Emerging Stronger Conference 2021
Yesterday we welcomed staff, professional partners and friends of Emerging Futures (EF), to share and learn from each other at our annual staff conference. Held in the inspiring setting of The Monastery in Manchester, the conference was a welcome opportunity to connect with each other, reflect on and commemorate events of the past 24 months and have fun.
Streamed online during the day, the conference drew in a wide audience from across the country in addition to those in the room: their virtual participation demonstrating the effectiveness of the blended offer of online and in-person communication that helped overcome the many challenges of running services during Covid.
Welcome from Ray Jenkins
Emerging Futures Chief Executive Ray Jenkins set the scene for the day by emphasising a key driver of our therapeutic approach. Some 80% of EF staff have their own lived experience which they use to inform their work: they come to us in need, Ray said, but then become needed.
Ray talked about the originality of EF’s famous ‘passion’ statement and how this has evolved to include an emphasis on combining passion with competence for a truly effective approach. Ray also re-stated EF’s values, the guiding principles of Respect, Integrity and Accountability, which underpin everything we do.
Ray then gave a brief overview of EF’s strategic direction. Key themes for the future include the centrality of ACT principles for guiding growth and the need to become better at telling people about the difference we make as we grow. He also affirmed that we will continue to espouse, live and breathe our values. Ray finished by reaffirming his belief that to achieve long-term change people need to have somewhere to live, someone to love and something to hope for in the future.
Our guest speakers
Our first guest speaker, Shahroo Izadi, Behaviour Change Specialist and Author, spoke about how working with Ray and EF had transformed her approach to life. She said learning about recovery services had helped her both overcome her own issues of food addiction and develop her professional career. Shahroo explained how the same methods used to help people overcome substance misuse can be used to achieve successful behaviour change in many other areas of life.
Sharing some of the lessons she had learnt, Shahroo said people should focus on the life they are moving towards and not perceive self-care as selfish. She illustrated this with a quote from the writer Iain Thomas:
“And every day, the world will drag you by the hand, yelling, “This is important. And this is important. You need to worry about this. And this! And this!” And each day, it’s up to you to yank your hand back, put it on your heart and say, “No. This is what’s important.”
We then welcomed Mark Moody, Chief Executive of Change Grow Live, who talked about the challenges of maintaining culture in a growing organisation. As EF becomes larger and more professional, staff should not forget that what makes them good is that they care. He also stressed that it is the responsibility of each and every member of staff to spread the culture to give everyone that special experience. He said there were parallels between the experiences of Change Grow Live and EF and he hoped the relationship between them would continue to flourish.
Our final guest speaker Annie Gascoyne, Organisational Psychologist, talked about using ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Theory) to emerge stronger in difficult times. She explained that by doing what matters, aligning our values with our actions and noticing the opportunities around us, we can achieve what we want, despite the challenges and limitations of our environment. Annie explained how EF is embracing the opportunity to apply ACT, not only at the personal level, but throughout the whole organisation in order to help EF and its people emerge stronger.
Stories from our services
During the day, our services across the country presented lively portraits of their work and impactful videos showcasing the achievements of staff and the people who use our services throughout the challenge of Covid. These stories of recovery and growth were clearly highly motivating for everyone in the room and online. The enthusiasm and dedication of our colleagues was truly inspirational and a welcome boost for anyone might have been feeling despondent after the challenges of the past eighteen months. We are so proud of all their achievements.
In conclusion
Ray summed up the day by reminding everyone that EF only facilitates and provides opportunities for change: it is individuals themselves who achieve change and he commended anyone in the room who had been through that journey.
Finally, a big thank you to our hosts for the day – Jo Rowan and James Lock – who not only skilfully and professionally compered the day, but also inspired us with their personal journeys with EF.
Find out more
Thank you for participating in our conference, either in person or online. We hope it has stimulated your passion for your work and generated a renewed optimism for the future.
We hope to see you again next year. In the meantime, look out for highlights and videos from our conference on our social media over the next few weeks.
