Max Hardy Consulting 10 years on

It’s hard to believe it has been 10 years since arriving in Melbourne to establish my own practice as a community engagement and collaboration specialist. I recall being somewhat anxious about aspects of being self-employed I hadn’t needed to think about previously. I was confident of finding work – I was less confident about doing the invoicing, doing a quarterly BAS, finding the right insurances and other administrative tasks.

It's also amusing to look back on some of things I was told before moving to Melbourne. For example, I was told, ‘It’s a really clicky place and takes years to be accepted’.? I haven’t found that to be the case at all. I’ve found so many people willing to work with me, to collaborate on challenging projects and to simply ask for help. I have learned a great deal from others with whom I’ve worked. It’s dangerous to name them because I know I will accidently leave people out – but you know who you are!?

Having 10 years behind me I now have some other questions to consider. Do I just remain a small practice, doing more of what I’ve been doing? Do I do what many do as they hit the age of 60, offering more mentoring and seeking opportunities to join boards? Do I more seriously consider offers to buy my practice and help build the capability of larger consulting businesses? Do I put some effort into other collaborative business ventures? I really don’t have a plan as such. Should I seek out the wisdom of others in this regard; find a life coach or business coach?

It's funny as I recall that wonderful line of John Lennon’s, “Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans”. I have found that to be so true, but probably shouldn’t let that get in the way of doing a bit more planning.

I haven’t had much opportunity to reflect on some insights gathered over the past ten years, but here are a few of the challenges I’ve noticed in recent times, and, I guess, the reason why I believe there is so much work to be carried in the community engagement space.

1.??????? We need to continually improve the quality of thinking that goes into anything called community engagement; to be clear on what we want to achieve from it, and how those responding can benefit from being involved.

2.??????? We are facing many complex challenges and authentic engagement will be a critical factor in how we navigate them (eg, adapting to climate change; tackling affordable housing; ageing of the population, providing sufficient and appropriate public spaces) - failure to do this will result in more polarising debates and more fractured communities.

3.??????? Organisations will begin to appreciate that engagement is not just the job of engagement practitioners/engagement staff. Alignment of purpose and embedding an engaging culture will be fundamental to their success/survival and reputation.

4.??????? A shift from transactional engagement (where engagement is all about gaining input/feedback to influence decisions for specific issues/projects) toward more integrated, ongoing engagement, will be required. For this transition to be successful organisations will require progressive leadership, influential engagement champions and specialist support.

5.??????? We will need to keep innovating when it comes to deliberative engagement and co-design processes; there is never one model or method. Designing and facilitating processes to generate enduring solutions for our trickiest challenges will always evolve as a practice. We need our best work when we are engagement specialists are on the edge of our own capabilities; it means we have to practice what we preach; drawing on the collective wisdom and capabilities of all those who come together for a common purpose.

In closing, a big thank you to the fabulous Dr. Prudence Blake , my (almost) accidental employee who has worked with me the past few years. I’ve been so fortunate to have her for many reasons. Funny, smart, super-efficient and brutally honest – surely she will be a full-time comedian before too long!

And finally, I’ve just counted that I’ve worked with over 150 organisations these past ten years, and 430 distinct projects. It seems incredible. I always learn so much from my clients and I remain committed to never working ‘for them’, only ‘with them’.

Here’s to another ten years or so! Maybe :)

#codesign #authenticcodesign #collaboration #communityengagement #deliberativeengagement #collectiveimpact #capabilitybuilding