A Better Way - The Podcast

Noel is the Founder & Managing Director at WEvolution UK – a movement inspired by his mother in India which nurtures small, powerful groups who save small amounts, to create big opportunities. In this episode, Polly and Roger talk to him about…

…What happened when he took a group of women from Glasgow to the largest slum in Mumbai.

…The joy in human connection even in the darkest times.

…Male leadership of a charity for women – how does that work?

…How 100 new businesses grew from the harsh lives of 1000 women.

…Not letting “systemisation” dilute the essence of small, activist groups.

…Personal agency and collective action powered by economic activity.

…Escaping the stigma of ‘slums’ and ‘deprived areas’.

You can contact Noel on..

noel@wevolution.org.uk

https://wevolution.org.uk/

Lots of us know City Bridge Foundation as a funder but this conversation goes much further to understand the critical and challenging role of funders in Better Way leadership. Polly and Roger talk to Lara about…

…Her deep commitment to the idea of service.

…Turning “learning how to function in our dysfunction” on its head – and making a mess.

…The power of analogies, metaphors and acronyms in radical conversations.

…Not “sleeping on a dream” but doing all you can to bring it to fruition.

 …And a lot more!

Lara can be reached via:  lara.rufus-fayemi@cityoflondon.gov.uk

Jude is founder and director of Sounddelivery Media – who champion the expertise and insights of lived experience leaders. In this episode, Polly and Roger talk to her about…

…Why Jude left her BBC career behind to set up an organisation to tell new and different stories

…The true meaning of “informed consent”

…How active allyship alongside lived experience sets leaders up to fly

…Building capacity to change norms and correct injustices

…CEO guilt trips

…And much more

Jude can be reached via:

jude@sounddelivery.org.uk

Dalton Leong is now a semi-retired charity leader, with an earlier successful career in banking and financial services. In this episode, Polly and Roger talk to him about…

…His journey from senior banker to CEO of a children’s hospice.
…Joining forces – why merging two charities was the right move for beneficiaries
…Bringing together the voices of 16,000 VCSE organisations in one county
…Understanding value in a time when money is tight
…And much more

Dalton can be reached via:

Samira is an independent consultant supporting community development, working with the Grenfell community, The King’s Fund and the Nuffield Trust, among others. In this episode, Polly and Roger talk to her about…

…How to find a completely different starting point for conversations that truly change things

…Reframing “evidence-based practice” as “practice-based evidence”

…The “in between space” where systems and communities, lived and learned experience overlap

…”Breaking bread” together to rebuild trust

…Why people might keep asking for more information

You can contact Samira on..

X (formerly Twitter) @benomsan

1samirabenomar@gmail.com 

Sarah has worked in mental health since the age of 15 and has now achieved her dream job as CEO of Mind . In this episode, Polly and Roger talk to her about…

…The pleasures and pressures of the job she always wanted.

…Is mental ill health really increasing and why?

…The realities of striving to remain an “authentic” leader and what does that even mean? 

…And a lot more!

Sarah can be reached via: 

s.hughes@mind.org.uk

Caroline co-founded A Better Way and runs a think tank called the Civil Exchange, after a career full of learning, famously being the first female Private Secretary to the first female PM – Margaret Thatcher. In the final episode of the first series, Polly and Roger talk to her about…

…How Caroline first saw that a better way was so desperately needed.

…Lessons from working for two Prime Ministers and Gordon Brown when he was Chancellor.

…What happens when you’re introducing systems that aren’t working.

…Hopes for better government, stronger democracy, and a more positive narrative.

…And much more

Caroline can be reached via:

carolineslocock@civilexchange.org.uk

John is a systems thinker at Impro. In this episode, Polly and Roger talk to him about…

…What even is systems thinking?

…What led public services into meltdown.

…How can we rebuild in the best way for citizens?

…Lessons from The Netherlands who now have empty places in prisons.

…Let’s not jump to digital solutions (“We need an app for that”).

…And more

You can contact John here..

Clare Wightman is CEO of Grapevine - Coventry and Warwickshire. In this episode, Polly and Roger talk to her about…

…Strengthening people by putting love, hope, intimacy and connectedness first.

…Building power to challenge for system change.

…Creating a culture that thrives and endures through stories.

…Why one of the hottest risks of striving to collaborate is to our individual psychological safety. 

…And a lot more!

Clare can be reached via: 

cwightman@grapevinecoventryandwarwickshire.co.uk

David is the founder of the Relationships Project and Community Links and one of the founders of A Better Way. In this episode, Polly and Roger talk to him about…

…How David’s life’s work led to the movement for A Better Way

…How relationships have suffered as the public sector has changed

…Why 9.75 miilion pandemic volunteers are not “an army”

…What it takes to raise our sights and shift the soul of the system

…Learning from places where things are done in A Better Way 

David can be reached on david@relationshipsproject.org

And via: 

Khatija is the CEO of Ideal for All, a charity and social enterprise based in Sandwell. In this episode, Polly and Roger talk to her about…

…Being truly user-led.

…How a one-stop-shop delivers better outcomes at less cost.

…Standing with people to claim what’s rightfully theirs

…The value of local partnerships and the threats posed by large and national organisations.

Khatija can be reached via: 

Kathy is the CEO of Children England and one of the founders of A Better Way. In this episode, Polly and Roger talk to her about…

…How competition and contracting have wasted energy and money and undermined trust, collaboration and purpose

…Who should be the catalysts for change and how we need to listen

…Lessons to be learned from local, decentralised successes

…Kathy’s journey from practitioner to policy influencer and changemaker

Kathy can be reached via: 

Cate is the CEO of Surrey Youth Focus. In this episode, Polly and Roger talk to her about…

…Being a positive insurgent or “disrupter in chief,” challenging but valued by many different players in the system around children and young people

…How Cate’s experience as a parent provided the insight that led her to activism.

…How confidence and trust to change things is built in a different kind of conversation, that matters more than organisational structures 

…The power of principles, not targets, when creating action on the frontline  

…And a lot more!

Cate can be reached via: 

Amanda is a Trustee for The Lankelly Trust Foundation. In this episode, Polly and Roger talk to her about…

…What happened when women who had survived lifetime trauma took their city council to court

…Making sure you get your seat at the table

…What makes organisations good at drawing on lived experience to redesign services

…And other topics

Karin is the Chief Executive of Cambridge House. In this episode, Polly and Roger talk to her about…

…Expertise in change making

…Whether charities do their masters’ bidding

…Radical listening’s implications for leadership, trust and disagreements

…And other topics

Karin can be reached via:

www.ch1889.org

info@ch1889.org

Paul is the Founder Of eCulture Solutions. In this episode, Polly and Roger talk to him about…

…The power of virtual cooperation to help make our places thrive

…Recognising who does the caring in our communities and coming together virtually and IRL to enable them

…Whether designing services in partnership with people who use them can reduce “institutional nervousness”

…And other topics

Paul can be reached on:

www.eculturesolutions.com

paul.white@eculturesolutions.com

Olivia is the Deputy Director, People and Communities for NHS England. In this episode, Polly and Roger talk to her about…

…Organising around how individuals and communities hope to live their best lives

…Breaking out of community and individual stereotypes – and the notion that involvement is the soft and fluffy side of our work

…The power of what can happen when lived and learned experience are equal partners

…And other topics

Olivia can be reached on:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/get-involved/involvementguidance/

Twitter - @livibutt

oliviabutterworth@nhs.net

In this episode, hosts Roger Martin and Polly Neate introduce themselves and The Better Way Network.