Margaret Harrison CBE

Founder & President, Home-Start

30 years ago Margaret Harrison started a project in Leicester, UK, to match trained volunteers who were parents, with parents of under-fives in the city. They provided support, someone to talk to, a friendly helping hand and someone to share the trials, tribulations and joys of parenthood with. Now there are over 300 Home-Start projects across the UK and Margaret has since founded Home-Start International through which Home-Start’s formula has been adopted all over the world.

Margaret observes how the term Human Resources would have us believe that people exist to provide resources and outcomes, but that people are above all human, not resources to achieve the organisation’s ends.

Margaret epitomized this in the way Home-Start was established.She describes the early years of Home-Start and how they built the team that could achieve all these things: "We started from the view that you are all there to get a job done as painlessly and enjoyably as possible together."

But it went beyond just focusing on people’s happiness in their work. "I am convinced that each of us needs to be needed," she says, commenting on the people involved. "They appreciated being able to give of themselves without inhibition, releasing their creative spark. This was what triggered their motivation, energy and enthusiasm."

"It's important to have time for each other," she continues. "So much happens when you make time for people - a lot of work then happens informally, more calmly, in a natural way."

Leadership as Consultancy and Service

Margaret’s work exemplifies the belief that it matters "to build a culture in which people want to base themselves." She created a culture where leadership guidance was seen not as a set of commands and rules, but as a consultancy service that treated people as equals. She resisted attempts to bring in director-style job titles, encouraged collective decision making, and placed high importance on a culture of friendship, building relationships, visits to Home-Start schemes, and maintaining frequent contact.

A ‘soft’ culture emerged which encouraged local responsibility and autonomy, but which was rooted in ‘hard’, or universally required, core values and charter standards.

She also believes in small local schemes for local people, and the 'cell of seven' model of teamwork, whereby teams have an optimum number of people, seven, above which they tend to lose cohesion and discourage contribution.

Remembering the Individual

By remembering the particulars about people's personal lives - such as their family and children, their pets, or aspects of their health and home life - Margaret demonstrated an ability to see the whole person, and to show the importance of people's lives beyond just their ability to fulfil functions in the workplace.

Margaret also paid attention to people’s physical environment, with warm, earthy colour schemes and flowers a frequent feature. "These things create a caring atmosphere and show that we care about ourselves, and about the people who share in our work and who come and see us."

Unsung Heroes and Heroines

She cites among her role modelsmany people in Home-Start and in her personal life who go about their lives unheralded, making a profound impression on those around them without necessarily showing or knowing it, through their humour, warmth, creativity, depth and friendship.

In these ways the working environment reflected the way Home-Start sees itself – as a service, a place of encouragement, and as an organization that values people’s happiness and wellbeing. It has been one of the most remarkable success stories in the history of the UK voluntary sector.

Margaret Harrison CBE is author of Hooray, Here Comes Tuesday! the Home-Start Story, available via Bamaha.Publishing@ntlworld.com