dependency. It is ok to ask others for their views as long as there is no expectation for being ‘rescued’ and you recognise you are equal in presenting your views. This sets the basis for mutual respect and collaboration with others.

It is important to acknowledge that we are driven by our neurological pathways and that in stressful situations it takes extra effort to challenge yourself into making time to reflect on how you communicate with and respond to others. The reassuring bit is that we are all wired in the same way and all fall into these ‘survival’ patterns.

I personally find it helpful to use Karpman’s Drama Triangle and reflect on the role I play in any interaction to ensure my actions and communications don’t ‘feed the game’.