Today we launch “From where I stand”; a report sharing insights from frontline workers on Systems Changers 2016.
Throughout the programme I was struck by the wisdom and depth of insights that frontline workers hold. This report reinforces this. My appreciation of their knowledge was married with a deep frustration. Frustration at how their limited opportunity to be heard was coupled with their own sense of powerlessness, their questioning of their right to make suggestions.
“The main barrier has been fear; my fear as a frontline worker that it is not my place to suggest change, the fear of other organisations who are not seeing the system from my viewpoint and the fears of some other professionals who have become very defensive” .
For a system to be vibrant, dynamic and responsive, I believe all voices need to be heard. Frontline workers hold a distinct and unique vantage point. They combine crucial insights into the lived experience of severe and multiple disadvantage with a first-hand understanding of the complexities and nuances of public systems.
Yet the power to set policy, influence and control budgets, design and commission services sits far removed from this lived reality.
This disconnect plays through into how frontline workers viewed their right to have a say, to be heard, to influence spending decisions and their ability to make change.
“It feels to me like the bigger the title, the more letters after the name, the less I feel able to question or challenge them. You can’t say ‘you’re wrong’ to someone who has 12 years’ experience and a medical qualification.”
Much of what they have to deliver feels rigid and immovable – but in reality isn’t. Whilst this programme gave them tools and support – at its essence what it did was give them a different label – from “frontline worker” to “Systems Changer”.
Being a Systems Changer opened up doors, literally and metaphorically. It enabled them to reach out to those in positions of authority within their organisations and beyond and to be heard. It gave them the space to listen, to understand, to question, to reflect, to test, to change their minds, to see other people’s perspectives. It gave them a sense of their own potential and possibility.
What have I taken from this programme? I’ve seen how linear the line of authority and formal power currently is within the system and how much this is driven by finance. How much weight the voice of commissioner, senior manager, or councillor holds relative to the voice of frontline workers, or person with lived experience. How much we look upwards to those positions to make decisions. And how much this is accepted.
Yet when power is shared, when equality of voice starts to emerge, when multiple perspectives are heard, when people have the space to reflect and feel they have the space and support to act, amazing things start to happen.
And the positive change doesn’t stop with that individual or the person that individual is supporting, it starts to ripple through into the wider system. Whether that was Cath through her human language approach, Michelle changing the way she works with people in positions of formal authority, Bryony giving volunteers the space to have their own voice or Charlotte’s realisation that building the voice of the frontline worker is a crucial step to hearing the voice of the person with lived experience. As the examples multiply so do the voices that are heard.
So I ask, when was the last time you sought out, listened to and acted upon the voice of those working on the frontline? And if you haven’t, would you be willing start?
Alice Evans @AliceMEvans
Alice has worked in this area for nearly 20 years and at Lankelly Chase spends most of her time focussing on Systems Change and Place based work. Lankelly Chase is an independent charitable trust. Our vision is of a society where everyone can lead a rewarding life and people who face severe and multiple disadvantage such as homelessness, substance misuse, mental illness, violence and abuse and chronic poverty are able to participate fully with healthy networks of support.
