Blog - Max Hardy Consulting

An interview with Prue! (Comedy, collaboration and joining Max Hardy Consulting)

30/08/2021 By Max Hardy Leave a Comment

M: Hey Prue. Seems like you have been working with me for years, and you have, sort of. When did you start officially with me as a Max Hardy Consulting employee?

P: After years of working with Max on projects here and there, I got to finally be accepted as a full employee of Max Hardy Consulting on the 1st of May 2021.

M: As much as I reckon you are brilliant, as others do, I know your main aim is to be a highly successful comedian (and I guess you are now you’ve won the National Raw Comedy Comp). Must be hard establishing yourself given all the lockdowns….. (duh). Tell me, how has your comedy career helped you in facilitating collaborative efforts of our clients?

P: Luckily, community engagement and comedy aren’t too different – it’s gutting when you fail to get a laugh at either event! The skills I’ve learned doing improv and stand up comedy have probably been the most useful skills for working in community engagement and facilitation. Some skills like being able to speak in front of crowds, thinking on your feet and appropriately dressing down any hecklers have an obvious application to community engagement as well as stand up.

Overall, though, the most useful skill from stand up has been developing the ability to read a room and adjust what you are doing while facilitating. Though I have to admit this is much harder when facilitating than it is for stand up – the feedback isn’t quite so obvious.

M: Prue, apart from being very funny, you are also a smart cookie. In fact, you’ve just recently been awarded a PhD in Civil Engineering. Can you tell us about that?

Yes! After 4 and a half years I was finally awarded my PhD this year and hold that sweet title of Dr Blake. My thesis was focused on developing a new model to measure public transport ridership, that took into account the routine changes in ridership on a month to month basis rather than relying on measures of net growth/decline. This was definitely a PhD in persistence and a good opportunity for me to flex my quantitative research skills which are not my strong suit (would prefer qualitative research any day!). That being said it was great to learn some new skills and it has definitely helped me be clear with my writing and to think broadly and critically when it comes to research.

M: You’ve also worked at other consulting firms, and within local government. What kind of working environment best works for you? (I’m asking for a friend)

P: Though both environments have their pros and cons, I have primarily worked in consulting and generally find that to be more suited to my personality. I enjoy working quickly and having the flexibility to quickly adapt to changing conditions. However, it’s definitely been useful knowing the internal systems within local government to help work with them effectively as a client.

M: When you are ready to move on as a full-time comedian (just a matter of time) what would you like your legacy to be, in terms of your work at MHC?

P: I’m not sure about a ‘legacy’ but I would love to leave behind projects that have been successful in delivering meaningful community engagement that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Community engagement processes are often accompanied by a lot of anxiety that can be alleviated through good communication, clear processes and not being scared to have a laugh.

M: How do you think you can best help MHC (no longer asking for a friend)?

P: Oh there are many ways with my many skills! I think definitely keeping things organized and on track when we have lots of concurrent projects. Being able to jump in and help facilitate when needed or play a tech role when workshops are suddenly moved online due to COVID-19 restrictions. And when that isn’t keeping me busy – using my marketing skills from comedy to help update the Max Hardy Consulting website and spread the word about Authentic Co-Design courses.

M: Great to have you onboard Prue. I am grateful for whatever time you have with me as an employee (but you seem to be more of a partner in what we are doing). What term should I use to describe your role here?

P: Very excited to be here Max! You have ended on a tricky question – happy for you to call my role whatever you like as long as you keep the fun jobs and sweet payments coming in.

To find out what Prue is up to comedy-wise and to book her go to prueblakedoescomedy.com

Strategic Questioning to unlock co-design

18/08/2021 By Max Hardy Leave a Comment

After 20 years I can safely say that Strategic Questioning is the most powerful tool I have employed for helping organisations to become more open to other ways of interacting with their communities.

I’ve posted before about the wonderful contributions of Fran Peavey on the art of Strategic Questioning. Fran was committed to inspiring changemakers with the tools to help groups (including organisations and systems) to become unstuck and start moving when overcome with despair, a lack of confidence, or fear.

Lately, I’ve been working with many organisations, mostly local government councils and water authorities, who have invariably felt immobile, unable to shift their culture and work differently with their communities. Those willing to consider a different approach, such as codesigning solutions with the community, invariably feel blocked. I wanted to understand those blockages more, and this is what I’ve discovered.

The reasons stated for being reluctant to collaborate, or co-design solutions, with the community are reasonably consistent. There are different objections, but as a collection of objections, they are expressed often.

“I just don’t think our Councillors (or Board, or Executive) are ready for this.”

“These matters are really technical in nature. I don’t think the community can get their heads around this stuff.”

“Co-design might work in some communities, but we know what ours is like. It will never work here.”

“Goodness knows what the community would come up with if we gave them more power to determine a solution to this complex challenge.”

“There are so many constraints with this project. How can we co-design a solution when there is so little that can be altered.”

Sound familiar?

Authentic Co-design relies on readiness; and getting ready takes a great deal of commitment, willingness and clarity. If organisations are stuck, how do you even get moving in the direction of readiness? This is where Strategic Questioning comes in. Fran Peavey would ask herself, what kind of question can help us move in this situation. Fran asked the Strategic Question. Let’s do it now for those who are being confronted with typical objections (remembering also that a Strategic Question might have a different impact in different situations – there are no silver bullets here).

What might we ask when confronted with:
“I just don’t think our Councillors (or Board, or Executive) are ready for this.”

Firstly, don’t ask ‘Why?’ That invites people to dig their heels in. You could try ‘If they were ready how would we know?’ Or perhaps ‘What information or support might they need to start moving toward readiness?’

Questions we might ask when confronted with:
“These matters are really technical in nature. I don’t think the community can get their heads around this stuff.”
We could ask, ‘What might be the consequences of pushing ahead without giving the community the opportunity to appreciate the complexity of this project?’ Or perhaps ‘To what extent do we understand what the community thinks about this project and what matters to them?’ Or again, ‘How might we provide an opportunity for all of us to learn about the complexity of this project (both technical and social)?

What might we ask when confronted with:
“Co-design might work in some communities, but we know what ours is like. It will never work here.”

We could ask a useful, but not overly powerful Strategic Question like ‘When has authentic co-design been attempted with this community in the past?’ A more powerful Strategic Question could be ‘What would need to change here for co-design to be given the chance to work?’ or even ‘Who are the people (groups, stakeholders, individuals) who might be curious about co-design?’

I’ll leave it to readers here to have a go at framing Strategic Questions for the last three objections. Have a go at them. Start brainstorming – see what you can come up with.

The point about using Strategic Questioning is the belief that systems/organisations/ communities will change based on the questions being entertained. Things change when we invite people to genuinely explore, and in so doing, reflecting on their own assumptions and implicit objectives.

Remember, a great Strategic Question is one that cannot easily be responded to immediately. It forces a shift by inviting people to think; to try to make sense of something they have not previously considered.

For more information on Strategic Questioning check this out.

People get ready, there’s a train a-coming’ …

04/05/2021 By Max Hardy Leave a Comment

Readiness is something we are acutely aware of when organisations approach us to do codesign or a deliberative engagement process for a complex issue.

Thoughts about readiness to codesign

No doubt you’ve heard the song (I admit my favourite version is Eva Cassidy’s).

Readiness is something we are acutely aware of when organisations approach us to do codesign or a deliberative engagement process for a complex issue. In recent months I’ve been working with many Councils, mostly keen to comply with requirements of the new Local Government Act in Victoria. This Act directs councils to undertake deliberative engagement with communities to establish a community vision and inform key planning documents.

It’s fair to say, some Councils are more ready to work with communities than others. Here are some of the common statements we’ve heard reflecting a lack of readiness;

“We’ve never done this before. Usually, we tell people what we’ve planned, and the community tells us we how we got it wrong!”

“As Councillors we believe we’ve been voted in to make all the decisions – I find all this deliberative engagement stuff confusing. Where do we fit into all this?”

“Council plans involve so many dimensions. There are things we must do because they are tied to state govt grants; other things we’ve always done and there are plans from years ago we are now just getting around to implementing. I just don’t see how the community can now appreciate this and add any value to our planning.”

“How can we be sure the agenda we won’t be captured by a powerful minority?”

“We’ve already been doing lots of research and planning. Now it looks as though we’ll be starting all over again.”

“We talk to our community all the time. It feels insulting to be told to do something we never stop doing?”

In summary, some Councils are not sure why they are being required to deliberative engagement with communities. Some aren’t sure how it can be done well. Some believe they’ve been doing it well for some time and don’t see the need to do more of it.

Readiness means different things to different people and different organisations. For me, these are some of the things to work through in order to be reasonably ready for codesigning solutions with community, or inviting the community to deliberate over complex issues.

Can you view your community as an asset to help you work through your trickiest, most complex and potentially controversial challenges? (ie; can you let go of any pre-conceived notions of the community or other stakeholders being ‘difficult’ and only capable of being critical and/or single-minded or self interested?)
Can you acknowledge that you and your organisation may not know everything that is useful about tackling this challenge?
Can you accept that it is possible to be credible leaders, or a credible organisation, AND be able to ask for help?
Can you be curious and open to finding a different solution to the one that seems most appealing to you right now?
Can you commit to explaining the extent to which you endorse the outcome of deliberative or codesign processes, and if, for some compelling reason you cannot endorse the entirety of the proposed solution/recommendations, respectfully explain why?
Can you allocate a reasonable amount of resources (time, funds, staff) toward the process to give it a reasonable chance of being do-able? (nb; it helps to realise there is usually a very strong business case for engaging early and authentically – mopping up the mess after a superficial, ‘nonsultation’ process is invariably expensive and damaging – to learn more about nonsultation and other damaging approaches to engagement check out Jacinta Cubis’ fabulous blog).

If you can answer to yes to ALL these questions, you are well on the way to being ready.

Head over to our website for more information and articles about co-design and engagement. Don’t forgot to check out our co-design courses, team development and consulting services on offer.

“You don’t need no baggage, you just get on board!”

How do you learn?

16/03/2021 By Max Hardy Leave a Comment

An opportunity for those committed to authentic co-design.

It is worth thinking about it – the question, how do we learn? Have you ever reflected on moments in your life when you have a major awakening? A time when ‘the penny dropped’ for you, or a time when you were so challenged about a particular issue you changed your viewpoint?

Rarely, I find, people recall moments when they have been in a training course, or at a lecture, although some do. Mostly people recall a conversation, where they have listened intently to a story, or they’ve been asked a really challenging question (for which we have no immediate answer).

For me, I recall a time, aged 18, mixing with mature age students at a hotel in Ultimo after classes. No subject was off-limits. I was the youngest person there. There was banter, provocation, stories and questions. It was stimulating, confronting yet respectful. Having grown up in a working-class family from southwestern suburban Sydney it was an eye-opener. It was, for me, transformational.

Ever since my work has centred around making space for such conversations and learning. This is why, with my colleagues Susan Carter and Anthony Boxshall, we are providing a free opportunity for anyone who has completed either the Authentic Co-design course or the Introduction to Authentic Co-design Course.

The first Quarterly Conversation will be at 8 am (Australian Eastern Standard time) on Thursday 15 April.

You’ll have the opportunity to join the experienced Authentic Co-design team and ask questions, share reflections, or discuss current projects and challenges.

You can book into the event as soon as you have bought a course. This is a great opportunity to extend your skills, and join a network of people interested in genuinely working with communities to address complex issues.

If you want to find out more, message me, or email us at susan@thecommunitystudio.com.

You can also register right here.

Let’s learn together because we all need to get smarter about how we can collectively make a difference.

Max

Engaging to make a difference. A conversation with Ben Neil.

01/02/2021 By Max Hardy Leave a Comment

I had the pleasure of meeting and talking with a wonderful community engagement practitioner, Ben Neil. He has so many stories from his wealth of experience. Here is some of what we spoke about.

Max: Ben, give us a really brief description of your role at Capire and professional background?

Ben: I have been at Capire for almost four years and am an Associate and Sector Lead for Social Inclusion and Housing. The role allows me to work on projects that I find really rewarding and that are a perfect compliment to my skills and experience.

My professional background is very varied. I’ve held senior roles in Government, the not-for-profit and charity sectors and now the for-profit sector. I was previously CEO of Cultivating Community who are a not-for-profit specialising in urban agriculture services through supporting community gardens and food security projects. This gave me a deep insight into the everyday lives of people who live on the public housing estates of Melbourne.

While at Mission Australia I was Social Enterprise Manager for Victoria. This was a really rewarding role as I looked after Charcoal Lane, a restaurant specialising in using native ingredients whilst providing training and employment opportunities to young Aboriginal men and women. I also ran a smash repair shop that aimed to reduce recidivism by working with young people involved in vehicle related crime, then supporting them to obtain apprenticeships in the industry. Both projects provided high levels of wrap around support to maximise the chances of success for the participants.

In Government I managed a large housing office on an estate that was going through a renewal process. Managing a site with large scale construction and 1,650 tenancies certainly honed my skills at dealing with complex conflict situations and outrage.

Max: As a consultant at Capire, what kind of work gives you the most
satisfaction?

Ben: There are many elements of my role at Capire that give me a very deep sense of personal and professional satisfaction.

From the perspective of working with clients I really enjoy advising and supporting in a collaborative manner. Working closely to solve complex and challenging issues really excites me, especially when the outcomes have a positive impact on the community. It is especially rewarding when our engagement has a positive impact on the participants. Whether that’s increasing their capacity to engage in the process, gaining knowledge on a particular topic or growing their confidence levels and willingness to participate in democratic decision making in the future.

Max: Do you have a story, or example, you can tell us about, that illustrates this?

Ben: One of the most satisfying experiences I’ve had at Capire was a project in a large inner-city estate in Melbourne. It was a significant project which included six weeks of engagement that gave us multiple opportunities to work with the community. We worked closely with the local community centre who were running a course for people to become interpreters. A couple of the students were tenants and keen for some work experience prior to completing the course and becoming NAATI accredited. We invited them to help out at a few pop-ups and an informal community meeting. One in particular was incredibly impressive managing to hold a conversation in three different languages at the same time! She was genuinely interested in what we were doing and actively reached out to members of her community to encourage them to participate. It was amazing to see her confidence grow and I was touched to receive a letter of thanks a few months later. This person now works as a professional interpreter and was incredibly thankful for the opportunity that we had given her as it helped grow her confidence in pursuing her career.

We stayed in touch and a few months later I was running one of our Learning Labs on the benefits of taking a social inclusion approach to engagement. I asked her to come along and share her experience. It was very inspiring to have been part of her journey from student to effectively teaching 25 engagement professionals about how best to work with interpreters.

In many ways our involvement was small but I love it when we can think outside of the square with our approaches and passionately believe this benefits the engagement process, the individuals involved and leads to better outcomes.

Max: Wow. What a great story. So, tell me, what do you believe you bring to the engagement profession or practice?

Ben: I’d like to think there are many things I bring to the engagement profession but the key one is to try and embed social inclusion into all my projects no matter how big or small. I feel very privileged to have had many roles in my career that have let me elevate the voices and opinions of our most disadvantaged. We need to make sure engagement is accessible and all people are genuinely supported to participate.

Max: I know you pay lots of attention to the experience of people in being engaged. How do you believe this attention can transform the outcomes of engagement processes?

Ben: I honestly believe, as an engagement practitioner, we really need to think about the impact of our work both relating to the project and the legacy that it leaves. I think a key deliverable for all engagement practitioners is to make sure we build people’s capacity through positive participation so it encourages them to participate in the future.

Having a community wanting to participate in civic decision-making leads to better outcomes for all of us. It is easy to underestimate how positive engagement experiences can impact other aspects of people’s lives.

Max: What advice would you give to organisations that want to take their engagement to the next level?

Ben: This is a tricky question as it depends very much on where the organisation is in its engagement journey. Things like core principles about how they or their consultants develop and deliver engagement strategies are incredibly valuable. This can really help communities who are asked to participate regularly and prevent the same mistakes being made over and over again.

I guess my two most practical pieces of advice are be open to opportunities to build the capacity of participants and to draw on their strengths, and most importantly, if you’re not going to take notice of what people say, then don’t bother asking them the question!

Max: Well, there it is. Engagement that makes a difference – and not just by improving decisions. Thanks Ben!