According to the Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove, there is a group that represents the ‘educational establishment’ which he calls ‘The Blob’. Gove is fighting this establishment which, according to Nick Robinson, represents “the ’progressive’ grip over teacher training, classroom standards and qualifications”.
Politicians often feel that they are fighting vested interests, whatever name they give them, but the interesting question is whether you and your organisation are part of a Blob?
There are obvious dangers in being part of a Blob. Your issues may only chime with one of the political parties so you spend time either in or out of favour. If parties remain in power for long periods of time, as they have done since the 1980s, then you spend long periods in the wilderness and have little ability to affect change.
When ideas do come forward from a Blob or one of it’s ‘members’ then they risk being rejected out-of-hand by the other side. If the ideas are implemented then they risk being reversed when the other side come into office.
Some sectors, such as education and health, are seen as political battlegrounds. All the political parties feel the need to reform the sectors on entering government and undoing the reforms of the previous administration to whatever extent they are able to. Whether this helps deliver improvements is far from clear but both sectors often complain of living through ‘constant change’ or ‘permanent revolution’. As soon as one set of reforms are complete, or maybe not even complete, then another set come in.
The Coalition has seen Blobs in several sectors as well as in the civil service. The existence of these Blobs has, in the eyes of some, been one of the reasons why potential reforms have been blocked and more has not been achieved.
But Labour is talking about taking on its own Blobs. Miliband continues to challenge the trade unions and has spoken of reform in banking, finance and transport.
To many a Blob is really just a vested interest but being part of a Blob also means that organisations are missing out on potential opportunities to engage with government and the political parties. Comments from a Blob become self fulfilling – their opposition to plans instinctive rather than incisive or well-argued. Even if they are then being part of the Blob means, in the eyes of some, that their concerns can be ignored.
Making sure that you are not seen as part of a Blob should not be about being more political or ingratiating. It should instead be based on:
- Generating ideas – developing and delivering new ideas, challenging previous ways of working or learning from mistakes (and accepting that mistakes have been made), need to be the norm when working with government. Sometimes the engagement will be more technical in nature, other times it may be the bigger picture. The lesson, however, is the same – don’t be seen as simply defending the status quo for the sake of it.
- Engaging with a range of stakeholders – whether these might be natural allies or those with who you do not have a natural affinity. The ability to learn from others should feed in directly to the generation of new ideas. A Blob can end with a groupthink mentality and action should be taken to make sure that this does not happen.
- Development of a constructive relationship – not standing in splendid isolation but instead being prepared to work with a range of stakeholders and audiences. This also means being alert to new stakeholders.
- Getting the timing right – being able to work with government at the right stage in the policy-making process. This will also make the development of a constructive relationship easier. If government can see that you are working with them rather than deliberately against them then they are less likely to consider you to be a Blob.
Take action now or risk being a Blob!