Inspiring Future Leaders
Episode 32: Power informed w. Bob Bharij
About the episode In this episode Kellie sits down with Bob Bharij, founder and chief executive of Foundation for Change, an independent London charity supporting people rebuilding their lives after drug and alcohol addiction. Bob explains why his organisation describes its work as power informed rather than just trauma informed, teaching the people it works with psychology, philosophy and feminist theory so they can understand how power operates in society and how it has shaped their own lives. He traces his path into the work, from a psychology degree he came to distrust, through teaching English in Japan and on the Tibetan Plateau, to the funding cut that pushed him to found Foundation for Change twelve years ago. The conversation moves through the framework of values that keeps his team's culture genuine as it grows, why he rejects the idea that the charity sector and the business world are fundamentally different worlds, and closes on his guiding idea: outer change needs inner change. Key takeaways "Power informed," not just trauma informed. Foundation for Change teaches the people it works with psychology, philosophy and feminist theory, so they understand how power operates in society and how it has shaped their own lives. Bob calls this a power informed lens. He thought going solo could not be that hard. When Bob's approach did not fit the orthodoxy of drug and alcohol treatment, the organisation he worked for cut its funding. He and his co-founder started Foundation for Change that same year. Twelve years on, the charity is still going. The team lives by twelve values, qualities and ways of being. Authenticity, communication, critical thinking and awareness of your own trauma are among them. Bob calls the framework a spine that runs through everything the organisation does. Culture is built through small, repeated practices. A Monday morning check-in, bi-monthly retrospectives and quarterly away days keep the team connected to itself and to its values, rather than leaving them as a list on a wall. People are not just their work selves. Bob pushes back on the idea that employees should leave their personal lives at the door, arguing that emotions, health and care responsibilities do not disappear just because someone has clocked in. Outer change needs inner change. Bob's closing message is that any change you are trying to create, in yourself, your team or the wider world, starts with getting deeply connected to your own inner world first. About Bob Also mentioned Foundation for Change , Bob's not-for-profit organisation Bob's "power informed" framework, built on psychology, philosophy and feminist theory The twelve values, qualities and ways of being that run through Foundation for Change's culture The idea of the polycrisis or metacrisis, referenced by Bob in relation to climate, capitalism and patriarchy Connect with Bob on LinkedIn
