- Taking risks for positive outcomes:
An introduction to the Membership Site focusing on a main theme underpinning all of the content.
2. A focus on Risk Training:
Developing and delivering responsive risk training within teams, as well as an organisation responsibility.
3. Risk: the bureaucracy v practice conundrum:
Have we got the balance right between paperwork requirements and practice guidance? Reflecting on questions regarding the purpose and design of paperwork, and the role of evidence in its construction.
4. Introducing a Strengths & Risk Relationship:
Risk assessment is inherently negative in the information it provides, naturally driving us to be more restrictive or risk averse. It is strengths information that will provide the basis for confidence in order to move forward in taking appropriate risks.
5. Collaborative risk decisions:
Risk decisions are frequently challenging situations to us individually. A risk averse stance can be expected, not least out of the thoughts for self preservation. Collaborative decision-making provides the foundation for increased information, collective reflection, and confidence through shared accountability.
6. Reasons to be cheerful…
Click on the following video for a wide range of quotes that reflect different aspects of risk-taking. Indeed, I would suggest they help us to understand and reflect on the whole rationale that underpins why we should be taking calculated risks.
7. Risk Decision-Making in Crises:
Whether we have the luxury of time, or we are rushed by the urgency of the situation, our risk decisions benefit from adopting a structured approach. My ‘Structured Approach to Risk Decision-Making’ tool is designed to underpin clear and confident risk-taking, by ensuring the important information has been considered, and…. documented succinctly!
8. Intuition and Risk Decision-Making:
Good risk decisions are often informed by a combination of factual and instinctive thinking. Intuition is embedded within a broad clinical reasoning framework, and can be a vitally important tool in our decision-making processes. However, it is to be used with caution, largely as an alarm bell reminding us to seek out more information, or the perspectives of others.
9. Suicidal Thinking:
“If it wasn’t for the possibility of suicide, I would have killed myself a long time ago.” An exploration of choice, autonomy and hope. Positive risk-taking requires the engagement of deep and meaningful discussion, even when the subject matter is highly emotionally charged and challenging.
10. What is risk assessment?
Risk assessment can frequently become little more than an administrative exercise, if undertaken in the wrong conditions for the wrong reasons. It is a very important means to an end, but not an end in itself. And, as such, it should provide the powerful rationale for important clinical risk decisions. However, we must also clarify when we do a risk screen as opposed to a full risk assessment.
11. How you really make decisions:
In this video I explore some of the work of Professor Daniel Kahneman. What the two systems for decision-making are, and the influence that certain biases can have on our thinking.
12. Working with Risk:
In this video I reflect on our use of language, and why I frequently prefer to use the phrase ‘Working with Risk’. It’s what we are doing every day! I also offer an important practical tip that is almost always overlooked in our statements of risk assessment.
13. Don’t avoid the risk decisions:
Don’t we all just secretly wish we could avoid having to make those difficult challenging risk decisions? In this video I identify collaboration and appropriate risk tools as two sources of confidence for making the difficult calls.
14. Risk in Context:
If the best indicator of future behaviour is past behaviour, can we really learn and make changes to manage risks in our lives? In this video I examine the importance of the context in which a risk occurs.
15. Learning from crises:
A crisis is a time of elevated risk, but it is also a time for potential new learning. In this video I explore how we may consider the role of positive risk-taking to focus on these possibilities.
16. Spotlight on risk research:
Where is the proof that what you are doing really works? In this video I reflect on notes of caution when we are using risk research to underpin our interventions.
17. A Positive Risk-Taking Exercise:
Positive risk-taking happens in our everyday experiences, so the most effective way to describe it is to reflect on those risks we are taking. In this video I outline a reflective exercise, as well as the results of many workshop results.
18. What is a Strengths Approach?
We often get caught up in the confusion and the nuances of language. In this video I explore a clearer understanding of a Strengths Approach in practice.
19. Principles of Working with Risk:
Groucho Marx said “These are my principles, and if you don’t like them, well… I have others.” In this video I outline a number of principles of best practice when we are working with risk.
20. Suicide risk assessment doesn’t work:
In this video I reflect on a Scientific American journal article reviewing two meta-analyses of suicide risk assessment research. Our focus on the process of risk assessment can detract from the application of the more useful skills of clinical engagement… discuss!
21. What is needed to deliver positive risk-taking? [1]
Positive risk-taking does not happen just by chance. It is a carefully thought through process of information gathering, analysis and decision-making. In this first of three videos I outline what we need as individual practitioners to give us confidence to engage in the process.
22. What is needed to deliver positive risk-taking? [2]
Positive risk-taking is a challenging area of practice, so it should ideally be seen as a collective activity, not just the duty of individuals. In this video I explore what teams need in order to develop their risk decision-making practice.
23. What is needed to deliver positive risk-taking? [3]
Individuals and teams need good quality guidance and support from the senior management in their organisations. In this video I explore the organisational culture needed to enable people to achieve best practice.
24. Risk averse decisions:
Is there a place for risk averse decisions in the concept of positive risk-taking? In this video I explore the importance of following a structured approach in order to achieve the best decision in each individual situation.
25. Making risk decisions:
Risk decisions are challenging, and can be difficult, but should not be governed by fear and a ‘what if’ syndrome. In this video I use four separate quotes to help us reflect on our decision-making processes.
26. Why work with strengths?
Marilyn vos Savant said “Success is achieved by developing our strengths, not by eliminating our weaknesses.” Strengths and weaknesses are not mutually exclusive, but in this video I offer 5 reasons why we should focus more on our strengths.
27. Strengths Principles:
A strengths approach is underpinned by 6 principles. In this video I present these as a way of helping us understand why and how we should think and act more from a strengths based perspective.
28. Who’s fault is the blame game?
Who can we blame, who is at fault? These are natural questions to be asked when something has gone wrong, but are they a help or a hindrance to implementing good practice? In this video I challenge the value of adopting a blame game.