The tactics and mindsets needed for leading change

As we continue our learning journey towards being systems-informed, building upon our first blog post on context and roles, Melanie and I have outlined particular mindsets and the tactics that we are learning and uncovering so that we can progress towards being a more ‘systemic’ organisation.

While these mindsets are typically spoken about in the context of ‘systems thinking’, in the day-to-day of living, championing and challenging these can be really hard and each change is a significant shift in a heritage organisation set within the context of children’s social care.

By making these mindsets and tactics visible and reflecting on them below, our team want to remain conscious in our day-to-day interactions, to support each other in working in this way.

It takes a level of consciousness in our micro-actions, language and decisions and a resilient and supportive team around you to live these each day.

“In doing work that drives change, we need allies and a team — I have never felt that more than at Barnardo’s.”

This is a living document. We are open to comments and will continue to iterate and add examples to ensure we are painting a clear picture of what this looks like day to day. These also build upon our team principles we’ve previously shared on the blog.

Image: how our mindsets, values, roles and tactics can drive systems change

The mindsets and tactics to drive change

1. Comfortable with Ambiguity

Being comfortable with the idea that we don’t know the answer and being comfortable with holding space for ambiguity.

Our belief:

We believe with humility, and an ability to sit in ambiguity, comes a diversity of thought and openness to new perspectives that can help us all in our mission to support the lives of children and their families.

We must trust that many paths and approaches can be the right one.

Examples of how we are testing it :

• Senior leaders hosting ‘unconference events’ for colleagues to co-create the agenda, in real-time
• Saying to commissioners that we don’t always have the answer, but working up to a point when we can explore the challenge together
• Pick up on signs which show people are not comfortable with ambiguity, such as “we just need to bash it out” and “ we need to respond to the exam question” and find ways to address holding space for opportunities rather than fixed solutions

2. Curiosity and self-reflection

The rhythms and rituals we create to continually reflect, so that our learning can shift our course towards our mission.

Our belief:

We are driven by curiosity and believe that by being conscious of how our beliefs, context and personal behaviours shape our actions, we can better work together, find opportunities to improve relationships and create collective impact.

Examples of how we are testing it:

• Considering and challenging the language we use, both in our work in understanding the problem, and how we talk about issues
• Making time to ensure learning and self-reflection in all that we do
• Weekly stand-ups: at the start of the week we acknowledge what lies ahead, highlight any foreseen bumps and ask for any support needed

Not so unusual perhaps, but at the end of the week, we share our progress, what we learnt and give a score (1–10) to our emotional wellbeing — to constantly bring to the forefront how we as practitioners build supportive and open spaces.

3. Cultivating safe spaces

Enquiring actively, listening deeply and without judgement.

Our belief:

We hold up the importance of safe spaces to ensure all voices are heard and feel welcome, and recognise that inclusivity and plurality are foundational to us acting in our communities and the social care sector.

We actively shape the way we listen, meet and support each other, by recognising different needs and supporting others to share a voice by identifying our own assumptions, providing emotional safety to share hopes, concerns and challenges.

Examples of how we are testing it:

• When planning engagement with children, we ask where they feel comfortable meeting — from their home, to a neutral space or a service or council offices they are familiar with. They choose.
• We recognise we may get different responses in a conversation depending on who is accompanying the child
• We find ways to allow for a non-judgmental or informed conversation where a young person can express their views honestly
• We check back with staff and children on what we heard — asking “did we hear you correctly?”

4. Networked collaboration

How we are joining up people across the wider field, seeking patterns and nurturing relationships to enhance interactions.

Our belief:

We are but one of many. We cannot do this alone and seek to act together and build the strength of our relationships and communications.

Examples of how we are testing it:

• Nurturing relationships across organisational boundaries
• Questioning ‘sticking plaster’ responses
• Recognising and joining up patterns so that we target issues at the root cause
• Developing radical and new partnerships across the sector and beyond, with Leicestershire County Council in the Children’s Innovation Partnership, with Plymouth Council and other councils across the county as part of our core business, NGO’s, innovative businesses like IKEA.

Image: Co-design workshop in Leicestershire County Council with staff

5. Working in the open

The way we work, share our learning and our resources to assist others towards meeting their goals.

Our belief:

Sharing (the good and the bad, and resources) propels us collectively towards our mission of working in the open and being honest in our learning.

Examples of how we are testing it:

• Embedding digital practices of boardwalks, crits, blogging of processes into our partnership teams
• Supplying open-source work tools and resources as prototypes outside Barnardo’s

6. Resilience to catalyse and challenge

Nurturing our energy to be able to catalyse change and to challenge the way things are.

Our belief:

An awareness that we must act to create freedom and support to challenge the status quo, and the recognition that not all have that privilege.

Creating the freedom to challenge power dynamics, structures, processes and perceptions that reinforce the world around us — with the support networks that allow us to expend emotional energy to catalyse and challenge.

Examples of how we are testing it:

• Working openly with new partners and local authorities, we’ve invited new roles into both our organisation and external ones— which we think are necessary to challenge a change.
• By bringing a design team (something relatively new to Barnardo’s) to sit alongside and act across the existing structure, we operate at multiple levels to consistently bring new voices, views and people to the table.

Like flexing a muscle, these mindsets and behaviours need to practised and cultivated, every day, so they enhance our deeply held beliefs and core values.

In our team, we draw strongly on design and digital practices and the tactics that these practices provide such as prototyping, storytelling, visual sense-making, reframing of problems, testing assumptions and the use of different types of evidence and data.

We will bring these to life in our next blog post on design-led approaches in innovation partnerships.

Gemma is a Strategic Designer in the Barnardo’s Digital & Technology team. To get the latest updates from the Barnardo’s Digital & Technology team, subscribe to blog.barnar.do on Medium, and follow #FutureBarnardos on Twitter.

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