Training and consultancy that focuses on the results you need
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Training and consultancy that focuses on the results you need
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Partnership
working: Where are we now that the clouds are lifting? Wicked issues; cross cutting initiatives; overarching objectives; joined up government and the one stop shop; – these are all words and phrases we have heard with regularity over the last decade or so. They are symptomatic of a increasing realisation that the complex problems facing today’s society can only be solved effectively by organisations and people that are willing and able to work together. Looked at another way, if organisations desire to survive in today’s modern and interdependent world they must quickly learn the skills of partnership, of working with the people, organisations and environment that surround them. But what is partnership and what precisely are the major issues it can address? When the word partnership first started to be used regularly it was more of a slogan than a worked through concept. The initial writings that tried to cast some light on the concept did precisely the opposite, succeeding only in obscuring any insights and meaning within a dark, impenetrable cloud of theory, abstraction and specialist jargon. But thankfully, with the passing of time and the gaining of experience, the cloud has begun to lift. A generally accepted definition of partnership working may still (and perhaps always) elude us, but we can see more clearly some of the major issues that partnership working can help us with. This article highlights three of the most important of these issues, and then outlines the development people need in partnership working in order to address them effectively. The
age of the Super Boss is coming to an end. Societies and organisations are so complex and interdependent now that the idea of the ‘one boss to rule them all’ has lost its glamour. One person at the top of an organisation or society, however talented or charismatic, cannot hope to pull together all the interdependent strands needed to keep things going and improving. It is not even a matter of just empowerment any more. If a boss gets their staff to participate more that is fine, but the expectation is still very much that the buck stops with him/her if anything goes wrong - even if the fault lies with a minor partner organisation located on the other side of the world. The way things stand at the moment the boss still has to take the entire blame and be seen to sort things out (or resign – which is usually quite a waste). It is no wonder that many senior leaders are changing down and actively embracing a simpler existence, where they can feel in control of themselves and be answerable purely for their own actions. True partnership working, where the partners share the accountability for results, jointly take the blame when things go wrong, and more importantly collectively roll their sleeves up and shovel the muck to clear things up, can do away with the need for the Super Boss. It can cut out the human waste associated with loading one individual with unrealistic expectations. It can unlock all the partners’ potential and focus it where it is needed (rather than just allowing it to float to the top like scum, or just sink without trace). Project
management is not the magical solution. Project management is great (usually) when you know what you want to achieve and need a process for getting there. Many current organisational and societal problems, however, are not like that. Even when they seem to be, like designing and building a major rail link or public building, project management has regularly failed to stop things going wrong (and too much money being spent). This is because any
complex undertaking is more than a project plan - it is a network of
relationships, and the more complex it is the more interdependent the
relationships become between the key players. They become partners but perhaps
do not realise it, so they do not act like it. If something goes wrong or is not
delivered on time the first inclination is to sue, or blame, or cover up. It
does not easily occur to people to be honest, share the problem and jointly look
for a solution. Partnership working changes both the way key players see each other and the issues they need to address. Instead of competing and blaming, people recognise that they need each other to get things done. They become more honest and open and go out of their way to understand and help solve each other’s problems. Unlike the clear terms of reference of project management, the issues that a partnership starts looking at may not be those that it finally addresses, as through dialogue and seeking to understand each other partners start to see the real issues behind those that are presented. The
ivory towers are falling down. The experiment with unfettered individualism that took place over the last two decades is over, and in terms of helping society find solutions to its major problems it has failed. Some individuals may be getting better chances to fulfil their potential, but even they are starting to ask: ‘So what? Where is all this development getting me and more to the point how is it helping the society I live in?’ Organisations, some of which have become great towering shrines to individualism and the accumulation of wealth, are starting to totter and fall under the weight of their inward looking business plans and their need to generate profits for those that can afford to be shareholders. The continued and accelerating development of communications technology is causing not just our society in the UK, but the whole of western civilisation to rediscover the attraction and forgotten necessity for a sense of community, of shared gaols and aspirations, of being able to rely on and have access to the help of one’s neighbours. Partnership working offers firmer foundations than those upon which the above towers were built. It offers a new way of looking at society that is based on community and access, and the idea of abundance - that there is enough for all if we manage things correctly and cooperate with each other. How
can we make partnership work? What skills do people need to develop? The above is all very well, but why is it so difficult to make partnerships work and what can we do about it? The idea of partnership and viewing society as a complex network of interdependent relationships goes against the present world view, which is still generally one of individual aspiration, achievement and competition. Therefore, whenever we enter a partnership we are swimming against the tide of people’s perception. That is why partnership working can feel so difficult and be so very easily sidelined by organisations. A partnership may or may not help an individual organisation achieve its objectives and could initially represent a loss rather than a gain. In a lot of cases, therefore, potential partnerships will be viewed with suspicion from all sides. As we all need to live and succeed in this competitive, individually centred society, we have conditioned ourselves, and organisations have trained us to be, efficient and effective in meeting our individual aims and those of the organisations we work for. We have not been trained in the skills of partnership working, in sharing and cooperating across traditional organisational and personal boundaries. Team working training within organisations addresses some of the skills, but it does not and cannot by its nature help change people’s perceptions away from team working for the greater good of the organisation, to partnership working for the greater good of the organisation and those people and organisations that surround it. In order to be effective with partnership working people and organisations need training and development in the following areas: Understanding each other
and leading through dialogue In a partnership who leads? The answer is that the partnership needs to find the appropriate leadership from inside itself. It can do this by using dialogue. Dialogue is a different way of communicating which has very clear guidelines and encourages people to listen to understand rather than in order to reply. By training partners in dialogue skills they gain an enhanced understanding of each other, their needs, preoccupations, issues, problems and importantly their knowledge and skills. They can then proceed to set goals and make progress based on a solid foundation of deep understanding, allowing those with the most appropriate experience, skills, and motivation to take the lead. Thinking about new problems in new ways If we do what we have always done we will get what we have always got. Therefore, people need training in creativity techniques and more particularly in managing the process of divergent and convergent thinking - being able to welcome and encourage new and what may seem at first tangential ideas, work with them and then converge them down into an agreed solution or course of action. This skill will help the partnership make the most of its diverse experience, perceptions and knowledge and help it solve new problems with new solutions. Applying a clear,
methodical process to the setting up, running and reviewing of a partnership The introduction of project management was a leap forward for the successful completion of complex tasks with definite desired outcomes. Likewise, training in the application of a structured and methodical partnership working process will help people deal much better with the uncertainties and conflicts that arise during the creation and running of partnerships. A structured 10 - step approach to setting up, running and reviewing a partnership is given on this web site. To view it click Here. In summarySociety and organisations are changing. They are moving away from a concentration on the development and achievements of individual people and organisations and towards the valuing of community, cooperation, partnership and the creation and achievement of shared goals. The growing complexity and interdependence of organisations is an overwhelming burden for bosses and needs to be addressed. Project management techniques, although very effective for dealing with most complex activities, struggle to effectively encompass and control the extra dimensions associated with partnership working. Organisations that continue to go it alone and ignore the interdependencies that exist between them and their surrounding environment are beginning to falter and fail. Partnership working can help us address the above issues. It offers a basis for shared understanding, achievement and leadership based on the principles of dialogue. It helps us find new solutions to new problems by making us think in new ways. It can build on the successes of project management by offering a partnership management process that compliments and adds dimension to existing disciplines. If you have any comments about the above article or would like to find out more about the thinking behind it, or ask about the suggested Partnership Management Process please do not hesitate to contact Charles Lines at tallistraining@tiscali.co.uk . To see the Tallis Training 'Making Partnerships Work' programme click Here. To find out more about
the author click Here. Another important aspect
of partnership working is boundary management between individuals and
organisations. To see an article that deals with this click Here. Sources: Governing in the round: DEMOS Living the seven habits: S. Covey The gods of management: C. Handy Dialogue at work: N. M. Dixon Process consultation: E Schein Various partnership working case studies
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