weaving threads - how we work - the partnership...
TRANSCRIPT
WEAVINGTHREADS:PRINCIPLES,THEMESANDAPPROACHESTHATUNDERPINALLOURWORK
Those of us who work as Associates of the PartnershipBrokersAssociation(PBA)believethatpartneringatitsbestisinvariablytransformationalbecauseitnecessitatesamoveaway from doing business as usual. Achieving realtransformation requires awillingness to critique, to reflectandtoenvisionnewpossibilities.
Italsorequirescourage.
Asaprofessionalassociation,werecognizethatpeople(andthe entities in which they work) are informed, influencedandcontainedbytheirspecificcharacteristicsandtraditions.Theywill only challenge and change (themselves and theirsystems) when they are ready and willing to do so. Ourapproach,therefore,isnottopushthoseweworkwithintoforcing change, but to prepare them to be ready to makechangesasandwhenthetimeisright.
Weaimtoencourageallthosewetrain,mentorandsupportto better understand their own professional strengths andweaknesses.Weopenlyshareourownexperiencesandgivethose we work with encouragement to become morereflective practitioners.Webelieve reflective practice is anessentialpre-conditionforknowingwhenoneisreadytodothingsdifferently.
Over time, since our partnership brokeringwork started in2003, some underlying principles, themes and approacheshave emerged that we seek to embed in the evolvingprofessionofpartnershipbrokering. This shortpaper1 aimsto capture the threads that we attempt to weavethroughoutourwork.2
1Akindof‘PBAAssociatesManifesto’2TheillustrationisaweavingbyEtaIngham-LawriewhoseworkwashangingintheroomatTrigonoswhereweheldtheoriginalmeetingandthatinspiredthetitleofthispaper(www.trigonos.org)-itseemedfittingtoincludeit.
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THEWAYWEWORKASPBAASSOCIATES
Balancing‘process’and‘project’All our work places a strong emphasis on the partnering process so our content tends to be aboutprocess issuesjustasmuchas it isaboutprojectmanagement.Ourflagship4-dayPartnershipBrokersTrainingisbasedonthenotionthatpartnershipbrokersneedtospendasmuchtimeintheirworkwithpartnersonthepartneringprocessasonachievingprojectgoalsiftheyaretobuildrobustandeffectivecollaboration.Weaspiretobeingequallycomfortablewithbothelementsbutseeournicheasbeingourfocusonpromotingeffectivepartneringprocessesasabasisformoreproductivepartnerships.
Co-workingOurcommitmentto‘co-working’iscritical–bothbecauseitallowsfordiversity/complementaryinourapproachandbecause itenablesus tomodelcollaboration inpractice. For thesereasons,wealwaysprefertoworkinpairsandteams.Thisoftenmanifestsasan(external)PBAAssociateco-workingwithanidentified(internal)partnershipbrokerfromaleadorganizationorapartnership–buildingontheirdeeperknowledgeofthesituationthatwillleadtotheco-creationofabetterintervention.Workingthisway can also build greater sustainability of any approaches being proposed and help to strengthenindividualandorganizationalcapacities.Learningasanon-goingcollaborationAdheringasbestwecantosomecorepartneringprinciples3,ourapproach istoshareknowledgeandexpertisebyenablinggenuinedialogue/conversationswithallthosewithwhomwework.Weaimtobeopen/explicit about our own frames of reference and transparent about the conceptual frameworksthatweuse–warmlywelcomingcriticalcommentandbeinggenuinelywillingtochangeourviewsandconcepts. Differences of viewpoint are, we believe, central to the partnering process and not ahindrance or diversion. Ourmaterials4 are introduced with energy and confidence, not because weknowbestbutratherasajumpingoffpointforinterrogatingassumptionsandcreatingnewknowledge.
GrowingourpracticeWetryourbesttopracticewhatwepreachbyadeepcommitmenttoreflection,self-observationandcritical analysis. We regularly ask ourselves ‘What is needed now?’5 (rather than ‘What should I donext?’).Weknowthatourwork,whenundertakenrobustly,canbeexhaustingasitrequiresustostrivecontinuously tomeet theneedsof thoseweworkwith, tobeopen to challengeand tobewilling tochangedirectionwhennecessary.
Wealsobelievethatitisimportanttogiveandreceivefeedback(betweenourselvesasAssociatesandwiththosewetrainandworkwith)aswellastakingthetimetoreflectandde-briefaftereachactivityiscompleted.Webelieveweshouldhabituallyquestionourselvesbyasking,forexample:IsmyworkasaPBAAssociate still ‘alive’?Whathappened thatwasunexpected?Which sessions couldhaveachievedmore?WhatshouldItakeaccountofgoingforwards?WhatcanIlearnfromwhathappened?
3Diversity,equity,transparency,mutualbenefitandcourage4RegularlyreviewedatourCommunityofPracticemeetings5Thisisakeyquestionthatweencourageallpartnershipbrokerstoaskthemselves
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ContinuouslearningAsPBAAssociates,wecommittobuildingourcapacityasindividualpractitionersandinourvariousCommunitiesofPracticeby:exchanginglearningandexperiencewithourAssociatecolleagues;readingrelevantliteraturetoensureourknowledgeremainscurrent;sharingourexperiencesasopenlyaswecan;buildingourcapacitytoco-workeffectivelyandseekingopportunitiesforpeerreview/feedback.
MAXIMISINGLEARNING&IMPACT
CreatinganenvironmentwherethoseweworkwithcanchallengethemselvesPBAAssociatesseektocreatea‘safespace’inwhicheveryonecanlearneffectively–which,webelieve,involvestakingsome levelofrisk.Encouragingthoseweworkwithtobebraveenoughtostepoutoftheir comfort zone, establishing working guidelines and being willing to take risks ourselves in thepartnershipbrokering role,areall important.Thiscan involveexploringwhy thoseweworkwithmayneedacomfortzonetobeabletooperateatall.
ValuingdiversityAsPBAAssociateswearecommittedtorecognizingandrespectingindividualdifferencesandtobuildingonthediverse,andaddressingthesometimesdivergent,valuesofthosewithwhomwework.Suchdiversitycanbeintermsofgender,culture,sector,experiences,worldviewsandknowledgeandweencouragethoseweworkwithtoexplorediversitywhereverpossible.Thiscansometimesbechallenging,butsincewebelievethat‘breakingthrough’isfundamentaltoeffective/innovativepartneringandpartnershipbrokering,itiscriticallyimportantthatourinterventionsofferopportunitiesforexploringandbuildingondiversity.
SuitablevenuesWeconsidercarefullythechoiceofthevenueinwhichwework.Isitremovedfromthehustleandbustleofday-to-daywork?Istheregoodnaturallight?Isitinornearanaturalenvironmentthatwillencouragereflection?Istheresufficientroomforparticipantstomoveabout,workinsmallergroupsandmingleinformallyduringbreaks?Ifthevenuefallsshortofthesethings(oftenthechoiceofvenueisoutsideourcontroland/ortheresultofparticularlychallengingoperationalconditions)whatcanwedotocompensateforthingsthataremissingandmakeitworkoptimally?
PROMOTINGCOREPARTNERSHIPBROKERINGSKILLS
ReflectivePracticeJustaswefosterourownreflectivepractice,weaimtoembeditinourworkwithothers.By‘reflectivepractice’,wemean taking the time to take a step back, think, analyse, question, critique and informfuture work through a deeper insight into, and understanding of, experience. All our work aims toencourage both structured and unstructured reflective practice. Associates are all familiar with TheImaginedConversation6andtheReflectivePracticeGuidelines7 thatprovideadditional insight intothistopic.
6PaperbyRosTennysonfromTalkingtheWalk:ACommunicationToolBookforPartnershipPractitioners
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Observation&SensingWeencourage thoseweworkwith touse their senses tounderstandsituations:what they see,whattheysense (aswellaswhat theydon’tseeanddon’tsense)as thesearecritical tounderstandingthenuances of a situation. Taking the temperature of a room (or of an organisation) and developingempathy (theability toexperience things fromanother’sperspective)arebuiltongoodobservationalskills, which should be evidence-based and backed up by specifics, rather than being based onpotentiallyincorrectassumptionsandinterpretations.ActivelisteningLinkedtoobservationalandsensingskillsistheabilitytoreallylisten,togenuinelyhearwhatsomeoneissaying(boththespokenandtheunspoken)andtoaccuratelyunderstandwhatisbeingsaid–checkingthingsout,wherenecessary. Thisalways involvesconcentratingon thespeakerand theirpoints,andnotbecomingdistractedbythinkingaboutourownresponsesandreactionstowhatisbeingsaid.Itmayalsoinvolverephrasingwhathasbeensaidtoclarifyandhelpconveytoothersthespeaker’smeaningandintent.
GivingandreceivingfeedbackWeregarditascriticalthatasPBAAssociatesweareopentogivingandreceivingfeedback.Webelievethis ismosteffectivewhen feedback is focusedonaspecific situationand/orbehavior,aswellas theimpactof thatbehavior.8Givingand receiving feedback requires thoughtfulnessandgood intent.PBAAssociatesaimtohelpthoseweworkwithtounderstandthatfeedbackcanbeagenuinegiftandweseek to find the best circumstances in which to give and receive feedback ranging from formal toinformal scenarios. Cultural considerations are important here, and we aim to be sensitive to thiswithoutusingculturaldifferencesasanexcuseforavoidingfeedback.
KeepingafocusontransformationalchangePBAAssociates take on the commitment to push beyond ‘business as usual’ so that partnerships aremoreefficient,innovative,sustainable,fitforpurposeandfar-reachingintheirimpact.Thisrequiresustobecourageousandtofostercourageinothersofteninthefaceofuncertainty.Italsorequiresustoholdthespacefornewinsights,optionsandopportunitiestoemerge.Thiscanalsoincludeprovidingasafeenoughspaceforconflicttosurfacethatmayleadtodifficultconversations.ChallengingandchangingWhilstweasPBAAssociatesarewillingtoacceptchallengestoourownandPBA’sframesofreference,wealsotakeresponsibilityforchallengingtheassumptions,mindsetsandpatterns/frameworks/habitsof thoseweworkwith.The intention is tohelpothers toopenthemselvesup tonewknowledgeanddifferent ways of thinking / behaving. We commit to being prepared to challenge assumptions andframeworks,andtodelvebeyondthesurfaceofwhatwearepresentedwith.Thismaymeanthatsomeofoursessions/interventionsare‘uncomfortable’butourassumptionisthatifeverythingiseasy,weareprobablyhavingverylittleimpact!PrincipledPartnershipBrokeringPracticePBAandallitsAssociatescommittoworkinginalignmentwith10PartnershipBrokeringGoodPracticePrinciples–availablefromthePBAwebsite.9
JulieMundy&MarciaDwonczyk10September2017
7InthePartnershipBrokersTrainingWorkbook(2ndedition)8WeusetheSBIFeedbackmodeldevelopedbytheCentreforCreativeLeadership9www.partnershipbrokers.org10JulieMundyisPBA’sDirector:TrainingandMarciaDwonczykistheChairofthePBAAssociatesCommunityofPractice