Do They Feel That They Matter?

For me rural engagement’s one North Star (if you cut out all the jargon) should be one important thing above all others: to make people feel that they matter. It’s a sentiment I probably repeat a bit.  

Not everyone will agree, and that’s fine, I’m welcoming of opposing ideas.  Because my biggest learning in this engagement journey, has been that exploring differing opinions is a path to better understanding. But to me the holy grail, is to make people feel that they matter.

Over the last few years, I’ve explored different ideas, thoughts and reasoning processes:

·         paddled through engagement strategy

·         probed crisis communication

·         examined the psychology of behaviour change

·         watched a good voice from the floor steer the room like a heading dog on a flock

·          dug deep into rural resilience

·         worked hard to grasp principles like tautuutu 

Through it all, one recurring thread refuses to let go.… (and yes I’ve heard of confirmation bias!) Make people feel that they matter.

When I launched the True Radius website I posted two surveys, one for organisations, one for rural communities. The responses have been trickling in and I’ll share the responses in the future. But one answer to one question sticks in mind.

What should it feel like when your voice actually matters in decisions? “Validated & even if your opinion doesn’t make change, you should feel listened to & understood & like you’ve had your say & it’s been taken on board.”

The answers were meant to be anonymous but the lady who submitted this particular answer flicked me a message.  One small voice in a rural corner of the world, but it carried weight.

“Thanks Mr Woodsie, I’m pleased I’ve had a say”. 

When one voice feels valued, what momentum is created when a hundred do too? That’s the stuff that swings elections, changes public sentiment and creates a feeling of community.

That answer made me wonder how often organisations stop to check whether these pillars: communication, collaboration, inclusivity, trust, and transparency truly add up to create that feeling.

For instance, it’s easy to confuse a string of events as great engagement. Or we may talk to a collection of rural professionals and think we have measured the pulse of our rural communities.

But have we done anything to build those pillars?

Did we do it the right way?

Did the right people walk away feeling that they mattered?

So KPI’s might hug the wrong metrics. Events, headcounts, survey responses and submissions are easy to measure. When was the last time your organisation ran an engagement audit, not against outputs or KPIs, but against that question?  Maybe it’s about time.

Are we making people feel that they matter? In the end, that’s the moment to measure.

So maybe the real challenge isn’t another event or another survey but taking a hard look at ourselves. If you want to put your organisation to the test, here are some starter questions:

1. When we tell stories about our work, are we shining the light on the brilliant things community members did, or are we mostly patting ourselves on the back?

2. Do we know who the trusted go-to people are in this community, and do we build real relationships with them?

3. When someone gives us an idea, do we ever let them know what happened with it, even if we couldn’t use it, or does it just vanish into a black hole?

4. Do people actually trust us, and how do we know?

5. Are we just getting people to show up, or are we giving them real belonging?

6. Do we treat engagement like a one-off event, or an ongoing relationship?

7. Do we start by asking “What’s already awesome here?” or do we dive straight into what’s broken and needs fixing?

8. Do we only knock on doors when we need something, or do we check in just to see how folks are getting on?

9. Do people trust us because we actually do what we say we’ll do… and front up honestly when we can’t?

Communities remember less about what we promised and more about how we made them feel. That’s the real audit.