Our Journey
Reflections, ideas, and thoughts
The malfunctions of funding (Gateshead inquiry)
The Gateshead Inquiry is seeking to understand how learning happens within organisations working amongst severe and multiple disadvantage. Last year, we interviewed 51 people across 33 organisations. One theme that kept surfacing was funding and the problems it causes.
The vital role for the community sector in the fight against climate change
“Charities need to become more like businesses.” - I would be the first to admit that many charitable organisations are not well run and would make much greater impact if their work was more focused. Nevertheless, I believe that we should both resist this claim and strongly argue the exact opposite…
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.
Is learning a luxury?
In Gateshead, we’re trying to understand how learning happens within organisations working in the field of severe and multiple disadvantage. We’ve interviewed 51 people across 33 different organisations. Our most worrying finding about how learning happens is that often it doesn’t.
Reject the professional, embrace the human
We need to be human beings first and professionals second, and avoid the accusation that we are involved in ‘disabling professions.’
Do we need to stop talking about leadership?
Why are there so many bad leaders? Why are so many of the people who lead organisations neglectful, distracted, disorganised, unfocused, distant, negligent, uncaring, incompetent, or even just plain mean? I’ve worked for a number of different organisations and I’ve been interested in leadership for a long time. With so much known about what makes a good leader, it can be baffling to witness how few examples of good leadership there actually are.