1. Going Beyond Partnership
Martyn Allison
Leadership Convention
St George’s Park, November 13-14
Management Improvement Services Ltd

2. The Hypothesis…..
Partnership working is a tool that is no longer
adequate for the challenges we will face in the
future. To succeed we must strive to go beyond
simple models of partnership to embrace concepts
of collaborative leadership. This step change will
require significant changes in attitude & behaviour.

3. Exercise 1
Write down the positive characteristics of
partnership working in one or two words.
Words write down the negative characteristics of
partnership working in one or two words.

4. Collaborative working…?
Low High
Competing
Accomodating
Avoiding
Collaborating
How far I try to meet other people’s objectives
High

5. Why do we need a different approach…?
• Achieving better outcomes does not fit with short term actions
it needs long term sustainable behaviour change
• Health improvement is a complex issue
• We have a rich but complex range of competing providers of
sport and physical activity.
• We have capacity and capability shortfalls
• Personal and group behaviour can undermine partnership
• Organisations and people change frequently
• Funding is reducing and will remain limited

6. Who are your strategic partners……….…?
Clinical commissioning Groups
Volunteers
Local community
Media
Councillors
Funding bodies
Directors of public health
Social enterprises
Local businesses
National lottery
Clubs
Councils
Faith groups
Schools
NGBs
CSPs

7. How do you need to engage with them………….
High POWER
Low
INTEREST
Low POWER
High
INTEREST

8. Exercise 2
1. Make a list of the key stakeholders involved in
the delivery of sport and physical activity in
your area
2. As a group allocate them in the four quadrants
in terms of their level of interest as well as the
power they wield

9. How well do you understanding them………..
Likely to let it happen
Likely to make it
happen
Medium
High
Medium
Low
Medium
Low
Power and Influence Impact of Change
Reaction Support for Change
High
Low
High
Unsure

10. Building a collaborative relationship with them……..
High POWER
Low
INTEREST
Low POWER
High
INTEREST
High power – low Interest
KEEP SATISFIED
High power – high Interest
KEY PLAYER
low power – low Interest
MINIMUM EFFORT
Low power – high Interest
KEEP INFORMED

11. Two meanings of collaboration………
Collaboration – " the action of working with
someone to produce something"
Collaboration – " traitorous cooperation with the
enemy ”

12. What is collaborative leadership?…
The capacity to influence people, by means of
personal attributes and/or behaviours, to achieve a
common goal.

13. Collaborative Leadership………
" a collaboration is a purposeful relationship in which all parties
strategically choose to cooperate in order to accomplish a shared
outcome."
You are a collaborative leader once you have accepted responsibility for
building - helping to ensure the success of- a heterogeneous team to
accomplish a shared purpose"
Hank Rubin - President of the institute of collaborative leadership.

14. Characteristics of collaborative leadership…
• A focus on shared vision & outcomes rather than individual goals
• A focus on interrelationships & inter-dependencies rather than individual
roles & responsibilities
• A focus on reducing duplication & overlap and identifying & filling gaps in
the system
• A focus on joined-up approaches rather than individual strategies & plans
• A focus on mutual accountability & sharing responsibility for success &
failure
• A focus on mutual respect, trust & valuing difference & diversity
• A focus on sharing risks & rewards as well as funding
• A focus on sharing capacity & capability and improving it
• A focus on sharing knowledge, information & learning

15. The PiiSA framework….
P- Clarity of PURPOSE & roles
ii- Influence and be influenced
S- Structures and systems that are fit for purpose
A- Capacity and resources to take ACTION
Taken from Making Partnerships Better.
https://www.sportengland.org/media/93472/making-partnerships-work-better.pdf
Original text supplied by Greengage consulting.

16. Martyn Allison:
Management Improvement Services
Martyn.allisonmis@gmail.com
LinkedIn