Living and leading in interesting times

Said to be an English translation of an ancient curse, like it or not, in housing we are living in extremely interesting times. The landscape we are travelling through seems swampy and uncharted. We navigated the dark forest of the pandemic and adapted our services and ways of working to operate in a changed world. Prompted by the climate emergency, we are already exploring the new horizons of zero carbon and new ways of building, working, and living. We continue to climb the mountain of the homelessness and housing crisis, traversing through the avalanches of damp and mould, fire safety and cladding scandals. We are doing all of this in the face of a gathering storm. A storm that has swept up party-gate, Epstein, the Met, Grenfell and other concerns about standards in public life and ultimately about trust. This storm makes our journey more difficult, it is hard to see clearly, to plot a path through it all and to stay on our course.

It’s in such interesting times and stormy weather that a compass is vital. In housing the compass is our professional standards. A binnacle that helps us stay steady on our course and navigate through the unknown to do the right thing; no matter how complex and challenging the landscapes we are moving through. At LiveWest we have been working in partnership with Chartered Institute of Housing, checking our compass settings are aligned and that our LiveWest values and behaviours are helping us to head in the same direction as the CIH professional standards. Which reminds me of another proverb, “if you want to go far, travel together”. Whether you are setting your own professional course, planning a route for your team, or steering a course for your whole organisation; we will make better progress if we travel together.

That’s one of the reasons that in April, I will be going to the TAI in Wales. Sharing my traveller’s tales about LiveWest’s partnership with the CIH and our professionalisation adventure so far. I’m hoping to meet fellow travellers who are embarking on similar journeys. If you are looking for a travelling companion, please make sure you say hello!