{"id":156662,"date":"2019-12-02T16:00:19","date_gmt":"2019-12-02T21:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/articles\/\/"},"modified":"2019-12-02T12:08:13","modified_gmt":"2019-12-02T17:08:13","slug":"prioritising-a-good-working-environment-in-think-tanks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/articles\/prioritising-a-good-working-environment-in-think-tanks\/","title":{"rendered":"Prioritising a good working environment in think tanks"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018We have to talk\u2019 is not something you want to hear \u2013 whether it be from a loved one or a work colleague. Here, I think I\u2019ll stick to the work context! While it is not something we want to hear, I\u2019ve come to learn that having a trusting environment at work, in which people can talk openly about their issues, is only a positive thing.<\/p>\n

A few years ago, I was working for the public sector in my country. It was not a good working environment. Difficult conversations were a day-to-day occurrence. But there was no confidence or trust among peers, so this was really difficult.<\/p>\n

I now work for the think tank Grupo FARO<\/span><\/a> in Ecuador, and have had the chance to experience a new kind of relationship with my peers. Here, discussion and debate are welcomed and encouraged. It feels like a safe space. People are direct, specific and empathetic, being open about things that do not feel right and could generate conflict.<\/p>\n

On a personal level, I think that knowing how to have difficult conversations is an extraordinary ability, helping to generate a trusting work environment. Of course, having difficult conversations is a lot easier when you already have a trusting environment. It means being assertive and empathetic. It also helps to find the right place and moment to communicate difficult matters.<\/p>\n

Generating trust among co-workers is a long-term goal that think tanks must work to build. And there are huge benefits to this way of working. Teamwork, for example, is easily performed.<\/p>\n

So, I encourage all thinktankers and think tank leaders to reflect on their own working environment.<\/p>\n

To what extent is there a culture of trust in your think tank? Are staff incentivised to have open and honest conversations? Is building a trusting working environment a priority in your think tank?<\/p>\n

\n

To what extent is there a culture of trust in your think tank? Are staff incentivised to have open and honest conversations? Is building a trusting working environment a priority in your think tank?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018We have to talk\u2019 is not something you want to hear \u2013 whether it be from a loved one or a work colleague. Here, I think I\u2019ll stick to the work context! While it is not something we want to hear, I\u2019ve come to learn that having a trusting environment at work, in which people […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"tags":[194,196,285,205],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156662"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156662"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156662\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}