How Silver Jumpsuits, Doing the Dishes and the C word can change the world.
By now you’ve probably worked out that I wasn’t born in Australia- and not just because I didn’t know what chokos were in the ‘Cornersmith’ podcast. My accent reveals I’m a Brit, and therefore an Australian by choice.
If you asked me why I love Australia so much that I moved halfway around the world, it would be a pretty long conversation, and the great outdoors would only be a small part of it. But one of the key things is freedom – of thought, politics, space – the list goes on. I grew up in a liberal family who supported whatever choice I made in terms of values and beliefs, and I love living in a country that supports that ethos too. I chose not to have a religious belief system. But having said that, it doesn’t mean I am ant-religion. (There are quite a few things I am ‘anti’ but that’s a whole other article!). I don’t think organised religion is perfect, but when it comes to helping build communities and help out those who may not easily find their ‘tribe’, there is a huge amount to learn.
That’s why I went to meet Erica Hamence at Saint Barnabas Anglican Church in an urban environment near the centre of Sydney, to talk about the big C - Community. And, being Australia, like brekkie and tradie, its nickname is Barneys - of course.
I learned so much from Erica who is at the sharp end of building communities and working with people who are marginalised or have trouble finding their community. As Erica says, you can’t love your neighbour if you don’t know your neighbour.
But as you probably know by now, my thing in these articles is looking at community via the lived experience and comparing and contrasting it with existing research. Plus adding in some extra information not available in the podcast.
Listening back, I think the conversation drew out major themes – trust, integrity, participation – the value of which are all supported by the research and evident in the field, but also, they just make sense in the real world. Do give it a listen on: Apple Podcasts , Spotify
Take the emergency response team at Barney’s – they may not be wearing superhero silver jumpsuits (listen to the podcast for this one!), but to those in need they are pretty much superheroes. Made up of community members, this team seeks to support local people through difficult times. One local person had a fire in her apartment and lost everything (with no one to turn to for help) – Barney’s sent a team of people to help her. From sourcing new clothes to fixing up the apartment, as well as just helping her through a challenging experience, the community saw a need and responded to it.
It’s just one incident in many that leads to demonstrating authenticity, reliability and empathy, some of the best ways I know to build trust in the community.
Sociologist and philosopher Georg Simnel described trust as one of the most important synthetic forces within our society.
But what happens when you lose trust? It’s a very contemporary theme.
Harvard Business School professor Frances Frei delivered a fabulous Ted Talk on how to rebuild trust at Uber after they were hit be a series of scandals. Well worth a listen.
And of course, loss of trust in organised religion over the last decade has been overwhelming. The findings of the National Church Life Survey points to “ a serious erosion of trust” in the church as a result of countless accounts of child abuse.
Erica says she’s not actively seeking to rebuild that trust in a PR campaign kind of way. She says that by acting with integrity, leaders can help transform organisations.
For example, in heading up a domestic and family violence advocacy team, they started by first looking at their own moral integrity. And it’s not just Erica who recognises the benefits to community when we lead by example, and act with integrity. In their book The Leadership Challenge, leading executive educators Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner conclude that truly transformational leaders are those that model the way for others.
And of course, it’s great to encourage all members of your community to actively participate. Erica gives an example of everyone helping to do the dishes after supper - or in other words, we all need to muck in. I think that’s instantly recognisable - the boss that offers to do the coffee run for the team, or those that stay behind to help clear up after a late night pizza meeting. These simple acts of participation help us come together as a community. The truth is, our communities are stronger and more sustainable if we all participate. Just ask community development scholars Phil Connors and Susan Kenny, who recognise “bottom up, participatory form of development” as one of the defining features of effective communities.
I have so much respect for Erica and the work she is doing. She could easily have chosen to be a high flyer in a well-paid corporate job, but instead has chosen to support and encourage those who need her helping hand. And I have no doubt there are Ericas in all flavours of religion – and atheism too. I wish them all well.
So, to wrap up, here are my three community-building takeaways from my chat with Erica.
1. There's a big 3 of trust - Demonstrate authenticity, reliability and empathy.
2. Action speak louder than words - Model the way by acting with integrity.
3. Everybody should do the dishes - Encourage all members to actively participate and ‘muck in’.
This is all information I’m using on a daily basis to help build communities within UNSW, because #belonging is better.
Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts , Spotify
