At the recent Social Care Future event, myself and Nick Sinclair, Director of the Local Area Coordination Network, hosted a workshop exploring Purpose, Power and Permission. 

We used this photograph of Becky, a Wellbeing Worker, spending time with Agnes to prompt our conversation about purpose, power and permission.

What does this photo say to you?

When I look at this photo, I see that Becky is really clear about her Purpose; recognising that relationships are at the heart of our wellbeing, taking time to be with Agnes, creating opportunities for chatting, a space to be together

Thinking about Power, the photo shows that Agnes is comfortable with Becky, a trusting relationship, she has the power to invite Becky into her space

Becky doesn’t need to check with her manager to ask for Permission to spend time with Agnes; she’s confident to know what her purpose is, spending time together to develop a relationship and doing more of whatever matters to Agnes.

In our Social Care Future workshop we ask participants to further explore the concept of permission using this scenario…

“You are all friends living in the same community together.  In normal times you regularly share meals together and have a common passion for the place you live. As the weather improves, one of you suggests that you all get together to have a “bring and share” picnic in the local park when allowed.  Another person suggests you invite fellow neighbours and make it a bit of an event, someone says “what permissions do we need” and you all stop and think – where does the conversation go from there?”

Here’s a summary from our conversations and you can watch the recording of the workshop here, along with other recordings from the event.