The Better Way Podcast was launched in February 2023.
Co-hosts Polly Neate, Chief Executive of Shelter, and Roger Martin, Co-Founder of The Mindset Difference, introduce you to some remarkable people, who have equally remarkable stories to tell.
Discover those who put relationships first, listen to one another, share power and join forces, finding ways of transforming services and lives across many different fields.
You can find out more by listening to this short introductory podcast.
Do subscribe. It’s available now on most outlets.
All episodes are shown below.
At the time of recording, Olivia was 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.
Paul is the founder of eCulture Solutions. In this episode, Polly and Roger talk to him about …
the power of virtual co-operation to 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.
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.
Amanda is a Trustee of the Lankelly Chase 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.
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 lot more!
Cate can be reached via: www.surreyyouthfocus.org.uk.
Kathy is the CEO of Children England, and one of the founders of the 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: www.childrenengland.org.uk.
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 lower 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: https://www.idealforall.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 work led to the movement for A Better Way.
How relationships have suffered as the public sector has changed.
Why 9.75 million 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 at david@relationshipsproject.org
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 though 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
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 are introducing systems that aren’t working.
Hope for better government, stronger democracy, and a more positive narrative.
And much more.
Caroline can be reached via: carolineslocock@civilexchange.org.uk.
Samira is an independent consultant supporting community development, working with the Grenfell community, the Kings 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.
And a lot more.
You can contact Samira on X (formerly Twitter) @benomsan or email 1samirabenomar@gmail.com.
Dalton Leong is now a semi-retired charity leader, with an earlier successful career in banking and financial services. 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 daltonleong@surreyvcsealliance.org.uk.
Jude is the founder and Director of Sounddelivery Media - which champions 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.
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.org.uk
www.citybridgefoundation.org.uk/
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, website: https://www.mind.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 …
John can be reached at https://www.improconsult.co.uk/systemic-design-portfolio.html.
