Stop, Collaborate and Listen

Why Diversity Improves Everything

My brewer friend, Sean Ayling of Toms Tap is a big fan of diversity in his brewery. Whether it’s collaborations with other brewers or just interested parties, if you’ll help dig out the mash and clean out the copper he is very generous with his time and knowledge. One of the reasons he is so welcoming of even the most inexperienced assistant brewer (other than the help cleaning) is because he insists that diversity in the brewery makes better beer and he always ends up finishing a collab with a new bit of knowledge or a shift in perspective. (We’ve got a collab brew in the diary later this year, to celebrate my book launch.)

He’s absolutely right, and it isn’t just the case for beer, when I was writing my book, it was a suggestion from my editor that helped think about it differently and led to me finally finishing the manuscript after stalling for a while. Collaboration also makes me a better therapist, supervisor and trainer. I learn from my clients, from my supervisees and from the people who attend my training.

That learning can come from a sharing of an experience that I haven’t come across before or the mention of a resource that’s new to me. Often it’s a simple clarifying question that highlights an area that I hadn’t investigated before. Collaborations bring new perspectives and therefore new possibilities. It’s why when I’m asked what it’s like to work with me I always talk about it as a collaborative process. I don’t have all the answers (no-one does), but I do have a lot of curiosity which I bring to every collaboration.

Currently I’m working on a much larger collaboration with the wonderful Zena Nicholas on the upcoming Two Spirals Masterclass. As someone who usually delivers training on my own, it’s lovely to work with someone else, especially someone who brings so much experience as a facilitator and community builder as well as a neurodivergent therapist. We’ve had lots of conversations about how we work together, what our communication styles are and what we need to feel safe and secure in this collaboration. Just like in my other work, we are figuring out what works best in this relationship. We are practicing what we preach!

It’s been great to talk, not just about how to make the course as affirming and accessible as possible, but also how this impacts the marketing. We have both agreed that we want to share this offering in ways that feel genuinely us, and that don’t activate our nervous systems. We know we won’t get it right for everyone (there are too many potentially conflicting needs), but it feels good to be having conversations and working through what is possible together. The different perspectives that we bring mean we’re finding new solutions and different ways of working are emerging from our collaboration.

I’m hoping this is the energy that we will be taking into the masterclass where collaboration will be a key theme. The main thing I want attendees to leave with is an idea of how they can integrate the two spirals model into their own way of working.

What would help you do that?

We’re making sure there is lots of space to discuss, reflect and ask questions; so there is space for the magic that happens when we collaborate. We also know that for some people solo reflections will work better, so we’re making sure there are options for that too.

Is there anything we might be missing?

There’s more information on the masterclass here, alongside the option to book a quick chat to answer any questions you might have. Or you can always drop me an email with any questions.