My work is about changing lives. That’s why my motto is PEOPLE. VALUE. CHANGE. (https://lnkd.in/eQpNJHA5)
On the surface, you would think that #people do not #value#change. But they do when they are challenged, stretched and inspired. This was the experience of the Old Kent Road Family Zone Community Board (OKRFZ).
We had our second session last week, and these extraordinarily mature #leaders were able to sit in the discomfort of their uneasiness to grapple with big themes such as what does it mean to be (white, black, brown, yellow… ) British?
Yes, British! This question is heavily informed by a looOoong #history and different social/national #narratives, which in turn determine the nature of the #power relations we have with each other and the #community, #public, #customer or #clients we are trying to reach.
Are you culturally getting through to your intended #end-user in a way that optimises their response? (And ‘culturally’ here is more than what you eat, drink, and dance to. It includes social norms and values that inform #biases, #assumptions, #presuppositions and #prejudices we have cultivated about ‘others’, even our prospective client audience.)
Are you engaging your audience on their terms? (These questions appeal to the corporate sector too. Ask Nike and Google who are constantly addressing their cultural blind spots in innovative ways for a 360º circular view.)
The feedback from OKRFZ was quite moving.
Now we’re looking at session 3. We’re pressing on with increasing and enhancing our community #engagement, #enablement, #empowerment and #excellence. In our next session, we will deal with questions such as, “Who gets to play the host? Who gets to play the guest? What are the ramifications of both? How do they impact our effectiveness?”
I tell you, thinking seriously about #diversity, #equity, #inclusion and #belonging raises your game. Ask OKRFZ!