So this past week Friday my home country (United Kingdom) officially left the EU and entered a 12 month period of negotiated separation arrangements or the equivalent thereof… The relationship had lasted from the 1st January 1973 until last week so a total of 47 years. Not a bad run you might say, but clearly over 50% of the UK voting public felt the relationship had run its course and for better or worse the time had arrived to end the arrangement.
Was the UK and EU relationship healthy? Many would say not and clearly the slightly greater majority. Could the relationship have been salvaged, repaired or recovered? Who knows, some would say yes, others would say a clean break is best for all parties concerned. History will of course judge the merits of the decision.
For the past 45 years, we have in the Mandt System program, promoted a Relational curriculum that is underpinned by concepts that support and encourage building healthy Relationships, Communication and Conflict Resolution. We understand that not all relationships can or should be maintained if they have crossed a line into unhealthy or destructive to one party or another. But we do believe that all relationships should bear examination to determine what and if they can be salvaged.
You might ask why? Better to make that clean break? Well the reason is because the work environments that we support, Health, Education, Human Services, Juvenile Justice and such… may not have the option or ability to just walk away. Their service models, employment conditions or legal requirements may require or demand that they have to stay engaged in a relationship with each other and those they serve. What we know from our 45 years experience, and has long been known in research and literature, is that healthy relationships promote better physical, emotional and psychological safety for all constituents.
A continual commitment to creating these enhanced levels of safety is foundational to the mission of the Mandt System today, just as it was back in 1975. Whatever happens in the UK, we are solid in our commitment to create healthy relationships in which people can say …“In this place and with these people, I feel safe”
