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Towards Emergent Strategy
A couple of months ago, I published a tirade against the industry of strategy development (one which I am very much a part of). Now its time for a more constructive response. Inspired in part by my own lived experiences (both good and bad!) working in strategy co-creation, I have developed a set of principles…
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Voice: in service of charity or justice?
“Charity is where justice goes to die” someone argued during a panel discussion at an retreat that I was a part of over the summer. A damning indictment, met with applause, and which somehow sums up feelings I’ve had marinating for my whole working life. It’s a sentiment that drew me towards social enterprise as…
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When a strategist falls out of love with strategy
I scattered wildflower seeds in our shared back alley last springtime. I did not know what was going on in the soil. I did not know if the brambles, swept aside, would concede space for these wildflower to grow. A few brave shoots have gained momentum and are thriving. Others have withered where a neighbour…
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What I’ve Learnt from Learning Out Loud
It’s been 12 months of learning out loud as I’ve listened, talked, written, built relationships and tested ideas as a passion project has evolved into a collaborative. As a freelancer, without the anchoring of a large institution behind me, I was tentative at first, becoming more confident as time went by, as a little momentum…
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On community, land and self
I came to talk about climate and migration justice. Instead, I spent my time talking about intuition, inner purpose, and foremothers. I am a deeply practical person and this was deliciously unexpected. The call to join Foregather had been irresistible. Even though I was unsure how this gathering would directly correlate to moving forward ideas…
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Field Notes on Storytelling, Data and Learning
This blog was written using AI, based on my own reflections that I’d written up ad hoc over a few months but hadn’t had time to collate into a blog. So what do you think? Does the AI synthesis offer a useful set of insights – is the collation more than a sum of its…
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Lessons in Compromise for Transformational Change
My partner told me recently that I didn’t know how to compromise. I’ll admit, I can be stubborn. But it got me thinking about the role of compromise in bold, messy, transformational change, and the shifts in mindset that we all need to embrace as we seek to do things differently. Listen deeply Sometimes, in…
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My ‘Yearnote’: On pathfinding, cross-pollination and connecting of dots
I am in awe of anyone who manages to write ‘weeknotes’ – it feels like a beautiful, reflective practice and one I should probably try. For now, I have managed to create a ‘yearnote’ chronicling the first 12 months of my freelance adventures. My first reflection is one of surprise – I’m actually making a…
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Shared Leadership: An Emergent Model for Solidarity and Shifting Power?
I have written and rewritten this blog a hundred times in my head. I’m drawing on personal experience as well as professional. And I know this is delicate, difficult stuff and I might get it wrong. But I have reflections on shared leadership bubbling away… so here goes. Expat or Immigrant Growing up I lived…
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Experiments with Sociocracy: Designing Equity and Transparency Into Your Organisation
It all began with an impasse in the organisation I was working for. It was complex and knotty. Emotions were running high as deeply held convictions led to polarised positions taking root. It was becoming a ‘make or break’ moment for the organisation. I scoured the Internet, desperate for some divine intervention, or at least…
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Just and Regenerative by Design: Reflections on Organisational Development in the Doughnut
My daughter loves doughnuts. So it wasn’t hard to convince her to come along to an event last October that was inspired by them. Well, inspired by Doughnut Economics (there were no doughnuts at the event but luckily there were croissants so all good). The event was hosted by CIVIC SQUARE and it popped up…
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Is it time to radically rethink “capacity building”?
This blog, written in August 2022 for BOND, discusses the practical implementation of decolonised approaches to ‘capacity building’ through multi-directional learning. This is an approach we pioneered at Primary Care International as part of a wider project to globalise its community and recognise the centrality of lived experience to the process of learning. Amid the…
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How to make ‘high-trust, high-flex’ work for you and your team
This blog is inspired by a piece I wrote in June 2021 for ACEVO (the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations), talking about the high-trust, high-flex approach to leadership that I took during my time at Primary Care International, and which I advocate for in my work with teams today. I’ve been lucky to…
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What’s Your ‘Guiding Star’? Why You Actually Should Do Your Strategic Planning During a Pandemic
I wrote this blog as CEO of Primary Care International in May 2021, as we emerged from the throes of pandemic lockdowns. If the past months since have taught us anything, it’s that we are living in volatile times where nothing can be taken for granted. This blog takes a look at how to embrace…
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COVID-19 Lessons For Migrant-Resilient Primary Care Systems On A Warming Planet
I co-authored this piece, written for Health Affairs, with Renzo Guinto, Rita Issa and Dieudonne Yiweza in October 2021. We wanted to shine a spotlight on the intersections of migration, climate and health in the context of the covid-19 pandemic. It opens a debate around the implications for models of equitable primary healthcare delivery on…
