Our Journey
Reflections, ideas, and thoughts
Shifting Systems Through Honest Conversations
It was clear from the stories people shared that the systems we strive to change are not merely external constructs, but are deeply enmeshed…
Lived Experience and the Importance of the Heart
Our culture requires us to sever and imprison our heart, cutting us off from vital sources of experience and learning…
Learning About Learning
Something strange came out of the recent ‘Learning about learning’ event…
How has ‘learning about learning’ changed me?
I am still trying to make sense of what I've been part of for the last two days. It feels profound in ways I don't yet understand...
Doing the inner work: How do we tend to our elephants?
How do we support communities to be able to tend to their collective inner work?
Hiring Lara (5) - A White shirt makes an excellent comms lead
Magic happens when you build trust as part of the hiring process.. even if your applicants have some weird hang ups…
Hiring Lara (4) - Understanding 'Collective Impact' via pastry
Having autonomy doesn't mean 'doing it alone' - sometimes it involves pastry…
Hiring Lara (2) - The First Quest
In which we gleefully burn down the ‘hiring scripture’ and then have a little cry about losing the comfort of certainty in the ashes of the unknown…
Hiring Lara (1) - Unexpected Adverts
This is the story of how a video game helped to get me a job. It’s a story about Vikings, pyjamas, and fear - and it starts at 3.45pm on a Thursday…
The Facilitating Bravery Initiative (FBI): seeking disrupter partners
Do you think that ‘the way we’ve always done it’ is good enough? Do you, your colleagues and applicants love your...
Unlearning hierarchy
At CIA, we are asking the question, ‘what happens when you remove organisational hierarchy?’ How do things work and how does it look?
The Case for Anti-Leadership
When I became a charity CEO back in January 2010 there was no training manual. I had picked up some of the technical stuff over the...
Lightening the Burden of Fear
At some point in our lives, we all face fear. It is the feeling that makes us want to run, to hide, to stop, to not try, to give up…
Healthy Systems: Strong Relationships, Strong Foundations
When I look at the world, I generally see it in two ways (usually at the same time). On the one hand, whilst I don't like to admit my...
Sanctuary for the Troublemakers
I joined the Collective Impact Agency (CIA) back in April of this year. As I look back over my first quarter here I’d love to share some...
How "Lived Experience" fails lived experience
I find myself feeling quite uncomfortable about the way many of the discussions about ‘lived experience’ are playing out these days…
What Connects Us Makes Us Stronger
Last year, like many people, when lockdown hit I found myself switching from an office of 60-ish people to an office of one.
The thing that anchored me in my working hours was my manager. Every Monday we would use our catch-up time to just be human beings, she gave me space to just be…
We’re all getting recruitment wrong, but what can we do about it?
We all know what it feels like to be applying for jobs. Writing a job application can take hours, a 3 or 4 stage application process can take up a full day’s worth of hours and can last for weeks. Applying for work is exhausting - it’s demotivating, relentless and thankless right up until the point at which you eventually (hopefully) succeed…
Is it a flaw to feel?
Are some personalities better than others? Two summers ago, my colleagues and I were comparing the results and implications of our Lumina Spark personality tests. We were trying to understand how we could work more productively as a team in light of our differences….
Do we need to think differently about leadership?
85% of employees worldwide are either watching the clock, sleepwalking through their day or they are actively spreading negativity to others. I believe commonplace leadership practices are partly at fault. I believe we need a new and fundamentally different approach to leadership.