This Chapter on Organisational Matters can be seen to be a follow on from the Family Support Shamrock Chapter, and expanded on elements that would be helpful if we aim to be truly inclusive of our Focus Group in a genuine way.
When I look around me I don’t see many organisations that have really invited the Focus Group to the extent that they are included in decision making – for the long haul.
In the Chapter on Family Support Shamrock I give reasons why I think that this is so, and the reason why I included that Chapter was that I think that the three elements that make up our Shamrock are important to keep to the fore when supporting and sharing power with vulnerable individuals and families.
That is, we can use creativity to promote inclusion of very distressed people while still maintaining healthy boundaries.
It can be done!
Revisiting the length of time an organisation is in existence, organisations, just like everything in the natural world, appear to have lifetimes.
In this respect I believe that it is harder, not easier, to keep our organisation fresh, relevant and meaningful when it matures, or gets older, than it is at the start-up.
A reason for this is, (in addition to the time factor) the expectations of others.
If we are the founders we have a blank canvass, as such, and all our energies can go into forming our identity, norms, values, contacts, work plans etc. but relatively little is expected of us because not that many people know about us anyway.
When we become better known, expectations, from both internal and external sources, will increase, bringing pressures to change, and it is then that we will either thrive, flat-line (i.e. stay the same) or fade.
I will attempt to summarise this Chapter by stating that, if we are a sustainable organisation, we:
1): know what we are about; 2): have a strong identity and ethos; 3): get the right balance between head and heart; 4): treat both employees and customers with respect; 5): know the limits of what we can do and are open and honest about them, 6): allow enough time to keep people – including people who are struggling – on board, 7): allow time for things to work; 8): are resilient; 9): realise that we need customers more than they need us; and, 10): don’t worry unduly about expansion for the sake of it.
Perhaps the University of Al-Quaraouyine in Fez in Morocco has all these things; it was founded in Hijri A.H 237 (that’s the year 859CE (or AD) in the Western World) and is still going strong!