Making space to stop and think
Dee Fraser
Org Dev consultant at WWT, Board Member at Key. We made the system, we can make it better.
One of the things I emphasise a lot at work is the importance of time to think. However, like many others I am seriously bad at taking my own advice. I put time in my diary and like magic, the tidal wave of tasks washes in and time to think evaporates.
Last year I finally did it. I stayed at the excellent Gladstone’s Library where I read books, drank coffee, and talked to brilliant people (but not in the library itself, as librarians most definitely frown on that kind of behaviour.) I went for walks and thought through a lot. I thought about what Iriss does, about my job, and about how a small organisation can deliver a big ambition on a third sector budget.
Oddly we need time like this the most when we have the least space for it. When we're overwhelmed and can’t see the wood for the trees (and the trees are on fire and everyone has run away...)
Iriss is moving into the business of practical innovation. That is, supporting people to make change for the better. We keep telling others how important it is to stop, learn and think as a core part of innovation. It is time we take our own advice!
?From the 27th of February to the 1st of March me and my colleagues will take time to think and learn about innovation and change in social work and social care support. Our work phones will be off, our emails silenced and our laptops shut. You'll be able to get me if it's urgent, but otherwise it's definitely not business as usual at Iriss.
We’re making space to get better at what we do, so we can give you better support to do what you do.
Time for learning isn’t a luxury, it is indeed the work itself.
I help non-profits, charities and the public sector make a bigger difference for the people they serve ? Evaluation | Learning | Organisational Development ? Director, Brightpurpose.
2 年When we work in complex change, time to think really is your competitive advantage. It’s so easy to be swept along, and time to think is gives you the capacity to make good decisions about each step, not just arriving somewhere and wondering how you got there! Enjoy!