I am a big admirer of Andrea Sutcliffe, CEO of the Social Care Institute for Excellence. Andrea is a breath of fresh air. I will never forget the time I was sitting in the basement of the SCIE offices ( a long story, don’t ask…) trying to round up people to do some recordings for the new electronic Whose Shoes?® – Making It Real. Twitter is a powerful tool in these circumstances. A quick DM and, within a very short space of time, Andrea had found me lots of ‘volunteers’ … and, of course, volunteeered herself too.
Let’s just do it! This is a simple example. But simplicity can be powerful because we don’t really n-e-e-d to make everything SO complicated… 😉
Anyway, I was not surprised to hear that Andrea’s early career included some lowly, ‘real’ experiences, working as a cleaner in the NHS. Andrea has written a great blog about this: The Francis Report – what I did in 1983 is just as important today.
You need to read the blog itself but here are some quotes I picked out highlighting the difference made by simple, everday acts of kindness and compassion :
“…the impact a kind word, or a smile at the right time, could have for someone at their most vulnerable.” “I remember one woman saying that I was the only person who had been nice to her all day – I hadn’t done much, but it had meant a lot to her.” “This is about culture – encouraging and enhancing a culture where a human response is natural, recognised and valued.”@guystenson I agree – thing is, not to forget!
— Andrea Sutcliffe (@Crouchendtiger7) March 28, 2013
@whoseshoes “simplicity is powerful” – brilliant!
— Andrea Sutcliffe (@Crouchendtiger7) March 28, 2013
— Gill Phillips (@WhoseShoes) March 28, 2013
Pingback: New tools to support your personalisation / transformation journey! Making It Real! | Whose Shoes?
Pingback: Leadership! Breaking down barriers. Engaging people. Building capacity. | Whose Shoes?
Pingback: #Woopdedoodle! The top 50 ‘HSJ Inspirational Women, 2014′. | Whose Shoes?
Pingback: In the shoes of Hilary Marmot, Consultant Old Age Psychiatrist … Looking at How to get to Eden. Through the Ages. | Whose Shoes?