Surprises that shock
“These bills are big enough to be Williams!” Felicity Kendal’s character exclaimed in the BBC series, The Good Life. A series so old it’s probably retro and probably streaming somewhere right now.
I was little tacker*, but like those bills, her joke left a big impression.
It perfectly catches our reaction to surprises. Some are welcome. Others are so unwelcome that they are better termed ‘shocks’.
I bet we can all think of a time when we thought someone overreacted to a surprise. White faced with anger at a community workshop or stakeholder forum. Behind that reaction is the fact that they were caught unawares, rather than the actual surprise itself.
Last week we had a surprise in our apartment block that that turned into a shock. For both those causing the surprise (six tradies) and those of us caught by surprise (me and my neighbours).
We’re in a Delta-variant triggered lockdown. It’s number six so we’re pretty familiar with what’s allowed and what’s bending the rules so much that they break.
Three unmarked vans turned up and out spilled six tradies, who lumbered up to the vacant apartment to get started on some project. They are only allowed into an apartment block to maintain or repair essential services, or if health and safety is at stake. And not in groups of six.
They didn’t sign in using the QR code in our common area. They didn’t wear masks.
We’ve got kids in our block and one person with low immunity. If we’d had red flags they would have been hoisted fast.
Within seconds of their arrival, my neighbours and I asked them ‘who, what and why’ from the safe distance of our balconies.
Their response was not enlightening. “We’re just doing our job.” We didn’t know if that ‘job’ was putting in shelves or fixing a roof about to cave in. Either they didn’t know to tell us or didn’t care.
We exploded with indignation.
Everything I live and breathe in my engagement and facilitation work went out the window. Not a proud moment. In hindsight, I wish we’d had a little of Kendal’s humour to hand. It would have gone a long way to ease the shock.
A friend of mine has a great reaction when she’s caught by surprise.
‘Is anyone going to die? Is anyone going to jail?’ No? Then take a deep breath.
As it turns out, those tradies were allowed to be on our block. Heating and cooling are essential services.
Next time a surprise is big enough to be called a shock, it can’t hurt to recall Kendal’s ‘bills big enough to be Williams’. Whether on the receiving end or seeing a stakeholder or community member ‘do their block’ the way we did in our block.
If you’d like some help reducing the element of surprise with your community or stakeholders, please book a quick chat with me here.
*Aussie slang for ‘really young’