As the demands for collaboration grow and more organizations answer the call, many are discovering that they are not set up to partner effectively. Countless organizations are involved in a range of relationships with others that they call ‘partnership’. Some of them are delivering strategic value. Others are languishing or completely forgotten from when they were launched, often with much fanfare and promise! As organizations seek to partner, many are starting to understand that the organization and the staff need to be ready to partner effectively.
Organization and Staff Readiness Gap
What’s holding effective partnership building back? Internal organizational procedures and cultures are often not set up to collaborations in the first place. Staff find that partnerships are taking too much of their time and effort and that the organization is not providing them with the resources and bandwidth to take on this more complex but rich opportunity. As well, staff often lack the necessary mindset, skills, and experience to work in this new way.
Partnerships are about breaking down silo, bridging cultures and finding common ground while ensuring mutual benefit. This is a new way of thinking, doing and even being from traditional approaches and requires organizations to have different strategies, processes, and skills to be successful. Organizations are realizing they are not producing sufficient results to justify their investment in partnering.
It doesn’t have to be this way! If organizations take the time to define what partnership means to them, who they are going to be as partners and then design internal plans, processes and procedures and facilitate and support employees working in partnerships they can have collaborative success.
What’s Needed?
To maximize the value of collaboration, organizations need to start and build their readiness from the inside out. Here are some key questions to ask to understand organizational strength and gaps:
Why does the organization want to partner? What value are they seeking?
Is partnerships part of the organizational strategy, with the appropriate level of resources and internal support to make them effective?
Is there the right leadership commitment and skilled staff with the right mindset, skillset, and capacity to implement effective partnerships?
Is there a pro-partnering culture that is both outward-looking and naturally collaborative?
Are their systems and procedures in place to support the partnership throughout its life cycle? Is the organization prepared to dedicate the necessary resources and staff time to engage with carefully chosen partners?
Is the organization well networked and connected to key stakeholders that would facilitate setting up and managing partnerships?
Key Steps for Partnering Effectiveness
1. Undertake an Organizational Assessment/Audit: Undertake internal research through survey, interviews and analysis of strategy, systems, practices to determine strengths and gaps. Prepare high-level recommendations for how to prepare for partnering.
2. Ensure internal Planning and Commitment Is Prioritized: Actively engage the organization in building internal capacity, strategies and plans to facilitate effective partnering. This should include developing a partnering strategy, clarity around typology and strategic imperatives, principles, development of supportive systems and processes, and internal guidelines and tools.
3. Be intentional in which partnership and then ensure careful implementation and execution: Determine how many partnerships the organization can manage. Establish priority areas for partnering and be judicious in choosing when and with whom to partner.
4. Support staff capacity building: Training and coaching and nurturing of conducive culture for staff must also be considered. Partnerships require new ways of working, new skills and approaches to be effective.
5. Regularly review and improve partnership strategies and capacities: Continuous reflection and learning are vital to ensuring the organization and staff are constantly improving their partnering skills and readiness.
Interested in a partnership readiness audit and strategy? Contact us at: admin@jsdaw.com