Working with and through the relationships we form is now central to the idea and the practice of a psychologically informed environment. But this was not always the case. This point emerged, in the course of many discussions over the first few years of 'the life of PIE'.
The very first attempted description of what makes for a PIE did not actually specify this as an issue at all, saying only : The first semi-official descriptions referred to 'managing relationships' - although none of the authors of that document were happy with the phrase, as it sounded too 'managerial'.
In the years that followed, in multiple presentations, many began to drop the awkward word 'managing', and to refer instead to making relationships 'central'. This was accurate - but it had removed completely the importance of embedding this thinking into the day-to-day workings of a service, which was also crucial.
Finally, therefore, the PIEs 2.0 formulation aimed to restore that element, with the theme known as the Three Rs - the rules, the roles and the responsiveness of the service. But PIEs 2.0 in fact did not include relationships as a distinct area, arguing that since working with relationships were central to everything, it should not be set as a separate issue; it was everywhere.
This seemed to work very well for some that were relatively well advanced in their development as a PIE. But for others, those that were more at the start of their journey, feedback suggested that the original 'centrality' was a powerful idea; and some stuck with the original PIEs 1 formulation, for that reason, despite the lower resolution of PIEs 1 on other, wider issues.
Eventually the suggestion came that the spirit behind the whole PIEs phenomenon called for some flexibility here, to allow each service to go as far with the approach as they were ready to.
So all those who wished to 'write in' 'relationships' in their Pizazz assessment, because they found it meaningful, could do so. The sole proviso was that, when looking at the rest of the framework, they should repeat the mention of any practical expressions in the appropriate place, whether in the Pizazz on paper forms or in the software (using 'Any other considerations'.)
