‘Tina’s take…’
Hello and welcome to Edition No.5 of the newsletter which tries to help us understand what’s driving people’s frustration and distrust of organisations, institutions and leaders – so that we’re better equipped to turn things around.
Coming up: Assault in the House of Lords; aggro on a bus; too much swearing; and a jitterbug jive… Let’s crack on!
+++++++++++++++
Supporting workers to uphold standards and lead🧑✈️
It’s a big thing to call a vote on an amendment to Government legislation. So, when that’s what I did a couple of weeks ago, I was gutted to lose by just three votes.
I was trying to expand the Government’s new standalone offence of assault against retail-workers to include all public-facing workers. It’s legitimate to question whether a new offence is needed at all, because we’re all covered equally by the crime of common assault. My argument was that special treatment for some and not all workers who face abuse and anti-social behaviour when at work, makes no sense and isn’t fair. Plus, it risks demotivating the people excluded on whose service we rely, and that in turn makes matters worse for everyone else.
But with or without a new offence and better enforcement by the police, we need a new approach to addressing the causes of growing public disorder in public places.
I’d start by asking those responsible for public places and services to flip from posting signs telling us what behaviour they won’t tolerate from customers, to telling us what standards they seek to demonstrate through their work. And by asking that the same senior leaders empower their staff to be leaders and make things work better on the ground – so it’s clear to the rest of us who’s in charge and will get things done.
Who’s in charge of a bus full of passengers? 🧑✈️
Here’s one example how the person visible to the public who should be in charge but isn’t, creates unnecessary tension they’re powerless to control.
Travelling on a London bus these days often involves delays and the sound of this recorded message: “The driver has been told to wait at this stop to regulate the service.”
Last week, it happened to me repeatedly during rush hour on consecutive days. On the first occasion, I had already waited longer than usual for the bus to arrive. Then, during what should have been a 20-minute journey, the bus stopped twice for about five minutes “to regulate the service.”
Passengers (including me) were growing restless. At one point, the visibly frustrated driver, got out of the cab and called the operations room. He explained that the bus was full and we needed to move, but his pleas seemed to have little effect. When passengers asked legitimate questions about how long we would have to wait, his reaction wasn’t great—but he clearly had no control. Thankfully, no one became aggressive, and eventually he received the all-clear and we went on our way again. I got off a few stops later somewhat annoyed as, by then, I was a few minutes late for my appointment.
The following day, at a similar time but on a different route, it happened again. This time, we were told to disembark and board the bus immediately behind. Before that happened, we could hear the driver pleading with the control room not to ask him to do it, saying that the bus was full—but he was overruled.
I’m sure Transport for London or the bus operating company would offer some explanation about only the control room having full oversight of the network and in the best position to decide when and for how long we must wait. But they appear to have no regard for the experience of passengers and the reasons why they’re travelling on the bus! And the person who is responsible for passenger safety, never mind simply getting people from A to B on time, has no authority to do what’s best for our sake – as well as his or her own.
In a world that’s fraught, we need more people who are visibly in charge and can take charge when things are not working as they should. But those in positions of real power are making it more difficult for the only people we can see, to do what’s right and show us they care about doing a good job.
At the weekend, I witnessed a young woman board another bus and verbally abuse the driver when (I’m guessing) he tried to get her to pay after she didn’t properly place her debit card on the reader. Bravo to him for trying (I don’t know if she complied, she stormed upstairs shouting and swearing whilst the rest of us kept our heads down as she went). But if he’s not allowed to demonstrate authority to prevent us being late, what chance does he stand when faced with an abusive passenger refusing to pay?
Changing this does not require new legislation. We just need to change our ways.
You can watch me call the vote in the House of Lords here and read the debate in full here. I’ve also pasted below an article by me in The Times about my amendment, published a few days before the debate.
Tips and Recommendations: 📺 👩💻🎧
Drama to enjoy: 🎭 📺 I’m a bit light on recommendations this month. It’s not that I haven’t been anywhere or not seen anything – just that I haven’t been or seen anything to shout about! Trips to the cinema have been disappointing (I thought Hamnet was ok; and If I had legs I’d kick you was terrible). But I did love the movie, “I Swear”, the true story about John Davidson who has Tourette’s. If you haven’t yet – I’d definitely recommend seeing it. (Currently on Netflix.)
Music Dancing video to watch: 🎤📺 Finally, here’s something a bit different…. I stumbled on this video of a really cool couple competing in a Jitterbug contest, in California a few months ago. They are superb. 2½ mins of a magnificent routine executed with cool precision is worth a watch, even if jiving isn’t your thing.
Right, I’ll let you get on. Thanks again for reading, and for subscribing. Do please hit reply and send me your comments, feedback, and recommendations – all of which I love to receive. I’m particularly interested to hear from business leaders about the points I’ve made in this edition.
And don’t forget, if you want to hear more from me, book me to speak! Just visit the website: www.tinastowell.co.uk
You can also read this newsletter on LinkedIn, X or my Substack – and any ‘like’ on those platforms is gratefully received.
Thanks again and see you next month,
Tina
