Did you ever use poetry to help you reflect on your scrutiny work? Either reading or writing? Well, here are eleven scrutiny haiku from me for you to try. Each has the same format - three lines of five, seven and five syllables. #1 Scrutiny is this: Both Devil’s advocate and Guardian angel #2 The horseshoe table Reminds us about the nail That lost the battle #3 The executive Raises their eyebrows to say I am thinking now #4 We have invited The concerns of citizens As our honoured guests #5 Councillor Davies Brings something new to discuss A seed of concern #6 Some firm assurance Goes a long way in this game Of good governance #7 With constructive ear I give you my attention And build on your words #8 This is my question A response to a response Born in the moment #9 With preparation The conversation we make Will bake much better #10 Independent minds Escaping the gravity Of corporate group think #11 In six months or so When you look back at today What change might please you? I've also put this on LinkedIn. You can see and add any comments here. |
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I hope you had a good summer. I've certainly had a good summer break and now I'm looking forward to a new season for these ‘Dear Scrutineer’ reflections. So, welcome back to my existing subscribers and hello to those who have joined recently - I hope you all find these emails useful. And I thought I’d start with a mini annual report. Between September, when I started, and July, I shared 40 reflections via this email and on LinkedIn. It's interesting to see what resonated, so here are the five...
Do you ever think about scrutiny as reflective practice? I mentioned it in a development session I was facilitating the other day and it seemed to strike a chord. So, I thought I might share a reflection! To start with, as I’m sure you appreciate, scrutiny operates in a complex world and there is no simple manual to help guide you. And, as we’ve mentioned before, whilst every committee, council and place is different, so each is also in a constant state of change. What worked in one place and...
Vice Chair Jo asked me for a chat the other day. She was thinking about co-opting additional members to a scrutiny task and finish group and feeling a bit conflicted. Here is how we talked it though - what do you think? The group was being set up to look at adult social care and Jo was thinking about three people that it might be helpful to work with - one from the carers centre, an academic from the local university and someone who is a non-executive member of the integrated care board. Jo...