realisedevelopment.net

Just another WordPress site

“Partnership working?” What the hell is Partnership working”?

by

This has been my favourite tweet of the last 24 hours!

It caused me to pause and reflect.  It made think about how poorly it is defined and what a mess most partnerships are.  Many people find it a Herculean proposition to drive change in a single organisation.  What hope for progress in a partnership?

Yet few organisations or individuals can achieve what matters without involving others in some way.  If you need the support, permission, co-operation or resources of others to achieve what matters to you then you will have to work in partnership.

In my experience the best partnerships are formed when each partner:

is very clear and open about their self interest

has enough power to make things happen and is adept at using power to manage win/win negotiations with other partners.

In the worst partnerships, partners:

  • are unclear about their self interest, or keep it ‘under the table’
  • have little power or autonomy either in their own organisation or with partners
  • are inept at negotiating win/wins and partnerships are characterised by slow (if any) progress

My best guess is that if you work in a partnership and progress is slow, you are suffering from one or more of these symptoms.

The solutions:

  • Clarify and ‘go public’ with your self interest – if you are not prepared to go public then you are selfish rather than self interested.
  • Work on building both trust and power so that you can negotiate win/wins effectively and efficiently.

Good leadership and great development for partners can help partnerships to become significantly more effective.

Some people get very uncomfortable with  the idea of negotiating their own self interest rather than ‘co-operating’ and ‘serving’.  There are a lot of reasons behind this.  This article sheds light on some of them.

BGT Still Providing Management Lessons

by

One of my very early posts featured Paul Potts on Britains got Talent.

Well BGT proves itself to be the reality show of choice for the progressive managers looking to learn.

Forget The Apprentice and Dragon’s Den.  For lessons in authenticity, body language, hidden talent, and managing expectations.

Watch the video on youtube here.

New Measures and New Approaches to Development

by

Just recently I have been thinking about what we measure and why we measure it in various development programmes.  In economic development, measures are based on productivity, a measure usually derived from Gross National Product or Gross Domestic Product.  Anything likely to increase the productivity of the economy is deemed to be a good thing and pursued wholeheartedly.

This has led to a long term and persistent bias towards the pursuit of productivity gains – rather than to investing in establishing a context from which productivity will emerge.

Consider this from Bobby Kennedy from almost 50 years ago:

‘Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our gross national product … counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and the jails for those who break them. It counts the destruction of our redwoods and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and the cost of a nuclear warhead, and armored cars for police who fight riots in our streets. It counts Whitman’s rifle and Speck’s knife, and the television programs which glorify violence in order to sell toys to our children.

Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages; the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. And it tells us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans.’

Robert F. Kennedy Address, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, March 18, 1968

Seems pretty close to the mark even 50 years later.

  • Why did this voice of reason not prevail?
  • Could it prevail now?
  • Should it?

In order to get something different, you must do something different …

by

For many years I have done very little to actively seek recommendations or positive feedback from clients.  My belief was that my clients are all too busy to appreciate being asked to write about the joys of working with me.  I have happy clients.  None have asked for their money back (although most of my work carries that guarantee).  So asking for references was never a priority.

However, social networking sites made it easy for me to ask for references.  It gave me a gentle nudge and prompted me to try something new.  The results were great.  I now have some fantastic new client references and reading between the lines I can also see patterns emerging in what clients really liked about working with me – and some areas where I need to to more work.  Doing something different has helped me to make progress.

It was easy for me to try something new and see if it worked.  And that is what I try to do with my management training.  Make it easy for managers to try something new – and find out that it works.

Indeed it is always a joy to hear of a manager who has worked hard at putting my training into practice and is now enjoying the benefits.

I  am so delighted to give an endorsement for Mike. He is an enormously gifted and wise man who shares his knowledge and experiences freely. He has the ability to challenge gently and help you to examine ideas and thoughts clearly and objectively. If you have the chance of being mentored by Mike jump at it.

Charlotte Mannion (Director Centre for Professional Development at Great Western Enterprise)