Throughout the semester, the BCM313 cohort has been able to listen to eye-opening stories, told by inspirational individuals. The stories gave us the chance to consider the narrative techniques we had learnt over the semester and make links to theoretical ideas. As I frequently thought about the parallels between the narrator’s experience and my own, the stories raised deeper questions about my own life experiences. The discussion that caught my attention the most was between Ellenie Petrou and Tom Bambrick.
The discussion dived into story telling of the workplace, specifically approaching people in the workplace which involves listening and understanding, which has had a positive effect on my view of the workplace.
Petrou remained calm in challenging situations, confronting people and fixing situations which is difficult to do in a large organisation. Bambrick talks about looking at decisions in a broad context. He believes that receiving more opinions in the decision-making progress, can benefit the outcome. These were both similar in reaching out to trusted people and building a collaborative conversation.
Petrou and Bambrick have both been involved in situations where they have had to bring in other voices to work in a team, as they think it is the best way to move forward. For example, Petrou stated that COVID-19 was a hard transition for students to suddenly go online. She did everything she could to understand how she could make this transition better for students. This was a moral moment, as both parties, Petrou and someone higher up in University, are deciding according to their values, how they will treat each other in this moment and help the students. This relates to Arthur Frank, a sociologist of illness, who discusses the moral moment as a metaphor for demoralisation (Frank, 2014, pg.19).
Bambrick also stated he reaches out to people he trusts in the workplace, which relates to the concept we have learnt so far in the semester, the ‘club of life.’ The individuals that are important in a person’s life are shown in ‘the club of life’ with an emphasis on the part they play and the effect on how that person self-identifies. (Hedtke, 2003, p.59).
By Bambrick reaching out to people he trusts and getting people involved to figure out a solution, rather than having a lonesome conversation, it is a sigh of relief for him. Bambrick is therefore able to recognise the people who were influencing growth and his sense of self, which plays into the role of re-membering in narrative therapy. Re-membering reveals certain individuals from one’s past or present who have had a big impact on their lives (Carey, Walther & Russell, 2009, pg. 320). In the end, this helped Brown identify the functions that his “club of life” members played.
I have realised that the club of life can extend to not just close family and friends, but colleagues and bosses can also have a huge impact on my self-identity. It is comforting to know that there are more people who can have a positive influence, and that I should not be close-minded with my club of life. It’s also refreshing to know that there are many instances where you can be listened to and valued in a work place. Re-membering can lead to an analysis of a persons ‘club of life,’ (Carey, Walther & Russell, 2009, pg. 323). which has lead me to recall past negative work-place environments, however this is not always the case. I should be more open-minded towards trusting and reaching out to work colleagues who I do bond with.
References
Carey, M, Walther, S and Russell, S 2009, ‘The Absent but Implicit: A Map to Support Therapeutic Enquiry’, Family process, vol. 48, no. 3, pp. 319–331, viewed 29th September 2022.
Frank, AW 2014, ‘Narrative Ethics as Dialogical Story-Telling’, The Hastings Center report, vol. 44, no. s1, pp. S16–S20, viewed 25th September 2022.
Hedtke, L, 2003, ‘The Origami of Remembering’, International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work. Dulwich Centre Publications, 2003(4), pp. 58–63, viewed 26th September 2022.
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