Along with co-production, lived experience has become something of a buzzword in recent years, and, as with all 'trends', people are moving from engaged curiousity to wary suspicion.
At The Productive Pessimist, we work exclusively from a position of lived experience - but what does that mean, and what, really, is lived experience?
What Working From Lived Experience Means For Us
At The Productive Pessimist, we work exclusively from a position of lived experience - but what does that mean, and what, really, is lived experience?
What Working From Lived Experience Means For Us
Working from lived experience means everyone on the Productive Pessimist team has been through what they're guiding others towards understanding of.
We didn't just take a 5hr course, watch a couple of YouTube videos, or read a bestselling book.
For example, I (Ash) have the following lived experience:
. 22yrs lived experience of managing all aspects of rural living, including travelling 30+ miles for work, without a car
We didn't just take a 5hr course, watch a couple of YouTube videos, or read a bestselling book.
For example, I (Ash) have the following lived experience:
. 22yrs lived experience of managing all aspects of rural living, including travelling 30+ miles for work, without a car
. 19yrs lived experience with serious pyschiatric conditions
. 16yrs lived experience in trans masculine experience and identity
. 16yrs lived experience in trans masculine experience and identity
. 9yrs lived experience of kinship care, through which I have gained adjacent experience in trans feminine experience, neurodiversity, OCD, and cerebral palsy
. 3yrs lived experience of sight loss
In many cases, I have more lived experience than many people have professional experience in fields they are recognised as authorities in - and almost all of my lived experience has included the professional skills of
. Stakeholder engagement
. Negotiation
. 3yrs lived experience of sight loss
In many cases, I have more lived experience than many people have professional experience in fields they are recognised as authorities in - and almost all of my lived experience has included the professional skills of
. Stakeholder engagement
. Negotiation
. Communication
. Risk management
. Change and crisis management - all of which, fortunately, I have been paid to employ in professional settings, providing a background of professional understanding which supports my lived experience focus.
What Is Lived Experience Led Training?
Working from lived experience in a consultancy and training setting isn't "We'll come in and talk to you about how hard our lives are, and how words and attitudes make us feel!" - here at The Productive Pessimist Ltd, we're very aware that this has been many peoples' experience of "Experts by Experience" and lived experience coaching, and it's left a bit of a sour taste. After all, everyone has challenges in their lives, everyone has to deal with attitudes and "jokes" which upset them. Most people don't get paid to bang on about it.
Lived Experience shouldn't be a lecture about "all the ways I suffer" - it should be a conversation about barriers which are invisible to those who aren't facing them, which makes those barriers visible to others, and invites a dialogue about whether they need to be in place, how they could be made easier to navigate, or if they could be removed entirely.
For example, the barrier to a visually impaired person of endless "must have full UK driving licence and own vehicle" in job adverts: What problem is that expectation looking to solve? If the problem is "the job literally necessitates someone driving solo to achieve the core elements of the role", then that's fine - it's not the right job for a visually impaired person, or anyone else who is legally unable to drive, and will never be in a position of being permitted to drive.
But if the problem is actually "We have multiple sites, and they're not all on public transport links, but you'll need to visit all of them", then the request only needs to be "Is able to travel independently by taxi and/or public transport."
If the problem is "Our shifts start/end before/after public transport services", the request is "Can reliably ensure being onsite from X until Y, or is able to relocate, with company support."
Your needs are still being met, no one is demanding you go to the considerable expense and logistical disruption of relocating to be more central, or adapting your shift times to meet public transport provision, if it's the case that the work can only be done onsite, no one is demanding you figure out how they can do the work from home - but the problem has been reframed, and answering the actual problem has removed, or at least significantly lowered, the barrier.
Just as professional experience responds to barriers, frustrations, and perceived unfairness with calmness, empathy, and direct connections to why things actually do have to be done a certain way, and an open mind to other ways some things could potentially be done, lived experience responds to discomfort, feelings of being accused, resentments, and unrecognised exclusions which are operating against those who appear to be from majority-privilege groups with that same calmness, empathy, firm direction, and open-mindedness.
The Productive Pessimist Ltd offer lived experience training for those looking to enter into Expert by Experience roles, as well as for companies looking to host Experts by Experience - this is usually a half-day session, with ongoing one-to-one support for Experts by Experience and corporate sponsors, and costs £450 for groups of 4-20 individuals, with monthly one-to-one support calls.
To book, email us: theproductivepessimist@yahoo.com
. Risk management
. Change and crisis management - all of which, fortunately, I have been paid to employ in professional settings, providing a background of professional understanding which supports my lived experience focus.
What Is Lived Experience Led Training?
Working from lived experience in a consultancy and training setting isn't "We'll come in and talk to you about how hard our lives are, and how words and attitudes make us feel!" - here at The Productive Pessimist Ltd, we're very aware that this has been many peoples' experience of "Experts by Experience" and lived experience coaching, and it's left a bit of a sour taste. After all, everyone has challenges in their lives, everyone has to deal with attitudes and "jokes" which upset them. Most people don't get paid to bang on about it.
Lived Experience shouldn't be a lecture about "all the ways I suffer" - it should be a conversation about barriers which are invisible to those who aren't facing them, which makes those barriers visible to others, and invites a dialogue about whether they need to be in place, how they could be made easier to navigate, or if they could be removed entirely.
For example, the barrier to a visually impaired person of endless "must have full UK driving licence and own vehicle" in job adverts: What problem is that expectation looking to solve? If the problem is "the job literally necessitates someone driving solo to achieve the core elements of the role", then that's fine - it's not the right job for a visually impaired person, or anyone else who is legally unable to drive, and will never be in a position of being permitted to drive.
But if the problem is actually "We have multiple sites, and they're not all on public transport links, but you'll need to visit all of them", then the request only needs to be "Is able to travel independently by taxi and/or public transport."
If the problem is "Our shifts start/end before/after public transport services", the request is "Can reliably ensure being onsite from X until Y, or is able to relocate, with company support."
Your needs are still being met, no one is demanding you go to the considerable expense and logistical disruption of relocating to be more central, or adapting your shift times to meet public transport provision, if it's the case that the work can only be done onsite, no one is demanding you figure out how they can do the work from home - but the problem has been reframed, and answering the actual problem has removed, or at least significantly lowered, the barrier.
Just as professional experience responds to barriers, frustrations, and perceived unfairness with calmness, empathy, and direct connections to why things actually do have to be done a certain way, and an open mind to other ways some things could potentially be done, lived experience responds to discomfort, feelings of being accused, resentments, and unrecognised exclusions which are operating against those who appear to be from majority-privilege groups with that same calmness, empathy, firm direction, and open-mindedness.
The Productive Pessimist Ltd offer lived experience training for those looking to enter into Expert by Experience roles, as well as for companies looking to host Experts by Experience - this is usually a half-day session, with ongoing one-to-one support for Experts by Experience and corporate sponsors, and costs £450 for groups of 4-20 individuals, with monthly one-to-one support calls.
To book, email us: theproductivepessimist@yahoo.com
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