WORKING OUT LOUD · journal but the notes you're about to read are from three team meetings where we're pondering what wonderful opportunities the future might bring and how, we,

WORKING OUT LOUDTHINKING AHEAD - THEPOSSIBILITIES OF THENETWORKREFLECTING ON OUR PAST AND PRESENT, WHAT MIGHTTHE BEFRIEND SOCIAL NETWORK LOOK LIKE IN THECOMING WEEKS, MONTHS AND YEARS?

C H A P T E R T H R E E | M O N D A Y 2 5 M A Y 2 0 2 0

B E F R I E N D I N C | W O R K I N G O U TL O U D : C H A P T E R 3

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WHAT WEDOBefr iend is a soc ia l enterpr ise based in Perth, Western

Austra l ia . We ex ist to nurture an inc lus ive and connected

soc iety that va lues d ivers i ty , creates opportun i t ies for

contr ibut ion, and ce lebrates our d i f ferences. We are committed

connectors , pass ionate about reduc ing soc ia l i so lat ion and

lone l iness .

We are av id exp lorers , learners , l i s teners , do-ers ,

co l laborators , th inkers and ta lkers . We create impact through

our two core bus iness un i ts ; The Soc ia l Network and Befr iend

Consul t ing and Deve lopment.

We take a mult i-d imens iona l approach to lone l iness at both a

grassroots and an inst i tut iona l leve l to increase the reach and

susta inab i l i ty of our impact . Befr iend Community-Bui ld ing

fac i l i tates connect ion wi th in The Soc ia l Network by work ing

a longs ide loca l res idents to share open-inv i tat ion soc ia l

exper iences that they 're pass ionate about . Befr iend Consul t ing

supports community organisat ions wi th the knowledge,

strateg ies and ways of work ing that lead to better soc ia l

outcomes.

The end-goal on both s ides i s , of course, to create a space

where everyone can be present in a va lued soc ia l ro le ,

contr ibut ing in the i r communit ies and be ing act ive in c iv ic- l i fe .

We are a smal l-but-mighty

team work ing out of Perth, WA.

We work hard, p lay hard, and

we aren' t a fra id to t ry new

th ings. Above a l l , we wake up

every day because we va lue a l l

people , connect ion and

belonging, and we love to see

communit ies thr ive. Th is

pr inc ip le i s echoed in our

interna l operat ions too, as we

nav igate the complex i t ies of

se l f-organised teams,

co l lect ive dec is ion making and

autonomy. We see ourse lves as

a community that needs

nurtur ing and we take a lot of

pr ide in that . Th is journey of

d iscovery i s s t i l l very much in

the making but over the last

year and ha l f , we 've made

great headway in exp lor ing new

ways of work ing and

col laborat ing that fee l more in-

l ine wi th our co l lect ive va lues.

HOW WEWORK


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Ult imate ly , th is means d iv ing

deep into what matters to us

and what makes work an

enr ich ing exper ience and, at

i t ' s core, i t ' s pretty much the

fo l lowing:

Fee l va lued and

apprec iated

Autonomy, f reedom &

f lex ib i l i ty

Connect ion

Growth

Feel ing safe to fa i l and

approaching cha l lenges

with authent ic i ty , bravery

and res i l ience

Working out loud gives us anopportunity to share ourinsights with others; how wework, how we're feeling &what we're learning.

COVID-19 (Coronav irus ) i s a t ime we' l l remember forever . I t ' l l

become one of those def in ing moments in h is tory where there was

a 'before ' and an 'af ter ' . Whi ls t we don' t know the extent to which

the human exper ience might be a l tered, we do know that i t ' s

created a un ique opportun i ty to th ink about connect ion wi th a

fresh perspect ive. Our exper ience at Befr iend dur ing th is t ime has

g iven us f i rs t-hand exper ience in how res i l ient , creat ive and k ind

connected communit ies can be and h igh l ighted the va lue that we,

as an organisat ion, contr ibute to th is .

And now, as WA moves caut ious ly forward f rom COVID-19, see ing

the tentat ive re-opening of venues and community spaces, and an

increase in pub l ic gather ings, we've been quest ion ing what th is

means for the Network; not just in the coming weeks, but in the

months and years on the hor izon. We haven' t made any dec is ions

about re instat ing in-person events at the t ime of wr i t ing th is

journa l but the notes you're about to read are f rom three team

meet ings where we're ponder ing what wonderfu l opportun i t ies the

future might br ing and how, we, as an organisat ion, might support

meaningfu l connect ion in a var iety of contexts .

These 'work ing out loud' journa ls have been wr i t ten f rom the

perspect ives of the Befr iend Staf f Team, as we've nav igated the

last few months amidst COVID-19. They are of ten rough, unedi ted

ref lect ions that capture our thoughts and ins ights at a part icu lar

po int in t ime, in an ef fort to he lp others who may be on a s imi lar

journey.

LOOKING BEYONDCOVID-19


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Our approach to co l lect ive dec is ion-making usua l ly s tarts wi th two

key th ings; consu l tat ion wi th the ' the experts ' - the people wi th

re levant expert ise and exper ience to inform the dec is ion, fo l lowed

by a team d iscuss ion to ta lk about what we've learnt and exp lore

how we might move forward wi th that informat ion in mind.

ORGANISATIONALDECISION-MAKING


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We’re work ing on constant ly growing our capac i ty for dec is ion-

making that i s consc ious ly inc lus ive, expert ly informed and

effect ive ly product ive. Somet imes i t ’ s poss ib le for ind iv idua ls to

have fu l l power over the dec is ion that af fects them, but in other

instances, when the one dec is ion af fects many people , we f ind

that a co l lect ive has to p lay a ro le and respons ib i l i ty in uphold ing

the interests of the whole . That ’s when we d ivert to the ‘w isdom of

the crowd. ’

** I t ' s worth not ing here that we're referr ing to organisat iona l

dec is ion-making; the ways in which an organisat ion grows,

deve lops and shapes i ts ro le in the wor ld to fu l f i l i t s purpose. As

with everyth ing we do, we have inc lus iv i ty at the heart of our

operat ions and we are cont inuous ly t ry ing to uphold th is va lue as

in our approach to interna l dec is ion-making.

HOW DO WE MAKECOLLECTIVEDECISIONS?


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When i t comes to the staf f d iscuss ion around making the dec is ion,

we approach i t s imply as an open conversat ion, g iv ing one another

the space to share what we've learnt in consu l tat ion and hear f rom

everyone's own re lated exper iences. We aren ' t a fra id to cha l lenge

one another gent ly , and of fer a counter-perspect ive, and we

aren' t too proud to change our stance later in the conversat ion

upon hear ing f rom others .

We l ike to make sure we have a l l the informat ion we need to make

an informed dec is ion, so co l laborat ing wi th others to hear the i r

d iverse perspect ives i s important to us . Th is might mean 1:1 chats

or ' focus groups ' for s taf f members to ta lk about an interna l

dec is ion that cou ld af fect them, or i t might mean creat ing the

space to have conversat ions wi th Befr iend Event Hosts about an

aspect of The Soc ia l Network that we're keen to get the i r input on,

or perhaps we reach out to our Befr iend Board to hear the i r

exper iences in a part icu lar area. E i ther way, we try to make sure

we have a l l the informat ion we need before we move forward.

WHAT GUIDESOUR DECISIONMAKING?Ult imate ly , the f ramework that gu ides our co l lect ive dec is ion

making a lways comes back to our va lues, our s trateg ic asp i rat ions

and our capac i ty to make that dec is ion a susta inab le one. We

bel ieve that we a l l have va luab le ins ights to contr ibute to the

dec is ion making process and we pr ior i t i se the space for shar ing

and thoughtfu l d iscuss ion.


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Consul tat ion and

ins ight-gather ing f rom

indiv idua ls af fected by,

or who have re lat ive

exper ience/strengths

in , the dec is ion

Befr iend staf f

member(s ) gather and

record feedback

Team member(s ) share

ins ights and

consul tat ive feedback

with other team

members invo lved in

the dec is ion-making

process

Team d iscuss ion that

g ives everyone the

space to safe ly share

perspect ives and

exper iences, w i th

support f rom a team

member shepherd ing

the conversat ion

forward

The path to making

dec is ions i s gu ided by

our va lues, our

strateg ic ambit ions,

and the susta inab i l i ty

of the dec is ion, both

from a staf f ing, and

broader f inanc ia l ,

perspect ive

TEAM QUESTION: WHAT HASSURPRISED US ABOUT THE BEFRIENDSOCIAL NETWORK IN THIS NEWCONTEXT?

The on l ine ' format ' of an event works rea l ly wel l for some

act iv i t ies , which opens up new poss ib i l i t ies . Pr ior to COVID-19,

The Soc ia l Network averaged about 200 in-person events each

month. In our f i rs t month of be ing on l ine, we had 100 on l ine

events take p lace. The f requency wi th which Event Hosts are

host ing has increased, too; of ten mult ip le t imes

Some of the 'newer ' events we've seen f rom with in the Network

recent ly inc lude th ings that have a focus on wel lness and

development (e .g . yoga, on l ine cook ing demonstrat ions,

workouts , mindfu lness gather ings, emot iona l-check-ins, TED

Talk exp lorat ions) .

I t ' s been surpr is ing how cha l leng ing i t ' s been to set up new

Hosts . Th is i s part icu lar ly not iceab le as we've been work ing

rap id ly to mobi l i se the Network into th is context , but we've

def in i te ly exper ience a bott leneck in the admin istrat ive

process. The log ist ics of po l ice c learances and opening up the

geographica l boundar ies for out-of-state vo lunteers to beg in

the ir host ing journey has been rea l ly cha l leng ing to nav igate.

Some "estab l i shed" Befr iend ly groups have stayed rea l ly wel l-

connected, both on l ine and of f l ine, and cont inued to mainta in

those f r iendsh ips in creat ive and personal ways.

08.05.2020 | STAFF TEAM MEETING | COLLECTIVERESPONSES


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TEAM QUESTION: WHAT CAN YOUIMAGINE THE OPERATIONS OF THENETWORK MIGHT LOOK LIKE IN 12MONTHS TIME? 08.05.2020 | STAFF TEAM MEETING | COLLECTIVERESPONSES

Increased f requency and presence of on l ine & of f l ine Hub

Meet ings between Hosts in the same geographica l area. There 's

so much va lue in creat ing the space for rout ine connect ion

between the staf f team and Hosts for prob lem so lv ing,

d iscuss ion and shar ing ins ights , as th is current context has

shown

Onl ine events abso lute ly have the i r p lace in the Network. We

have a core va lue of ' inc lus ion ' and support ing on l ine groups to

cont inue onward is just another way we can potent ia l ly break

down a barr ier to part ic ipat ion for some. Running an on l ine

"Host Your Own E-Event" workshop and us ing th is as an

opportun i ty to learn f rom part ic ipants about the i r mot ivat ions

and exper iences in th is w i l l he lp us cont inue to support th is

component of the Network.

I t would be va luab le i f we could f ind access ib le , in-person ways

of support ing people to deve lop the i r conf idence in technology

and grow the ir capac i ty to access v i r tua l gather ings. People

wi l l l i ke ly have a renewed - or even new - mot ivat ion to use

technology to stay connected and we can share our knowledge

or connect people together for shar ing sk i l l s in th is area. I t

might open new doors for people to stay act ive in another

community context - an on l ine one.


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TEAM QUESTION: WHAT CAN YOUIMAGINE THE OPERATIONS OF THENETWORK MIGHT LOOK LIKE IN 12MONTHS TIME? CONTINUED

I f we 're cont inu ing to support on l ine events , some groups

might 'b lend' together who might not be in the same

geographica l area, espec ia l ly i f they connect over a shared

hobby or pass ion. Imagine a kn i t t ing group in Perth gett ing

together in-person and Zooming wi th a kn i t t ing group located

in Melbourne. . . that fee ls l i ke an interest ing opportun i ty to

exp lore.

We'd be stepping even further into a support ro le ; he lp ing

others nav igate the cha l lenges of host ing shared soc ia l

exper iences in both on l ine and of f l ine sett ings. We could work

together to test the waters of what might be poss ib le ; how we

could b lend an in-person group wi th an on l ine component in an

inc lus ive way that makes sense.

We have th is broader , s trateg ic ambit ion to bu i ld a 'movement

of togetherness ' and the evo lut ion of the Network over the next

year fee ls rea l ly a l igned wi th that , w i th the estab l i shment of

on l ine events and br ing ing more people together on th is

journey. I t ' s more that the Network i s 'moving forward ' rather

than go ing back to 'normal ' .


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TEAM QUESTION: WHAT MIGHTBEFRIEND'S ROLE IN THE SPACE OFCOMMUNITY BUILDING LOOK LIKE,BEYOND SUPPORTING LOCALEVENTS? 08.05.2020 | STAFF TEAM MEETING | COLLECTIVERESPONSES

We ex ist to support connect ion. But , more than that , we want

to bu i ld people 's capac i t ies for contr ibut ion in ways that are

meaningfu l and that make sense to them as ind iv idua ls . I t ' s

a lmost l i ke we could be stepping into a capac i ty-bui ld ing ro le ,

rather than community-bui ld ing.

We' l l be ask ing loca l res idents quest ions l ike 'what 's the

problem around connect ion you're look ing to so lve and what do

you need to so lve that? How can we support you to f ind i t ,

exp lore i t , learn i t? ' . We could support loca l i sed prob lem-

solv ing around connect ion in e i ther a 1:1 sett ing or through

group-based exp lorat ion.

Th is idea of 'empowerment ' p lays into our future and resonates

strongly ; encourag ing and support people to create some k ind

of connect ion, e i ther a group, sett ing, or ent i ty , and support

them in let t ing i t f lour ish in a susta inab le way. The more we do

th is , the more we learn about th is process. We could be shar ing

more of th is community knowledge wi th others to support

further growth.


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TEAM QUESTION: WHAT MIGHTBEFRIEND'S ROLE IN THE SPACE OFCOMMUNITY BUILDING LOOK LIKE,BEYOND SUPPORTING LOCALEVENTS? CONTINUED.

The Befr iend Soc ia l Network i s a space for res idents to spark

inc lus ive, open-inv i te events . . . but that 's not the on ly way

connect ion can happen; that 's just our so lut ion. I t ' s probably

one of many! A longs ide support ing the Network in these events ,

our ro le cou ld be to he lp people f igure out how they want to

connect and what that looks l i ke . I t ' s th is idea that Befr iend

could be bu i ld ing people 's capac i t ies to be the i r own

champions, empowered wi th a prob lem-solv ing sk i l l set that

might he lp them support connect ion in the way that makes most

sense for them in the i r community .


1 1

TEAM QUESTION: WHAT DOES THISMEAN FOR OUR PLACE-BASEDCOMMUNITY-BUILDING ROLES? HOWMIGHT THEY LOOK DIFFERENT?

I t seems l ike a key th ing that might he lp us move forward would

be p lay ing to our s trengths and ind iv idua l capabi l i t ies , rather

than our geographica l locat ion. In focus ing on our un ique sk i l l s ,

we can be more ef f ic ient in support ing people who have var ied

requests or needs. We' l l know who, on the team, would be best

to lead that enquiry .


In order to rea l ly focus on running the Host ing workshops, we'd

need one or two members of the staf f team lead ing that work,

to deve lop the leve l of competency around support ing on l ine

events and "the d ig i ta l space" as a community sett ing

f lour ish ing wi th in the Network. I t would then mean that , a f ter

the workshop, at tendees cou ld be essent ia l ly ass igned a

Community Bu i lder that 's most su i ted to them.

We can approach th is by mapping the work, s trengths, g i f ts and

exper ience of the Community Bu i ld ing (CB) team to make some

dec is ions about reshaping ro les . Th is mapping exerc ise can be

a fac i l i tated d iscuss ion between the CB Team to nav igate how

we can organise ourse lves in a way that makes sense, beyond

geographica l boundar ies .


1 2

TEAM MEETING: HOW MIGHT PHASE 2IMPACT THE NETWORK AND THERESUMING OF IN-PERSON EVENTS?

Given the t ime-frame we have to p lay wi th on th is occas ion, we

actua l ly have about a week to rea l ly cons ider our opt ions and

col laborate wi th Hosts on th is dec is ion before Phase 2 ro l l s

out . I t fee ls l i ke th is dec is ion-making process d i rect ly invo lves

them so they should have the space to part ic ipate in the

d iscuss ion and vo ice the i r cha l lenges/concerns/fee l ings.


Logist ica l ly , Phase 2 fee ls qu i te complex, espec ia l ly around

managing capac i ty l imi ts and the potent ia l pressure i t might

put on Hosts to "manage" or "po l ice" soc ia l d is tanc ing

pract ices between members, which might be an unfa i r ask of

them. There 's some addi t iona l quest ions around how th is can

be an inc lus ive shared soc ia l exper ience i f everyone is sat 1.5

metres apart . There might a lso be a potent ia l cha l lenge around

managing RSVPs and the Host hav ing v is ib i l i ty of the number of

people at the event - which might have an impact on the venue

capac i ty . I t fee ls l i ke i t cou ld get qu i te messy.

In creat ing the space for Hosts to part ic ipate in th is dec is ion,

we could a lso be captur ing some rea l ly va luab le ins ights about

'what 's important ' to Hosts r ight now, and why. I t cou ld be an

opportun i ty to understand where everyone's heads are at , and

explore the va lue of connect ion in th is current context and in

the future. These l i t t le nuggets of in format ion rea l ly prov ide a

lot of va lue for us to make informed dec is ions about how we

support connect ion as we move out of COVID-19.


1 3

TEAM MEETING: HOW MIGHT PHASE 2IMPACT THE NETWORK AND THERESUMING OF IN-PERSON EVENTS? CONTINUED.

Given that we have a week to p lay wi th, the pr ior i t ies look to be

qui te communicat ions-re lated, part icu lar ly around inv i t ing

Hosts to jo in in th is dec is ion process. Th is can be done in a few

di f ferent mediums to ensure we maximise reach amongst the

Host ing team; a Befr iend ly Beat newsletter wi th an embedded

feedback form that enables Hosts to prov ide commentary and

ins ight into what Phase 2 looks l i ke for them and the ir events ,

and we can schedule a Zoom sess ion for later in the week to

have more of a fac i l i tated d iscuss ion. We need to be captur ing

the d i f ferent k ind of cha l lenges Hosts ant ic ipate they could

face wi th resuming in-person events so we, as an organisat ion,

can support them with that .

In sett ing these spaces up over the next four or f ive days, i t

makes sense that we meet as a team aga in on Fr iday to d iscuss

what we've learnt f rom Hosts and move forward wi th a

dec is ion. With Phase 2 ro l l ing out on Monday, we need to

manage everyone's expectat ions about what th is means for in-

person events , so let 's a im to send out a Network-wide

communicat ion by Fr iday af ternoon, once we've had the team

discuss ion.


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There was a love ly theme coming through that many Hosts are

actua l ly very happy exp lor ing on l ine gather ings for now and

they 're keen to keep to do ing that . Converse ly , for those that

were keen to resume in-person events , there was an expressed

want , or in some cases, need, to ' return to community l i fe ' .

Some a lso stated that educat ion and informat ion on how to do

th is safe ly would be he lpfu l .

TEAM MEETING: WHAT DID WE LEARNFROM HOSTS ABOUT PHASE 2 ANDHOW MIGHT WE MOVE FORWARD?

There have been a number of opportun i t ies over the last f ive

days for Hosts to connect wi th us about the ro l l-out of Phase

2, and what th is means for in-person events . We had a few

phone ca l l s and other ad-hoc communicat ions, but the two

structured ways we captured feedback was through the survey

that went out on Monday and the mid-week Zoom sess ion.

There were mixed responses wi th a rat io of about 3:1 Hosts

who aren ' t ready to resume in-person events versus those that

are.


We have a ph i losophy of 'you do you' . . . th is means that we

trust each other to make the r ight dec is ions. We say th is a l l the

t ime; to one another and to the Host ing team. Is th is a

s i tuat ion where we can make th is dec is ion for others? Do we

have the r ight to remove the cho ice for people to connect

under the Befr iend banner in Phase 2? I t fee ls l i ke th is i s an

opportun i ty to enable Hosts to choose for themselves, w i th a l l

the resources and informat ion to hand they need to do so.


1 5

I f we go down th is route and support people - both Hosts and

members - to make the ir own dec is ions about whether they 're

ready to connect in-person, what might that look l ike and what

k ind of support can we prov ide?

TEAM MEETING: WHAT DID WE LEARNFROM HOSTS ABOUT PHASE 2 ANDHOW MIGHT WE MOVE FORWARD? CONTINUED.

There 's a lso a chance to rea l ly support Hosts in do ing what 's

r ight for them. One of the concerns that came out of the last

week in chatt ing wi th Hosts was that they 'd face a b i t of

pressure to resume in-person events before they were ready so

we'd need to ensure that doesn' t happen. We need to make i t

c lear that we va lue d ivers i ty above a l l in our community , and

that needs to be respected. For any members rea l ly keen to h i t

the streets and p lay, we can gu ide them in host ing or co-

host ing one or support them to cont inue connect ion outs ide of

that event .

There 's a lot of confus ion around what Phase 2 rea l ly means,

so be ing qu i te c lear about these gu ide l ines wi th in the context

of a Befr iend event would be he lpfu l . Th is cou ld a lso work wel l

as a sort of ' too lbox ' of resources that might he lp both Hosts

and members nav igate how they might want to connect over the

next few weeks so we're rea l ly equ ipp ing people wi th a l l the

informat ion we can to make the ir own dec is ions; th ings l ike

scenar io-planning, or prompt ing quest ions. We could a lso

h igh l ight the d i f ferent ways people are connect ing r ight now

onl ine and the opportun i t ies to get invo lved there.


1 6

This approach fee ls rea l ly va lue-al igned. We have th is ambit ion

and v is ion to support people to be the i r own community

champions and i t fee ls s trange to g ive people a 'hard no ' to

requests to connect in-person under the Befr iend banner. The

State Government responses ind icates that people can meet

and soc ia l i se , as long as i t ' s done safe ly and in- l ine wi th

guide l ines. I f we don' t enable Befr iend Hosts and members to

make that dec is ion for themselves, then i t ' l l just happen

outs ide of the Befr iend ecosystem, which fee ls l i ke a missed

opportun i ty for others to connect in . I t might a lso fee l l i ke we

didn ' t support people when they needed us.


1 7

TEAM MEETING: WHAT DID WE LEARNFROM HOSTS ABOUT PHASE 2 ANDHOW MIGHT WE MOVE FORWARD? CONTINUED.

The next s teps are for a smal l , se l f-nominated pro ject team to

get together to p lan what a ' support ing resource ' might look

l ike and map out the var ious tasks and content in that p iece of

work. In the meant ime, we can let Hosts and members know

that we wi l l be support ing in-person events , but i t won' t be by

Monday. We're essent ia l ly moving to our own t imel ine, instead

of the state 's phased approach, and ensur ing we g ive the

community what i t needs before we resume in-person events .

We' l l resume th is conversat ion in a week and see where we're

at wi th th is resource, and share any feedback we're hear ing

from Hosts and members about what might be needed to

support connect ion dur ing Phase 2 and beyond.

Stay sa fe & s tay connected

Documents

WORKING OUT LOUD · journal but the notes you're about to read are from three team meetings where we're pondering what wonderful opportunities the future might bring and how, we,