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Change is Good

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I have just come across a really good online video, thanks to Phil Gerbyshack, called Change is Good.  It seems to sum up so many of the principles that I try to teach people how to practice in my PMN workshops.  (There are still someplaces left on Giving and Getting Great Feedback on 20th May in Leeds).

The film is only a couple of minutes long but contains so many great hints, tips, reminders and pointers to profound truths that should have immense implications for personal and organisational change.

Why not show it at your next team meeting and see what reactions, suggestions and feedback it elicits.

The video has a soundtrack – but still works if you are not sound enabled!

Change Is Good – The Movie

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

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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.

Making Partnerships and Alliances Work

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Great blog post on this topic in today’s Washington Post.  They offer 8 Is for making partnerships work that are worth considering:

  1. Individual excellence. Both parties must have strengths on their own, because weak players cannot prop each other up.
  2. Importance. The relationship must have strategic significance. If it is just casual, don’t bother.
  3. Interdependence. The strongest and most enduring alliances occur when the parties are different in some respects and need each other to carry out an activity they would not otherwise do.
  4. Investment. One sign of commitment is a willingness to invest something in the partner’s success, such as equities or personnel swaps (business “hostages for peace”).
  5. Information. Transparency aids relationship formation. If you don’t want a partner to know too much about you, why are you in the alliance?
  6. Integration. There must be many points of contact that tie the organizations together in joint activities.
  7. Institutionalization. A formal structure and governing board ensures objectivity, and that alliance interests are considered, not just each company’s interests.
  8. Integrity. Trust is essential. Alliances fall apart in conflict and lawsuits when partners do not act ethically toward one another nor strive to contribute to the other’s success.

How many enforced public sector partnerships get even half way to meeting these criteria for success.

This suggests to me that being successful in less than ideal circumstances is going to take more determination, more time and more persistence.

You can read the full post here.

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

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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)

Are You Ambivalent?

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Many managers I meet are, at best, ambivalent about management.  Few are passionate about it.

Why do we get into something we have so little passion for?

Why do we expect to be good at it?

Is it just a necessary evil en route to more power and money?

Need help to get passionate about management?

Get in touch!