Working with individuals, leaders, teams and systems

This practical tool brings clarity to how leadership, strategy, structure, and people interact within a system — and where things get stuck. It helps teams move beyond surface-level fixes by focusing on alignment across these four core dimensions.

Developed to support relational, not just operational, thinking, the LSSP Triangle reveals where disconnects are blocking collaboration and how to rebalance power, purpose and communication across boundaries.

Use it to explore: leadership disconnects, unclear strategies, structural friction, underused talent, or anytime the parts of a system aren’t adding up to a whole.

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This quick, structured session uses embodied systems reflection to help teams uncover what’s really going on beneath the surface — from unspoken norms to structural misalignment.

Designed to be felt, not forced, the System Mirror helps people experience how their system operates — not just talk about it. In 30 minutes, it creates space for insight, connection, and practical movement. No slides. No lectures. Just a shift in how people see each other — and the work they do together.

Use it for: Away days, team resets, strategy sessions, cross-agency reflection, service design, or anywhere the energy feels stuck.

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Collaborative Knowledge Networks (CKNs) are the architecture behind relational change. They bring people together across professions, services, and sectors — not to tick boxes, but to generate new insight, shared meaning, and sustainable movement.

Grounded in the Who Works! methodology, CKNs help teams reflect, connect and co-create practice in ways that actually stick. Used internally or across multi-agency partnerships, they support a culture of learning, accountability, and relational coherence. 

These networks are where strategies stop living in slides — and start living in systems.

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This foundational, peer-reviewed paper introduces the theory behind the Who Works! framework — a practical, values-led approach to supporting systems change in complex environments. It explores how public sector transformation often over-relies on structural fixes, and argues instead for a relational rebalancing: one that puts equal attention on leadership, strategy, structure, and people.

The paper offers both a critique of traditional programme management methods and a constructive alternative rooted in interpersonal connection, co-production, and collaborative learning. It lays the groundwork for the methodology that now underpins all of Who Works!’ work — across health, care, and beyond.

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Published in: Safer Communities (Emerald Insight)

This peer-reviewed paper explores how Communities of Practice (CoPs) can empower youth justice practitioners and service leaders to drive change from within. Drawing from real-world application, it shows how CoPs unlock the lived knowledge already present in the system — shifting the dynamic from top-down instruction to co-produced insight.

These learnings contributed directly to the evolution of Akani’s own Collaborative Knowledge Networks — creating containers for learning, trust, and innovation across teams. The findings remain relevant across public service spaces, especially where collaboration is needed but not easily achieved.

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Published in: Safer Communities (Emerald Insight). Co-authored with: Prof. John Pitts

This peer-reviewed paper sets out a relational blueprint for effective collaboration across the youth resettlement pathway — from custody to community. It outlines both the benefits and the real barriers that practitioners experience when trying to work across organisational lines.

The work highlights how structural and cultural tensions can derail even well-intentioned partnerships, and makes the case for intentional, relationship-centred approaches to inter-agency practice. These insights have informed our methods for enabling coherence across complex systems.

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Published by: Contextual Safeguarding Network with The University of Bedfordshire’s International Centre

This paper challenges behaviour-focused safeguarding approaches and advocates for a shift toward context-aware responses. It explores how peer-on-peer harm is shaped by the environments young people move through — schools, communities, online spaces — and calls for systemic, relational interventions.

The thinking aligns with Who Works! by recognising that behaviour is often a symptom of deeper systemic patterns. It reinforces the need to design responses that meet young people where they are — not just who they are.

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Published by: HMICFRS with: University of Bedfordshire’s International Centre (Fieldwork managed by Akani)

This national study captures the real experiences of children and young people in contact with police for safeguarding reasons. While some reported positive engagement, many shared stories of being dismissed, mistreated, or misunderstood — particularly those from marginalised groups.

The research identifies eight core principles for safer, more relational practice — but shows they are too often applied inconsistently. The findings underscore the need for equity, trust, and human-centred systems. It invites us to look beyond the individual, and start changing the conditions that surround them.

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