5.5.6 The Root Foundations In Our Work

I’ll be getting to the root foundations a bit later, but for now let me start by exploring the significance of our emotional attachment to our work. (Which we have – no matter what our work is).

A miner may look forward to the excitement of breaking through to a new seam in an unfamiliar part of the mine, and at the same time may fear the possibility of some sort of catastrophe working in what she knows is one of the world’s most dangerous professions.  A mechanic may be excited by the sound of a purring engine having brought it back from a state of disrepair.  A therapist may be bored counselling a person that he is struggling to make a connection with.

I suggest however that the significance of our emotional relationship with our day to day work changes with respect to the goal of the work.

If, for example, evaluators wish to work out how much coal a mine will produce, they may observe that if a miner loves his work, he produces more kg of coal per hour.  Or if the geologist who surveys the mine loves her work she may be inspired to work longer hours to find evidence of that magic seam that will be richer than any previous one.  However, if either the geologist or the miner dislikes their work, coal can still be mined, and the amount produced will probably not change that much either way.

With a teacher, nurse, doctor etc. it is a little different.  I would say that we all remember, from our schooldays, the difference between the teacher who, evidently, loved his work and the teacher who didn’t.  Most of us have had to spend time in the care of the medical profession at some point in our lives and we experienced the difference between a doctor or nurse who had a good bedside manner and one who didn’t.

Once again – I’ll bet you can see where I am heading here.

I have argued already, and I repeat it now, that in working with families in deep distress, and their children, it is a central requirement that we enjoy what we are doing.

Just like the difficult-to-measure feel-good factor that we observe when evaluating the effect of the sun on our well-being, the effect of our work on our own and others’ feelings, (that is, colleagues, clients, and other stakeholders) needs to be an important part of any evaluation done or research undertaken.

And, allied to that, in measuring or evaluating what resources are needed, it is important to remember that the resource is not an individual worker per se, it is something quite different, that is, the individual worker who enjoys the work so much that she wants to do it.

Because once the wanting-to-do-it goes, and she is doing it under some sort of duress, the resource diminishes significantly.

Here is a little challenge that arises from the previous post!

How does someone from the outside evaluate how well we are doing our work (and if we are enjoying it) in an environment where there is a measure of self-organisation, and where a tolerable amount of uncertainty and chaos not only exists but is welcomed because it is seen to be contributing to our long-term success?

I pose this question because uncertainty and chaos are generally associated with anxiety and stress, not enjoyment.

I offer a few pointers here, and as usual I invite you to think of a few too.

There are particular skills that are garnered from good training in evaluative-research in general and in particular the research priorities of people who care that are essential in consideration of 1 to 6 below. Of course, experience over many years will assist greatly too. The existence of the complex variables imply uncertainty and chaos anyway – so there is no point in pretending they don’t exist.

1. Size of Organisation:  In the next Chapter I explore Organisational Matters in some depth, and how an organisation is structured is important in evaluating how well it is doing its job.  In this, size is an interesting factor.  In a workplace that is of small size is there a better chance that we will feel that we can be honest about our work? What is challenging us? What is giving us joy and laughter, frustrating, or motivating us?  In large organisations, we can hide and/or feel left out.  As our organisation grows it is very important that we attend to all the above.

2. Family Support Shamrock:  Chapter Six in Section Three is very relevant here.  Evaluating the extent to which we feel included, and are allowed be creative (and creativity always brings some chaos) within a healthy boundary that is determined by the mission of the organisation is vital in someone from outside seeing the overall picture.

3. Morale: Morale is a key factor in everything.  Evaluators need to get a sense of morale in an organisation and be intuitive and courageous enough to wonder about it. It is a difficult one to call, but it is obvious that if we have high morale we will enjoy our work and because of this have higher and longer-lasting impact on our Focus Group.

4. Boundaries – Time: It can be interesting to observe the boundary that concerns time, e.g. breaks and holidays etc.  It is difficult to be prescriptive about holidays – we all have different holiday and time-out needs.  However, the trouble with over-work is that sometimes it is a mask for something else, and we could be involved in helping very distressed people for the wrong reasons.  Sometimes it is a fear of meeting self, or having a relationship with self.  Sometimes there is a kind of status in acting the martyr; (like, I do it because I am the only one willing to do it).  

5. Self-Care: This is linked to the previous point but is more concerned with ongoing support and supervision and the nature and extent of same.  Do we feel safe in supervision, and if not – why not?  The accommodation of chaos and uncertainty will only be possible if it is placed in context – because it appears to run counter to mainstream management and/or organisational practices. It is important that supervision has meaning. It is also important that we feel heard and that there is access to leadership and management.  Once again, evaluators need to find out whether or not supervision is fruitful – or is it a go-through-the-motions chore.

6. Promise and Delivery:  A major matter to evaluate is whether or not what is promised is delivered, or a serious effort is being made to deliver it, or it is on the way to being delivered.  This is probably the acid test of whether we are full of sound and fury signifying nothing, to quote William Shakespeare or, alternatively, are really on our journey! (The reason that I consider this to be a very important aspect of our work is because I observe so much promise that is not delivered in the world of addiction – and that is very harmful to families and in particular children).

It is all too easy to say that something is impossible because of the level of chaos.

Allowing the root foundations flourish in a self-organising environment can bring some uncertainty and chaos, and I will offer some ideas in the next post on this theme.

In respect of the root foundations, mentioned at the end of the last post, evaluators will certainly be challenged to glean whether or not we, staff members, are allowed be. 

I believe the only way to do it is if the evaluators immerse themselves in our organisation while our day-to-day work is going on. (There are a few big words like action, ethnographic, or phenomenological research to describe this. If you have an interest in any of them please look them up).

But big words or not, immersion probably has the best chance of unearthing findings that are true to what is being evaluated.

How can that possibly be gleaned?

Tick-box surveys about matters to do with our emotions are far less effective than hearing spontaneous views – delivered from the heart – by being with us a lot.  I don’t believe that surveys reveal how the root foundations are honoured or encouraged, or simply are given permission to flourish.  I just don’t think it is possible to glean felt, intuitive factors through a cognitive process.

Just to illustrate this point I’ll take the example of identity.

There are loads of tick-box questions that evaluators could think up on the subject of identity, but if they are with us for a longish time they will form a much more accurate view.  It will be revealed in the way we talk about our organisation, i.e. do we use us or them, we or me, speak vaguely about our work or with pride and conviction, and (yes – this is important) do we feel that we have a strong enough identity for us to be critical without feeling afraid something bad will happen.

And it is the same with emergence.  If our emergent properties (individual and group) are honoured it will be immediately evident to a perceptive evaluator, or, indeed, any observer with interest, awareness and knowledge.

It would be very difficult to assess all the above cognitively!