As I continue my thoughts on individual approaches to providing services, I want to reflect on a story about Jesus that has challenged me recently.
A teacher of the law came to Jesus and said to him, Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go. Being described as a teacher of the law, this man was clearly a wise person who had some influence on others. He had been challenged by the words of Jesus and had been thinking about what it would mean to follow Jesus.
Jesus’ reply was curious. He replied: , “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” This was certainly not the reply of your average leader who is trying to get together a following of fans and supporters.
This reply got me thinking about what person-centredness means to us in providing services to people who are in need of support. Jesus did not reject the man, but he made it clear that his decision involved some personal reflection. If he was going to follow Jesus, there would be no comfortable hotel rooms or long lunches and he would need to make some changes to his lifestyle.
Person-centredness means that we must be aware of an individual’s preferences, needs and abilities. But what happens if one of the needs of that person is to be challenged to grow and change and they are not aware of that need or are resistant to change?
How would you maintain person-centredness in such a situation?
Monday, June 27, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
What's your dreaming language?
In what language do you dream? I dream in English. A person from the central desert of Australia may dream in Ngaanyatjarra. A person from Berlin may dream in German.
This question was raised in a very challenging book by Richard Trudgen called “Why Warriors Lie Down and Die” in which Trudgen explores why so many Yolngu people in Arnhem Land are dependent on welfare.
One of the ideas put forward by Trudgen is that government workers, missionaries, health workers, policemen and others used their own language, and their own cultural understandings to try to get the Yolngu people to adopt certain practices that they believed would help them to live a better life.
The problem, Trudgen said, was that these people did not talk to the Yolngu people in the language in which they dreamed.
One of the first steps in achieving person-centredness, I discussed in my last blog, was having an individual approach to people. That means learning to speak to people in their dreaming language.
I’m not just talking about language in terms of the words themselves, but recognising where people come from in terms of their culture, their background, their personality and their interests.
Sometimes we present programmes or ideas as though people were all the same and all they need to do is accept the programme or idea as we have presented it. We then get upset when people react differently to what we expect. In their dreaming language they have heard our message very differently from the way we were presenting it in our dreaming language.
Can you suggest some ways in which we can hear people better in order to be more person-centred?
This question was raised in a very challenging book by Richard Trudgen called “Why Warriors Lie Down and Die” in which Trudgen explores why so many Yolngu people in Arnhem Land are dependent on welfare.
One of the ideas put forward by Trudgen is that government workers, missionaries, health workers, policemen and others used their own language, and their own cultural understandings to try to get the Yolngu people to adopt certain practices that they believed would help them to live a better life.
The problem, Trudgen said, was that these people did not talk to the Yolngu people in the language in which they dreamed.
One of the first steps in achieving person-centredness, I discussed in my last blog, was having an individual approach to people. That means learning to speak to people in their dreaming language.
I’m not just talking about language in terms of the words themselves, but recognising where people come from in terms of their culture, their background, their personality and their interests.
Sometimes we present programmes or ideas as though people were all the same and all they need to do is accept the programme or idea as we have presented it. We then get upset when people react differently to what we expect. In their dreaming language they have heard our message very differently from the way we were presenting it in our dreaming language.
Can you suggest some ways in which we can hear people better in order to be more person-centred?
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Being person-centred in shared living - is it possible?
What does it mean to be person-centred? Baptistcare sees this is a central aspect of the work we do, but we may find it hard to be specific about what we mean. It is very easy to say we are person-centred but the reality can be different from our intentions.
In future blogs I want to explore more of what it means to be person-centred. So please come on this journey with me over the next few weeks to see what we can learn. It would also be great if you could make use of the comments area so we can develop a conversation about this topic.
The first thing about being person-centred is the recognition of a need for an individual approach to people. The people who receive services from an organisation such as Baptistcare can easily be classified as clients or residents and from the point of view of good economic management, planning can occur for that group of people as a group without concern for them as individuals.
It could be argued that such broad thinking has to happen. If a residential facility is required to provide services to people who are ageing, for instance, a building needs to be provided that meets building requirements and is appropriate to the expectations of the range of services that will be provided from that building.
It would be impractical to build a facility where each room is built in different sizes and shapes, painted differently and has different coloured carpet. There is a sense in which we all accept the fact that there are some things that happen in society that happen for the common good, rather than our own individual preferences.
But are there some principles about a building issue such as this that would be impacted by person-centredness? For instance, it would be cheaper to have one toilet and shower block at the end of the corridor for everyone to share but person-centred thinking may result in providing ensuites in every room.
Perhaps the deeper question relates to the extent to which congregate living is appropriate to person-centredness. Do we get rid of all residential facilities and just provide services to people in their own home or is that an unrealistic option in a society where people are increasingly becoming isolated in their own homes. There are some people who will thrive in a group setting so how can we ensure that such places are appropriate to the individual needs of a person?
What are your thoughts on this topic?
In future blogs I want to explore more of what it means to be person-centred. So please come on this journey with me over the next few weeks to see what we can learn. It would also be great if you could make use of the comments area so we can develop a conversation about this topic.
The first thing about being person-centred is the recognition of a need for an individual approach to people. The people who receive services from an organisation such as Baptistcare can easily be classified as clients or residents and from the point of view of good economic management, planning can occur for that group of people as a group without concern for them as individuals.
It could be argued that such broad thinking has to happen. If a residential facility is required to provide services to people who are ageing, for instance, a building needs to be provided that meets building requirements and is appropriate to the expectations of the range of services that will be provided from that building.
It would be impractical to build a facility where each room is built in different sizes and shapes, painted differently and has different coloured carpet. There is a sense in which we all accept the fact that there are some things that happen in society that happen for the common good, rather than our own individual preferences.
But are there some principles about a building issue such as this that would be impacted by person-centredness? For instance, it would be cheaper to have one toilet and shower block at the end of the corridor for everyone to share but person-centred thinking may result in providing ensuites in every room.
Perhaps the deeper question relates to the extent to which congregate living is appropriate to person-centredness. Do we get rid of all residential facilities and just provide services to people in their own home or is that an unrealistic option in a society where people are increasingly becoming isolated in their own homes. There are some people who will thrive in a group setting so how can we ensure that such places are appropriate to the individual needs of a person?
What are your thoughts on this topic?
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Another dud coffee shop
In a previous post I reflected on organisational culture after a less than positive experience in an airport cafe. Well, it’s happened again. It was just on opening time last Friday and I spotted a cafe in a major regional city, less than an hour’s drive south of Perth. No names mentioned.
There was a woman out the front trying to hang some advertising boards shingles along the front of the shop. I walked into the shop but there was noone behind the counter so I stood and waited, watching with interest the woman still trying to hang her advertising signs on the hooks on the wall. I’m sure she could see me through the window, but she didn’t attempt to serve me and nobody else appeared to serve me. After some time waiting I slowly walked out of the shop, past the woman hanging the signs and went into another cafe a few doors down the road.
This was an example of what can happen in much larger organisations in a much more professional manner. Glossy advertising and an attractive public front can often hide a bad service culture inside.
The purpose of my blog is not to be critical but to recognise that this happens, and to find ways of solving the problem. The answer is not to dumb down the advertising, but to work hard at improving the service culture.
In the same way that I would expect to go into a coffee shop and be served in a friendly and efficient way, we would expect the same of any other organisation. But like the woman who was engrossed with her regular morning activity of hanging signs at the front of the shop, we need to recognise there are some regular and important activities that can easily take priority over the people we are called to serve.
I’d love to hear your thoughts about how we can give priority to people and not neglect the other important jobs that need to be done.
There was a woman out the front trying to hang some advertising boards shingles along the front of the shop. I walked into the shop but there was noone behind the counter so I stood and waited, watching with interest the woman still trying to hang her advertising signs on the hooks on the wall. I’m sure she could see me through the window, but she didn’t attempt to serve me and nobody else appeared to serve me. After some time waiting I slowly walked out of the shop, past the woman hanging the signs and went into another cafe a few doors down the road.
This was an example of what can happen in much larger organisations in a much more professional manner. Glossy advertising and an attractive public front can often hide a bad service culture inside.
The purpose of my blog is not to be critical but to recognise that this happens, and to find ways of solving the problem. The answer is not to dumb down the advertising, but to work hard at improving the service culture.
In the same way that I would expect to go into a coffee shop and be served in a friendly and efficient way, we would expect the same of any other organisation. But like the woman who was engrossed with her regular morning activity of hanging signs at the front of the shop, we need to recognise there are some regular and important activities that can easily take priority over the people we are called to serve.
I’d love to hear your thoughts about how we can give priority to people and not neglect the other important jobs that need to be done.
Amazing Meetings
Our mission statement at Baptistcare starts: "Reaching out with the love of Jesus ..." If you want to find out more about what that means have a look at a new blog that I have started called Amazing Meetings. I am using a technique of interviewing some of the people who met with Jesus as a way of exploring more about Jesus and what he was on about. Have a look and enjoy.
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