An overview of the Power of Co collaborative pathway and the mindsets required to collaborate effectively on complex issues

1. Collaborating in Complex Times
Building capability for the 21st Century
Stuart Waters
Twyfords

2. Agenda
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• What is collaboration and why do we need it
• Thinking and acting like collaborators – the
central challenge
• Building capability – the ‘collaborative muscle’

3. What is collaboration?
• How would you describe or define it?
• Put these collaborative steps in an order that
makes sense to you
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4. 4

5. Thinking and Acting Like Collaborators
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7. What is your experience of this journey?
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8. Key elements of the mindset
• Doing with, not to and not even for
• Experimenting – safe to fail, planning to fail
• Embracing uncertainty
• Giving up the status of your expertise
• Letting go and inviting others into your own
uncertainty
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9. What are the barriers to working in this way?
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10. When%working%with%our%colleagues%and%partners%on%this%project,%to%
what%extent%do%we……%
!
1 Actually(trust(them(….(even(if(we(don’t(quite(trust(them?(
2 Include(them(in(problem(solving(….(even(when(we’re(least(sure(about(
what(to(do?(
3 Create(our(plans(….(with(them?(
4 Value(their(lived(experience(….(just(as(much(as(our(technical(knowledge?(
5 Reveal(information(….(even(if(it(shows(mistakes(we’ve(made?(
6 Share(decisionEmaking(….(even(if(they(are(on(the(other(side(of(the(
ideological(divide?(
7 Acknowledge(that(they(have(information(we(don’t(….(and(that(we(really(
need(their(help?(
8 Accept(a(collaborative(solution(….(even(if(it’s(different(from(the(one(we(
want(
!
Eight questions to test collaborate behaviours

11. Barrier 1 Barrier 2
The Collaborative Journey
CONFIDENCE
Thinking and
acting like
collaborators
CLARITY
Agreement on
the problem to
be solved
BAU
BAU
COMMITMENT
We need to work
with others to
solve this complex
problem
Barrier 3
Lasting Solutions
Complex Problem
BAU
OWNERSHIP
Copyright © 2015 Twyfords

12. 3 Trolls of collaboration
• Competition – stakeholders in any system are
often in unspoken competition for resources,
authority, recognition or power.
• Control – leading across difference requires us to
let go of full control.
• Commitment – we want to work differently
together but continue to use the same approaches
that are designed to maintain the status quo.
The Australian Leadership Paradox
Geoff Aigner and Liz Skelton 2013

13. So how do you shift people’s thinking and
behaviour? What is your experience?
Our approach is based on:
• You can’t train this
• You can only learn by doing
• Supported through that process by coaching
• In a learning frame
• Building internal champions
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14. What We Have Learned
• It is hard to let go of the facilitator
• Leaders need to model the change they want
• Organisational capability rather than PD
• Collaborators can no longer see things the
same way
• Coaching really works, but it takes time
• It isn’t easy to quantify benefits, but the
evidence is building
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15. • What did you take from this session?
• Did anything surprise or challenge or excite
you?
• What are the implications for the work you
do?
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16. Thankyou
stuart@twyfords.
com.au
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