What we think

Strong Team Canvas

24th April 2020 Posted by: Ethicore

Re-Group with a Strong Team Canvas

At times of crisis it helps to re-group and strengthen our teams. Whether our core team, project teams or partnerships; teams that are new or existing; taking time to sketch out a team canvas can be an energising and empowering team activity. A team canvas effectively captures ‘my team on a page’. It is a great tool to reset your scope and focus. Here is a quick guide to developing your team canvas.

VISION – What does success look like? Let’s get specific about the outcomes you want to see and in what timeframe. This can be short – medium term in times of crisis. I ask people to visualise this in a picture/description and take it from there.

PURPOSE – This is fundamental. What are we here for? Get to the real contribution your team are making to the goal: funding, increasing impact of interventions, etc. Keep asking ‘why/so what?’ until you get there.

VALUES – Keep this to 5-7 key values. They shape the way you deliver your purpose. For example: being evidence-based or working in partnership with others. Whatever they are, you they should clearly affect the way you make decisions or operate. Explore what values look like in your team’s day to day work?

TEAM GOALS – You have set your timeframe in your vision, so what are the SMART goals to get you there? Ask the team to bring their own personal goals and add them to the team goal. Keep adding the £s, people, impact, influence until you have a rounded team goal.

TEAM OFFER – The special sauce of any team. Start looking at the strengths and assets of the team. It is worth taking time to really get this right. Ask others to feedback – what is the value-add of our team?

PRINCIPLES AND EXPECTATIONS – Set out a clear scope for the team with roles and responsibilities. We start with what you do and don’t do, to begin to flush this out.

WAYS OF WORKING – Focus on what really makes a team tick – how you make decisions, communicate, who you work with, etc. Check through some of the issues and gaps, to make sure everyone is clear how you work.

This is a great team activity that can be done virtually, with teams visualising, sharing, adapting, editing. Sketch it out in your first session, then build the fuller picture until you have a team canvas on a page.

Contact me if you want more detailed advice, particularly for rapid project/partnership team activities in COVID-19 related response.

Rachael Clay

VIRTUAL PRODUCTIVITY

13th March 2020 Posted by: Ethicore

Photo by Andreas Klassen on Unsplash

COVID 19 – Accelerating our virtual productivity

Turning social distance in to social productivity

COVID19 may be leading to travel bans and cancelled events, meetings and workshops, but it doesn’t have to reduce our productivity, social connection and interactions.  Virtual sessions can be even more productive, not just saving travel time and carbon, but getting deeper and more focused interaction with our teams and peers.  The key is in planning and preparing for productive sessions, and actively facilitating our interactions.  We have been developing virtual engagement for years now and have been asked for ideas for virtual team engagement. Here are some of the learnings to be as productive as possible, virtually…

1. Design and facilitate sessions to be productive and responsive to need.

Sessions need to be planned in advance and actively facilitated.  Bring in others from your organisation or professionals to help, where necessary.  It can make things more fun and productive, and build confidence of others to do the same.
Consider what you want to get out of the ‘session(s)’ and what the participants need.
Design sessions for their purpose: the activities, tools, inputs, discussion flow, technology and timings.

2. Structure sessions with different techniques to respond to different needs

Consider all channels of communication, collaboration and engagement from webinars, shared working documents, team zones, chat, calls, video, etc.
Vary your approach between sessions.  Try things and fail.  We need variety to keep present and engaged. If people are multi-tasking, productivity will drop. So adapt and design for full engagement when their presence is required.
Take time for the team. People will need their dose of personal social interaction. Giving time for less structured team discussion can help.

Use collaborative tools to work together online.  Set up working documents/propositions and work on them live.  It’s an opportunity to work together, not just talk/meet.  It makes conversation real.  
Try team working tools to avoid information overload. People don’t need to be included in everything. New tools allow you to check in to the latest discussions on an issue without excessive emails. Keep communicating.
Broadcast updates only where appropriate.  They can be live and/or recorded for people to check in their timezone.  Remember – not everything needs to be live, especially if it is about information sharing.
Keep comments and feedback open.  Allow for feedback and discussion through comments/chat for a couple of days to get maximum input.  Encourage interaction between people and teams (not just with the ‘host’).
Structure text based conversations in live documents (up to 20 people live) and in living documents – that gather feedback over days.  It is massively productive, allowing multiple people to respond simultaneously, not waiting in turn to speak.  
Use conversation/conference calls to discuss key issues that are emerging but not to get all the opinions out there, i.e. don’t rely on conference calls to get stuff done. Conference calls work to where you want to discuss the issues or to build on ideas.  It’s the builds that matter.

3. Get your housekeeping in place so that people are prepared to be productive.

Ensure people know to be logged with the right tools.  For example, people need to be logged in via their computers for working sessions so that they can fully interact and contribute.
Be clear in advance if video is necessary.  For example, if you are working on documents, ask people to keep cameras off so they can focus.
Be clear in advance if audio is necessary.  It might be better to focus on a text based conversation at times.
Not everything needs to be live.  Be clear about that.  We have enough FOMO (Fear of missing out) already, so it is important that people know they don’t have to be in all sessions.  
Give clear deadlines for inputs/feedback so that people know they have flexibility to respond in their own time.

4. Develop access and use of available technologies.  

Use all the functions of your available technologies to the full.  We often haven’t explored their full capabilities.  I don’t take a position on tech – you can use a  mix of tools, even in one session (conference call, shared document, chat, etc.).  
We need to make sure that our partners and participants have the necessary access and technology to be able to engage.  Support them where necessary.   
There are new tools that could make conferences and events even more productive than in person, allowing even greater transparency of participation and many of the same session formats, e.g. https://hopin.to/  It is worth investigating such creative tools, to enable participants to find and chat with each other without relying on serendipity.

If we want to be carbon neutral and deliver the SDGs then using the COVID 19 crisis to develop productive virtual working is critical. Virtual sessions can be energising, insightful and creative.  There is potential to lower our carbon footprints and increase our productivity, if we plan for productive sessions using creative techniques and supportive technologies.  Let’s embrace change while we have to.  

PURPOSEFUL PARTNERING – Four calls to action

6th March 2020 Posted by: Ethicore

Photo by Suad Kamardeen on Unsplash

Speaking at the ICRS meeting on Partnerships for impact, I shared insights from our research and experience on four calls to action for purposeful partnering.

Break and remake the mental models in our organisations to deliver purposeful partnerships, not just rhetoric.
Invest in and measure the impact of partnerships, not just programmes and projects. They are needed for long-term transformation.
Diagnose, and actively manage, power in partnerships.
Invest in partnership capacities – it takes a whole organisation.

A. Break and remake the mental models in our organisations to deliver purposeful partnerships

Purpose needs to run through a partnership or an organisation from intention through to behaviours. Behaviours are determined by the mindsets our partners hold, which are shaped by established mental models and frameworks established over years. Misaligned mindsets can be fundamentally disruptive. Our research in to mindsets indicates we need to break and remake the mental models in our organisations and partnerships, to create new purposeful behaviours. We need to…

Re-examine the current mindsets: Ask what’s stopping us achieving our purpose? (e.g. Mental models such as NGOs can’t deliver, or corporates are only after profit)
Purposefully create new assumptions: understand what is needed to deliver our purpose (e.g. Partnership is the only way we will transform this problem).
Establish a new framework of priorities and outcomes. Based on new assumptions (e.g. Train, build capacity of partnering).
Demonstrate new behaviours: (e.g. develop multi-functional team working across partners)
Lead and socialise: to celebrate and share new behaviours.

B. Invest in and measure the impact of partnerships not just programmes and projects. They are needed for the long-term transformation.

Transformational change doesn’t happen in the short term. It takes long term partnerships, not just programmes and projects. So measure the impact of the partnership, not just the specific programme. Benchmark the power and participation of partners at the beginning; diagnose any issues; and measure how effectively they have been managed. Explicitly investing in the success of partnership as well as our programmes and projects, is critical to achieving our purpose.

C. Diagnose and actively manage power in partnerships.

Some of the best advice we can provide about partnerships for impact comes from analysis we have done on power in partnerships. Power dynamics are real and can destabilise a partnership, even with the best of intentions.

1. Diagnose and deal with power in partnerships…

Be honest about differences in financial resources and recognise all contributions to a partnership (innovation and communications expertise, resources, networks, expertise, and reputation). Only then can you leverage the non-financial values.
Call out unachievable goals. Direct, honest communications are critical to successful, sustainable partnerships. Train your people to manage conflict if necessary.

Understand the difference between Project and Partnership Success. Avoid delivering one at the expense of another. A strong partnership can learn and grow from failed as well as successful projects.

There are tools that we can employ for balancing power:

2. Start as you mean to go on with the set-up of the project.

Communications, objectives, accountabilities, roles and responsibilities in a RACI.

3. Develop transparency and shared decision making.

Promote transparency, shared decision-making processes and learning.

4. Incentivise and reward power sharing.

Build shared rewards and incentivise power sharing.

5. Formalise and support equal participation.

Facilitate equal levels of influence, with support and processes. Page Break

D. Invest in partnership capacities – it takes a whole organisation.

Organisations are committing to purpose and transformational change that requires partnership. However, there is still an intention-action gap. It takes a whole organisation to deliver transformative partnerships, not just our professional partnering colleagues. We need clear consistent leadership on purposeful partnerships, investing in the people and the enabling environment for partnership working across all actors. 

By Rachael Clay

Tackling Power Imbalances in Partnership

16th October 2019 Posted by: Ethicore

Photo by Stijn Swinnen on Unsplash

Power dynamics can destabilise a partnership, even with the best of intentions. Diagnosis is the first step to rebalancing power for effective partnerships. Mastering mindsets for partnerships will help to tackle power imbalances in partnerships but more explicit efforts are necessary to anticipate and manage the impact of power in partnerships.

Diagnosing power imbalances

Be honest about differences in financial resources and recognise all contributions to a partnership. This will enable partners to take account of all values in negotiations and decision making and mitigate for potential asymmetries in power.
Understand the difference between Project and Partnership Success. A Project can achieve desirable outcomes for participants yet fail to achieve mutual benefits to partners. Approach partnerships knowing the desired project and partnership outcomes, to ensure that one does not come at the expense of the other.
Call out unachievable goals. Setting unrealistic expectations can cause projects to falter, and can cause partners to default to entrenched power positions. Realistic goals are needed to balance power relationships effectively.

Balancing power for productive partnerships

Communicate effectively from the onset. Be explicit about the objectives, accountabilities, roles and responsibilities to capture power and potential from the outset. Then actively invest in deriving the individual partner and mutual benefits from the partnership.
Emphasise the value of non-monetary resources. Just as corporate partners might have innovation and communications expertise, as well as access to sizeable resources, NGO’s can highlight the significance of their networks, expertise, and reputation for the project’s success.
Promote transparency: bring all relevant stakeholders in the partnership together in one forum and within an agreed process. Publicise and record activities so that non-participating stakeholders can understand the responsibilities of each party.
Establish shared and transparent decision-making processes. This will prove vital in ensuring equal influence as the project progresses.
Create an environment of shared learning. By creating feedback loops through evaluations or reports, partners can discuss whether the project has addressed each party’s individual interests. This process can help determine whether partners are benefiting proportionally and, if not, how partners can improve their performance.
Build shared rewards. Learn from industry models. We know that businesses, where employees and shareholders receive a shared reward, are more likely to thrive.
Incentivise power sharing. Examples from workplace bargaining suggest that an influential partner will relinquish control of a process when incentives exist. This could include better outcomes from the partnership or greater access to partner assets.
Provide formal procedures to facilitate equal levels of influence. Offer methods of support for partners with less financial influence to encourage their equal participation. 
Formal, institutional arrangements are vital for power balances. Co-determination in corporate governance models—in which employees have the formal opportunity to participate in their firm’s decision making—leads to great balances of influence. Encourage participation by local actors. When possible, attempt to support locally controlled finance mechanisms to balance financial influences.
Develop a RACI (responsibility, accountability, consulted, informed) framework for the partnership to ensure partners are actively engaged. The more of a personal stake people feel they have in a partnership, the more responsible they will feel for ensuring its success.ⁱⁱⁱ

Power imbalances are inherent in partnerships between organisations with different levels of monetary resources, expertise, dedicated people and influence within the sector. However, if imbalances go unchecked they can undermine trust and ultimately partnership success. Diagnosing the power imbalance and ensuring the value that each partner brings is recognised is a start. Beyond this, formal procedures can ensure decision-making processes are fully consultative and transparent so the influence of each partner is clear and shared learning and rewards can ensure partners benefit proportionally. Power can even be redistributed by incentivising power sharing and offering methods of supporting less financially influential partners. In these ways, equal participation and equal influence can be achieved.

Follow the series to get an ‘overview of the mindsets for partnership and innovation’ and delve deep into each mindset for more insights and tools. Sign up at https://www.ethicore.com/get-in-touch/sign-up/ to receive the series by email.

By Jane Thurlow and Rachael Clay

ⁱⁱⁱ Talking the Walk: A Communication Manual for Partnership Practitioners pg 19

Investments for partnership mindsets

9th October 2019 Posted by: Ethicore

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Partnership is essential to achieving the SDGs yet an intention – reality gap exists. Organisations, whether NGO, Company or institution, have this as a stated priority. Professional partnership teams are working hard to hold together relationships, but it takes a whole organisation to deliver transformative partnerships. There’s a troublesome investment deficit in partnerships. Partnership management is often approached intuitively and can succeed or fail based on the abilities of individuals involved with little training or support. Partnerships are getting by, but we need clear consistent leadership on partnership, investment in skills and mindsets shifts and the right kind of culture and enabling environment for partnership working across all actors.

BUILD STRONG LEADERSHIP

Leadership is needed to set ambitions for large scale transformational partnerships, not just for funding, but for change, as well as expecting every part of an organisation to develop its capacity to deliver in partnership. It is a challenge to build the capacities, systems and approaches to deliver in partnership but one that leadership need to invest in.

INVEST IN SKILLS & MINDSETS

We expect people to partner productively whether from business, NGO or institution, global or local, small or large organisation. However, the paradigms people operate can cloud their perspectives and behaviours. Missed communication is commonplace. Mismatched expectations are damaging. Collaboration is constrained. We need an investment in partnership skills and to nurture new mindsets in our partnership leaders and wider teams. People need support to understand each other, develop shared value and deal with difference. Only then can we engender trust and build resilient relationships and successful collaborations.

DEVELOP AN ENABLING ENVIRONMENT FOR PARTNERSHIP

Culture and style of an organisation are critical determinants of the enabling environment for partnership. Leaders need to signal the changes and model behaviours that support the new mindset. Using news tools and systems, resources and rewards can encourage and stimulate people’s interest in doing things differentlyⁱⁱ. This takes strong and consistent leadership, focusing on transformational change, while being open on the means to achieve it, sharing success, mistakes and learning along the way.

It is time that organisations recognise the investment deficit in partnerships. Let’s begin to invest in the leadership, skills, mindsets and culture to deliver transformative partnerships.

By Rachael Clay

[ii] Gardner, H. (2004). Changing minds: The art and science of changing our own and other people’s minds. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press.