Circles of wisdom, energy and possibility

Recently four people met in a coffee bar in Leeds. They had a number of things in common. They all worked for the same NHS organisation. They were all passionate about transformational change. They wanted to see best cultures for staff and best care for patients - an approach that worked for everyone. The conversation started and coffee was drunk. The conversation led to a discussion of the value of creating a positive space where they could meet, talk and seek to inspire and support each other. When they spoke, words like 'energy', 'wisdom', 'possibility' and 'inspiration' littered the conversation. This was not some Pollyanna fluffiness. They had all worked with patients or / and  staff for years. They had also experienced meetings and discussions where they had been lifted up in inspiration, vision and hope. They spoke of how these coffee meetings could become circles of wisdom, energy and possibility.  What did they mean by this? What did these words  signify?

Circles are very interesting shapes. They have no start or finish. They all have a centre but all is equally spaced from there. Some of the most prominent phenomena of our world like the sun and moon have a circular shape at times. Circles occur again and again in history, art and designs. For the four the circle represented an equal meeting. It was about people,life experience and awareness and not roles and job description. There was no hierarchy. There was no planned speaker. One of those present described the' quality of conversation and able to challenge with respect. Its OK to have different opinions, we are potential, not an homogenous being.' It was also a living circle as there was a deep trust, listening, laughter and freedom which flowed between the participants.

The wisdom was something the four recognised as essential to work and life. They also knew that it came from deep places. It was an intuitive faculty and inner reflective process. Part of the discussion was about how so often we operate at a surface level. Sometimes that is fine but the challenge and need is to dive into the depths of life and our own reality. That's where we find the treasure, gifts and the wisdom. They had all sat in the past and heard from others deep wisdom which resonated powerfully with their being and soul. They wanted this meeting and others to be a place where wisdom could be present. In the words of one of those there,"It was about exploring the deeper things that touch the soul – the things that ‘make your heart sing."

The energy was what happened when people who care, connect and converse meet. It was something that connected the circle as well as drew each person in and held them there. One described it as 'a place to buzz'. The energy was of course re-energising. It made those there feel good about themselves, each other and life. Yet the participants knew they couldn't turn this on at will. They could only create the space and allow the energy to operate. There was no agenda, minutes or timescales. Yet ideas and creativity did flow. It was a place where ideas could be birthed and caught. One participant referred to 'allowing ideas to surface, develop and grow through discussion'. Days after the meeting those there were still thinking about themes and links from what was said and shared. It was a informal forum for people to 'connect, stimulate and grow' together. Or in the words of another of the four a space to 'support, encourage, stimulate and energise one another.'

Possibility is an intriguing word. The four did not meet to do anything particular ( apart from drink coffee). They met to be together, talk and listen. This was opening a space and see what happened in it. It was to be open to the new, to the possibility of insights and being enriched by the other. There was no guarantees in this meeting. There was a hint of something all present felt and knew was worth holding and seek to find again. Possibility is being open that from our own resources and those of others we can grow, live and shine. It's the firm affirmation that in human potential lie answers and assets. If we can create the circle for them to operate great things and good can occur.

You may ask why we know so much about the four mystery coffee drinkers. The answer is very simple really and you may have guessed it.. We were the four but we don't want to remain four. We would like other colleagues from Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust  to join us to seek this dialogue and depth as well as drink good coffee. We would also like in the near future to open this up to other colleagues in statutory, voluntary and other parts of the city of Leeds.

Circles of wisdom, energy and possibility offer much to staff and we will seek to encourage and support their development. It also offers the option to provide some freedom outside of the rigours and pressures of everyday to relax and create. If you are interested please get in touch (email john.walsh@nhs.net) and thank you for reading this. 

Anne McGee. Service Improvement Lead. Leeds Community Healthcare 
Lisa Falkingham. Service Improvement Facilitator. Leeds Community Healthcare 
Steve Keyes. Head of Organisational Development. Leeds Community Healthcare 
John Walsh. Support Manager. York Street Health Practice. Leeds Community Healthcare

 

Three Easy Traps

Lisa and I recently had a deep discussion about how we create the best cultures for staff and how services become best spaces for staff and personal development. As we thought over what we had written a number of key themes came to mind. One area we covered was how we easily fall into 'traps'. Traps are mental and practical illusions that hold us in a place of no power while taking all our energy and vision away. Traps are pretty awful things. They are workplace vampires and yet we can walk into one tomorrow as easily as walking through a door. In this post we look at three work traps and how we might escape and even avoid them.

The first is the not accepting responsibility trap. This is easily enough to do yet its effects are deadly. We may not be able to control our workplace or economic factors but there is one area where we can exercise dominion and that's with ourselves. Whatever the issue or challenge ( and we have many ) we can be responsible for ourselves. We can make the commitment to be the best we can be; the best nurse, doctor, support worker and manager. It may not be easy but it can be done. People who are bullied often feel there is nothing they can do about it. This is one of bullying's great triumphs - to make us believe we have no power or choice to change things. The giving up of power and refusing to accept responsibility for one's self and our responses is a trap that can bring misery for us and others. Once we accept the power to be or in the words of the theologian, Paul Tillich, 'the courage to be' we enter a new dimension of living. That is the dimension we call integrity. It's where we own our behaviour and are open to change, criticism and growth.  It's where the blaming others stops and the work for self development starts . We grow when we are honest about ourselves and seek to own our process of becoming. Paul Tillich also warned that, 'Neurosis is the way of avoiding nonbeing by avoiding being' . By refusing to be what we are and can be we open up the possibility of becoming ill.

The second trap is rescuing. This is a trap good and kind people fall into. We meet a client and want to 'fix' them. We want on some level to be their rescuer. The problem with this is that it doesn't work usually as people don't dance to our agendas. If it happens to work it still isn't the best way as it means us sorting people like models rather than people finding their own power and possibility. People caught in this trap can often end up in one of two states. The first is self defeat and blaming themselves. 'I can't do this. I've tried but I have failed.' The other is where the blame gets projected outwards to the client. 'They don't want to change. I have tried and tried and these people aren't interested.' What both states have in common is that they view clients as problems to be fixed rather than people with real choices. The journey model is a richer and more respectful picture of work. The journey model is where we walk alongside others as a positive and supportive presence not necessarily agreeing with their choices but still walking with them. This model rather than the 'fixing' rescuing one respects choice and offers the possibility of real change and healing.

The last trap is resigning. By this we do not mean resigning from work. We mean resigning from working for better cultures and approaches. Resigning from hope. It's easy to give up. It's also easy to slide into a 'It's only  a job' viewpoint. When we go down this road we lose our passion, our vision and our hope. It's a terribly depressing thought to think of someone who has lost their soul for the work they do. That their work is just 'doing the job' rather than building and supporting a service that heals and cares.  Everyday we have a hundred and one opportunities to be a wonderful difference for the better. To be the kind ward sister. To be the compassionate doctor whose presence and words bring calm to a patient. To be the service development worker who listens to staff and supports them through a difficult time. These are not extras. They are fundamental to good compassionate care and service. They are transformation and workplace wellbeing.

A part of any solution is awareness. For us to see and change our own attitudes and conditioning. To become aware of when we are not taking the power, when we are trying to rescue others ( rather than support them ) and when we are resigning to just be another worker rather than a person who can make a difference and contribution. As we write this the need for a  clear vision, firm values, good support and a willingness to honestly see the need for change and work towards it become apparent. This is a work that can take time, commitment and focus. It's also an escape from the prison these three traps represent and that can only be real freedom. These words may sound very dramatic. But then again they describe us moving away from giving away our power, boundaries and hope so they are, in our opinion, deeply true.

John Walsh. York Street Health Practice. Leeds Community Healthcare

Lisa Falkingham. Service Improvement Team. Leeds Community Healthcare