On today’s episode, we are talking about generosity and its role in family engagement. Often generosity comes across as being a lofty ideal, but upon closer inspection, we come to see that it is very much embedded in our work as practitioners. While it is difficult to completely define, generosity is ultimately about giving and taking and the organic ebb and flow between you as a practitioner and the families you work with. It is so easy, because of the type of work that we do, to conflate responsibilities with generosity. Of course, responsibilities are necessary to do our work properly, but generosity takes it one step further and can often lead to softer, more intimate engagements with families. It is within these moments that we find the richest information that we would not have been able to get otherwise. It is easy to think that generosity takes more time and in some instances it does, but often being generous can also be something as simple as being more flexible and changing the way something is done. Whichever way you choose to be generous, it is a practice worth cultivating. In the next episode, we are talking about accessibility, so join us for that!

Key Points From This Episode:

• Generosity is both virtuous and concrete in engagement practices.
• Willingness to give and take is at the heart of any successful partnership.
• Generosity entails going above and beyond and doing more than explicit responsibilities.
• Being generous does not mean that you no longer have boundaries.
• How being generous allows you to be more effective and save time in future engagements.
• Giving of your time is one of the many ways that you can be a generous practitioner.
• Ensure that families are given the space to comfortably share of themselves.
• Why it is important to think outside of the scope of your immediate responsibilities.
• In veering ‘off-script,’ we often learn the most about families.
• How rolling with setbacks and ideas of generosity are related.
• An example of how Michael used a setback constructively in one of his own programs.
• Why it is important to show families tangible outcomes of the feedback they give.
• How generosity extends to working and sharing with other organizations.
• And much more!

Tweetables:

“If parents aren’t coming to your programs, it’s not your parents, it’s your programs.” — @TheJMichaelHall [0:19:02]

“The setback is not an unsuccessful event, it's an unsuccessful approach to what you’re going to be doing in the future.” — @TheJMichaelHall [0:22:04]

“Keep thinking about that ebb and flow of generosity and that it’s two ways. And think about not only what are the ways in which you’re expecting yourself and families to be generous, but how are you both allowing each other to be generous as well?” — @LindseyForton [0:28:12]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

J Michael Hall

Michael on Twitter

Lindsey Shah

Lindsey on Twitter

Strong Fathers Strong Families

Strong Fathers Strong Families on Twitter

Parents as Teachers

Parents as Teachers on Twitter

Parents as Te