What We Do

At Murrimatters, we define complex issues or challenges as ones that keep coming back time after time. Many attempts may have been made to solve them, but little overall ground has been gained. Frequently, models developed in one setting that may be establishing some traction are not transferable to another even though the complex issue being faced appears similar.

The complex challenges faced by the organisations we work with are predominantly social issues.  The tenacity of complex challenges and their ability to shift and change in response to attempts to ‘fix’ them has led some people to term them ‘wicked problems’.  Often they receive considerable media attention and have a long policy history.   We would consider issues such as Domestic Violence, Substance Abuse, Unemployment, Truancy and Nonattendance, Indigenous Education, Racism, and Gender Inequity to all be examples of complex challenges.  

An organisation can also face complex internal challenges. These include employee conflict, change (whether in corporate direction, corporate ownership, departmental shift, or closure and renewal) and a dysfunctional organisational culture.

As a first stage to developing a response, in thinking about the type of challenge faced by an organisation it is often useful to identify whether it is a simple, complicated, complex or chaotic issue as each category benefits from a different approach.

As can be seen from the diagram above, simple and complicated challenges can be dealt with using classic problem solving techniques but complex challenges are unlikely to respond to these. Dynamic and multifaceted, complex challenges are characterised by high levels of time and resourcing and high levels of disagreement and uncertainty. They require responsive social processes which are constantly assessed, fine-tuned, created and adapted by a robust organisational culture.

Using Engoori as its central process, Murrimatters assists your organisation to develop a robust culture, a deeper understanding of the complex issue being faced, and the responsive practices and tools required to address the challenge

History

Realising that deficit discourse about Aboriginal people was active in schools, Scott Gorringe and David Spillman were determined to change the way in which school communities perceive, talk, and think about teaching and learning in the context of Indigenous Education. Scott was then heavily involved in a ground-breaking research group on deficit discourse with researchers at The Australian National University, the University of Canberra, Deakin University, and AIATSIS.

Background Information

Often approaches in these spaces are constructed in a way that unconsciously perpetuates the worldview of colonialism and historical approaches to Indigenous development, thus embedding further the notion of ‘fixing up’ the Aborigine. We employ the term ‘deficit discourse’ to encompass constraining assumptions about Indigenous Australians. Deficit discourse has been the subject of high-level research that has demonstrated its presence and impact, for example in Indigenous education and health (e.g. Gorringe et al 2011, Fforde et al 2013, Fogarty et al 2018). ‘Deficit discourse’, as it is known in the scholarly literature, is a mode of thinking that frames and represents Aboriginal identity in a narrative of negativity, deficiency, and failure (Fforde et al. 2013). Discourse (deficit) is at the heart of cross-cultural relationship. As Kerrins (2012) describes it: 

Discourse has been described as a system of thoughts, composed of ideas, attitudes, course of actions, beliefs and practices that shape reality by systematically constructing the subjects and the worlds of which they speak. Discourse plays a role in wider social processes of legitimisation and power; emphasizing the constitution of current truths, how they are maintained and what power relations they carry with them.

Important to understand is that Deficit Discourse does not discriminate, both Aboriginal and people who are not, can play in it – and this leads into the next point. The ensuing notion and rhetoric of ‘fixing up’ the Aborigine positions mainstream Australia as the yardstick for success, and, thus, what Aboriginal people must measure up to. There is no ‘space’ to reveal the challenge of this underlying assumption and policy rubric. As a result people end up continuing to implement strategies and policies which, in essence, either do ‘to’ or ‘for’ the Indigenous population. Both are disempowering approaches and contribute very little to self-determining actions. 

Even if your organisation is aware of these dynamics, this information is nonetheless important to consider when resetting strategic organisational directions, and in particular your organisational culture. If we are to make a move toward doing ‘with’ Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, we must consider a new approach to engaging all staff in a different way of framing Aboriginality and then reset our relationships accordingly. 

Knowledge of what to do and what not to do does not necessarily equate to behaviour change, instead, cultural transformation (within an organisation) occurs when people transfer their knowledge into actions. This moment of transformation is complicated, and it requires structure, discipline, self-reflection, and courage. MurriMatters believe that all of our collaborators seek an organisational cultural change that is authentic, respectful, robust, and inclusive. This change is enabled through the processes we offer. 

We view complex challenges as those which often shift and change and defy simple one-off solutions. The management of people and organisations, particularly in cross-cultural contexts in conjunction with environments constrained by political, financial, and temporal criteria, often present complex challenges. A key requirement in working with complexity is the creation of robust organisational culture and our processes work to enhance this. 

Our philosophy is strength-based, flexible and bespoke. We ask simple yet open questions and allow the responses from the mentee to help shape the next stages of the conversation.  Building relational trust is our number one priority supported by our faultless professionalism and ability to work confidentially. In terms of process we most often implement the following processes by providing individual one-on-one and/or group online coaching and/or mentoring opportunities:

• Our sessions focus on linking organisational and individual context with the professional and personal goals of the individual and/or team.
• We focus on “ Leadership in Action “ or connecting the personal/professional development pathway with a real-life tangible/ project which includes the implementation of key Engoori Practices that support self-awareness and the transformation of individual and organisational relationships
• Structured regular individual ‘check in’ sessions online with Murrimatters. These will be confidential and focused on both professional development and pastoral care if required. These sessions will provide an opportunity to share, challenge and plan
• Structured group ‘check in’ sessions online with Murrimatters focused on setting up a cycle of continuous improvement