I wrote this blog after listening to the powerful song ‘Mercy’ by the Dave Matthews Band. The song is timeless and beneath the melody and verses is a simple, unsettling truth: you do not wait for the world to become kinder, you decide to make it kinder. Systems and cultures change when enough individuals refuse … Continue reading Care Is a Verb: What the Epstein Story Teaches Us About Passive Bystanders
You want to make reporting harm normal. Introduce a culture of active bystandership.
This piece highlights that human silence isn’t inevitable. It suggests that a culture of active bystandership leads to increases in both early informal action and in the formal reporting of harm to line managers and HR departments. The piece makes use of social science dating back to 1961 to support it’s conclusion. In my work … Continue reading You want to make reporting harm normal. Introduce a culture of active bystandership.
The Bigger Picture
Is behaviour the problem or the symptom? In this piece I urge senior leaders and indeed society to stop seeing the bad behaviour as the problem. Service level observations simply lead to service level responses. A deeper and more meaningful dive is needed into the culture and ask (1) Why, despite the many reports into … Continue reading The Bigger Picture
Why getting the terminology matters
The rush by many to use the term ‘Upstander’ is leading to some uncomfortable conversations not taking place. In this piece I aim to persuade you to consider that the term 'upstander' isn’t helpful and that those in workplaces better consider the science as opposed to simply what sounds better. While the intention behind promoting … Continue reading Why getting the terminology matters
How active bystandership can support a multi-agency partnership.
Active bystandership is like the immune system of a workplace, team or partnership: when people step in early and constructively, they prevent small problems from becoming a major crisis. The benefits ripple outward in ways that touch everyone, not just the direct “targets” of intervention. Many child/adult safeguarding failures are due to poor communication or … Continue reading How active bystandership can support a multi-agency partnership.
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