People before process
- Feb 16
- 2 min read
Updated: Feb 18
What do you want to change, grow, or create?
We’re in the middle of a massive shift — shifting leadership styles, changing flows of information, climate disruption, and an ever-increasing reliance on technology just to get through our work and lives.
For many people, there isn’t much choice in that. To sustain ourselves, our whānau, or our place within a community or organisation, we likely operate within systems that are already in motion.
And if we're responsible for holding or shaping some of those systems, we try to explain what’s happening and — one would hope — we work hard to bring others along with us on the journey.
Co-design. Innovation. Systems thinking. Beneath the language, what are we really saying?
In our work, we might create strategies and action plans to help explain what we’re trying to achieve and why. But sometimes, those plans don’t reflect how people actually see themselves, what they value, or how they experience the world. They might be backed by the very best evidence and delivered under really good intent — yet still miss the deep listening and diversity of thought that help shape how change is actually felt.
When that happens, trust erodes. Agency narrows. People pull back. And the picture we’re working from is incomplete — shaped only by those who felt safe enough to participate.
If we carry a duty of care as leaders or designers — and we want to shape processes, products, and environments where as many people as possible feel safe enough to share and participate, then building trust, first and foremost, has to sit at the centre of the work, not at its edges!
On the path I've walked, I've experienced that people and organisations don’t change or grow because you've told them to. They do so when something resonates strongly enough that they choose to lean in beside you and listen — or when the alternative is too difficult for them to live with and they need your support.
So perhaps the question then shifts? Not just: what do you want to change, grow, or create? But: who do you need to listen to more — and how might those voices change what you’re trying to achieve?
I’ve collated some tools and frameworks that might help us all listen, adapt, and build more trust — before we build the solutions. I thought I'd share them with you in the hope they support you to in your mahi and life, too.