It's a P-squared year

Professor Kristy Muir, CEO of the Paul Ramsay Foundation, explains how she’ll approach the new year.

This column is part of our #resolutions23 series.

As we embark on 2023, my resolutions revolve around P2: People, Purpose, Possibilities and Principles.* (For the mathematical among you, yes, the P=2).

I am hopeful that this will be a year where we in the sector increase our focus on:

People: Where we actively incorporate the voices of the people we work alongside, including a Voice to Parliament. What do I need to do to not just include these voices, but also deeply listen, elevate, and act on them?

Purpose: Where we exist primarily for our organisation’s purpose rather than our organisations. Understandably, we are often driven by competition and contestability, by finances, by siloed roles etc. Yet, we are all here for purpose.  What would I change in my role if my primary imperative was to my organisation’s purpose and my secondary one was to my organisation (start, stop, continue, collaborate etc)? 

Possibilities: Where we look for value and possibilities before deficits. How might we focus on strengths to shift our thinking, language and ways of working to overcome deficit-based traps?

In addition to these three Ps, I resolve to identifying and acting on Principles. And I’d love to start with behaviours that hold to humility and curiosity. If principles are the rules that govern our behaviours based on values, what are mine and how do we hold each other to account?

May 2023 be P2 and may it be achieved with much joy and, as we hit the stormy moments, with equanimity.

*If you agree with these, give the italicised questions a go.