A collection in one place of some recent posts, including version 1.0 of my paper on ‘degrees of relationality in public services’:
These posts cover a range of issues:
- Definition: what ‘relational’ actually means
- Practice: what to do differently at the front line
- Diagnosis: ladder / degrees / gradient
- Conditions: governance, history, why it struggles to persist and grow
At heart, I’m saying:
- Relationality isn’t tone but operating system
- It’s about engaging person-to-person to move from demand to need to purpose, and from service to system to place and community
- This only works if you shift authority, measures, and system conditions (and psychology) – d otherwise immune systemss absorb or reject it
- That means our mechanism of change needs to be informed by all the above
My post introducing the ladder
Primary diagnosis but also understanding of ‘what does relationality mean here’, while psychologically trying to move away from splitting and polarisation to pragmatic change.
What do we mean when we say ‘relational’ in public services?
A companion piece to the above, defending and explicating the common use of ‘relational public services’ and the mindset shift we need.
How do we change the way we relate? and How to move to relational public services
The most complete narrative (in different forms) of what I think are some of the key issues in the way of moving to better, more relational, public services – and things we need to pay attention to to get there.
A Hundred Origin Stories – an Unfinished History of Relational Public Services – Parker, Dove, and Taylor (2025)
An attempt at “‘a decent accessible history of relational practice/thinking/leadership (ideally short form)”
Relational public services and reality
The simplicity and impact of relationship public services, even in the current context – and the energy and effort it takes to maintain.
A cheat sheet for more relational customer-first services
Focused on getting beyond ‘level 0’
Why relational public services are linked to systems practice as a humanism
Some practical ways to see where current conditions come from, and how we could approach the starting point here differently.
Are the ‘rebels with a cause’ actually preventing the very change they campaign for?
A provocation paper – ‘we’re trying to change to relational services wrong’
chosen path 