Learning the lessons from 2017 and ensuring we thrive in 2018

I’ll admit that at times, as chair of a housing association board, it has been overwhelming.

But as the year draws to a close and I’ve spent time reflecting on all the doom and gloom, I think there are many lessons we can take from such challenging times.

“I think there are many lessons we can take from such challenging times.”

Being chair of the regulatory board for Wales and chair of Knowsley Housing Trust in Merseyside has given me great insight into the challenges as both regulator and regulated.

In a perfect world, housing association boards work with their executive teams, providing sound governance and leadership over the implementation of well thought out strategies and plans.

But real life isn’t like that, is it? Things get messy. Stuff gets complicated. Surely it’s our ability to flex and change to meet the challenges that set us apart? Our capacity to improve, our resilience and ability to respond is key.

We need to remain positive and focused on meeting the challenges this year has thrown at us. As the saying goes: if it doesn’t challenge us, it won’t change us.

This is not only true on a personal level, but I think it fits perfectly with how we need to think as board members.

Keeping customers/residents/tenants front and centre is key. Are we really listening to what our customers want?

The regulatory framework in Wales differs from that in England in that it explicitly places tenants at the heart of the regulatory process. This is something we are proud of. However, as a regulatory board, we are acutely aware that it’s easy to say, but much harder to do.

Housing growth is essential; we need and want to deliver more.

But boards are quite rightly having to look closely at investment decisions, balancing the need for housing growth with maintaining safe, good quality existing homes.

Better governance comes from having wider perspective and more disagreement – dissent even – around the board table.

Yes, seats around the board table need to be earned based on skill, but let’s make sure we have diversity of thinking as well as diversity of skills. Difference and disruption should be a driver for change and improvement.

Good boards will have invested time and energy in stress testing business plans to really understand what will break their business. Only then can the appropriate mitigations be put in place. This preparation means that if things do go wrong the business can react quickly.

“Acting too quickly, often as a knee-jerk reaction to an event, can exacerbate a problem.”

But here comes the next challenge. Acting too quickly, often as a knee-jerk reaction to an event, can exacerbate the problem. I’ve heard many anecdotal examples of this following the Grenfell tragedy. As a board, being able to steady the waters is vital – making sure we stay anchored to our values and deliver what’s important to our residents.

Boards need to be mindful that a grand plan doesn’t always translate to sound practical delivery on the ground.

A slideshow of all Inside Housing’s front pages in 2017

Our ability as board members to challenge, support and test the executive thinking is essential. Being open to tough questions and learning when things go wrong is so important. There is always a wealth of learning to be gained from mistakes and failure.

Resilience is a word I’ve heard used a great deal this year. It would seem our ability as a sector to bounce back knows no limits.

There are countless examples of housing associations doing brilliant things but I can’t help feeling that we’ve all muddled through 2017 and it has been a hard slog.

In 2018 we need to move from surviving to thriving. If we are really going to play our part in tackling the housing crisis, it’s time for some radical thinking and big changes.

Helen White, chair, regulatory board for Wales, and chair, Knowsley Housing Trust