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| BBC Radio 4: Four Thought |
To hear the talk in full use the following link:
Kiely got 'bitten' by the spirit of volunteer-ism when she fell ill at Burning Man festival and was treated by volunteer medical staff in the festival hospital. Following this, she volunteered in a coffee bar at the festival. She was inspired by the incredibly positive team-work, even when doing mundane work, if people are given autonomy and allowed to make work fun. The difference it makes when you are rewarded and appreciated and when you care about the community you are working within and for.
Since then Kiely has advised governments, companies and international bodies on managing change. She says she is always surprised by how many organisations still adopt a top-down model of managing change, and she makes the case for a radically different way of doing so. (BBC Radio 4 brief biography)
Most people experience change by it being 'done to them', they have no choice in it and it comes from nowhere. This is the worst way possible of introducing change. From a neurological point of view we treat change as a threat and when threatened we are stressed, distracted, anxious, angry and so at our least collaborative and poor at social bonding. Our memory and performance are affected and we will not make good decisions. Such stress is contagious and it quickly spreads across organisations and communities. The only people who manage to stay engaged through this process are the initial decision makers themselves.
Kiely went on to say:
“Imagine an organisation where every individual is encouraged to be the best they can be. Companies that have empathy and transparency and respect and autonomy and fairness and connectedness at the core of their very structure and their brand.”
She sees some of the big tech companies as achieving this now (e.g. 3M, Google, Facebook.) They are proving that putting people at the centre of organisations works.
So much of what Kiely talked of I believe we are striving to achieve at JRF/JRHT and this was partly what made it so good to listen to but it also made me think. I believe that this sort of organisation is only possible if we are all on board with the idea and if we all actively engage with the process.
Kiely concluded with:
“We need to find ways of using technology that is driving change to strengthen communities rather than weaken them. To allow people to be the best they can be. Let's figure out ways of unleashing human potential.”
Yes let's!
(In this attempt to share the talk with you I do not do it justice, so do listen to Katz Kiely's talk in full if you have time.)
