Pegs Bailey, Third Sector Employability Partnership Manager blogs for the TSI Network, reflecting on the challenges of embracing a continuous improvement mindset and what helps us stay open and curious.
Before I begin this blog I want to be clear, I am ALL ABOUT continuous improvement:
‘Everyone makes mistakes, it is through these we learn’, I say to my kids in my good parenting moments.
‘I/we/you messed up. Again. Let’s laugh together and through this grow’, I say to my pals, preferably glass of wine in hand.
And of course, in my work, I talk about continuous improvement at work frequently, it is kind of foundational to what I do.
So, in this context I was delighted that the national Third Sector Employability Forum (TSEF) Executive shared two important pieces of research the other week: one presents their own findings to a third sector survey on employability funding in Scotland; the other, by de Montfort University combines elements of survey data with interviews and academic analysis.
Both reinforce many of the messages that have been shared before: No One Left Behind is landing very differently in different parts of Scotland. There is a lot of good stuff happening. There is also still a way to go.
I am not going to discuss the research findings here (that is for another day). You can read both papers for yourselves at the links below. Both are worthy of your time.
This blog is about something more personal.
Because to my surprise, I found it hard to see written down in black and white, critiques of parts of the system, like Third Sector Interfaces (TSIs) in the de Montfort research, even though I had heard them before.
My ‘continuous improvement mindset’ morphed to a desire to control the message and then I watched myself and colleagues lean into a ‘demolish or defend’ approach almost instantly. I wanted to control the comms and point out everything that was already underway to address the critiques in the research (defend). Others questioned the methodology and therefore validity of the research (demolish).
Neither attitude allowed for engagement with the learning on offer.
And if this was how I reacted. How must it feel if you were from Scottish Government, one of the LEPs, or the TSIs who might feel critiqued? Oh. Dear.
Eventually I realised I was not living my values. I put my Big Girl Pants on, shared the research with TSI colleagues and facilitated a conversation, in a safe space, to discuss the criticisms. To my delight people took the feedback on board fairly: they discussed what resonated, the things that were already underway and those we could do more of in response. They neither defended nor demolished. I was relieved.
All this has led me to think about what factors help us stay open and curious in the face of criticism. How do we avoid the seemingly instinctive lurch to ‘demolish or defend’?
Taking on feedback is tender work. Which gets harder when we are feeling under pressure and stressed.
- So firstly, it might help to acknowledge that reality is not perfect, we are not perfect and the system within which we are working is not perfect. Can we take away the pressure to be perfect? Phew, yes please.
- Secondly, relationships and safe spaces where it feels okay to acknowledge the imperfect and look to the learning matter. Small groups, confidentiality and giving time for reflection prior to discussion all seemed to help in this context.
- Finally, it is useful to think about sensitivity and the tender nature of this work,when sharing criticism. The TSEF Executive report contains similar critiques, but the tone felt more constructive.
As a colleague pointed out earlier this year, good teachers don’t go into the classroom and spend all their time telling kids what they are doing wrong. 99% of their focus is in explaining how to get it right. If we want to learn, this is where our attention needs to be.
So am I still all about continuous improvement? Of course. It is foundational to my job. But I move forward with a newfound appreciation of what it takes from me as an individual and for those I work with to embrace this in our working lives.