"The Art of Darkness!" There's an Elephant In The Room!

(apologies to Joseph Conrad)

One of our taglines is “Delivering Soft Skills in Hard Places,” and as is sometimes the case, it’s a good idea to put the brakes on and reflect on exactly what the tag line means, not to me but to the reader and the context within which they encounter it.?

The coverage of? the truly awful events revealed in the trial and conviction of Lucy Letby have prompted me to reflect at some depth: here’s why. There was in this case, it seems, a culture of organisational denial which was in part delivered through threats to whistleblowers. There’s an extensive range of “Tools of Professional Torture” available a sort of continuum that starts with mild hints and suggestions that “things might not go well for you,”? and ends with the complete professional destruction of the target. And we know don’t we, people have a personal and social identity beyond the workplace, all of which becomes tainted by the intimidation organisations and their gatekeepers use to silence whistleblowers.?

One of the “Soft Skill” areas I work in is “Workplace Mediation” and it’s fair to state that the outcomes aren’t always as positive as either myself or those who have commissioned my work, would have liked. Importantly, I feel I have developed professional relationships within organisations that are robust enough to “hear bad news,” and one of the more positive aspects of this is that I am able to say, “This piece of casework isn’t suitable for mediation.” This is an ethical judgement and it hasn’t always served me well, on one occasion I found myself in the crosshairs of powerful protectors of what they perceive to be “organisational integrity.”?

Listening to an interview with a qualified Medical Consultant (Radio 4)) was an uncomfortable experience for me. This person spoke with pain and passion about the manner in which “all the tools of organisational oppression” (my words from memory) are used against whistleblowers and that Mediation is one of them, in that it shifts blame, requires compliance and acceptance that it is “You, the complainant who is at fault here, not the organisation and if you continue with your vexatious complaint(s) some bad stuff might happen and you wouldn't want that, would you?”?

Professionally and personally, I seek to distance myself from the accusation that Mediation is a tool of corporate protectionism. I would add that those forward their own career ambitions by compliance with corporate wrongdoing by “acting as,” rather than “ethically living as,” mediators perhaps need to reflect on their purpose beyond their ambitions.

I’ve had difficult conversations and read reports about my work that do not reflect kindly and yes, it hurts but the longer view has much to do with “Doing the Right Thing for The Right Reason,” and no one ever said that choice would be an easy one.?

Whistleblowing? The first time I came across it at a “Sit up and take notice!” level at the collapse of Enron . Time magazine named the 3 Whistleblowers as “Person(s) Of The Year 2002! Right now I feel that powerful individuals and or those seeking power, have sought to change the narrative since, effectively labeling Whistleblowers as malcontents, whingers and serial troublemakers.

There’s much to reflect on and I’m certain, some very difficult conversations to have as we untangle the complicated knot of high ethical standards in the context of health corporate reputations. However, we need to ask ourselves what it is we want in terms of society’s trust in organisations and their willingness to address wrongdoing and what actions are we prepared to take to regain it?