Summer 2004 Newsletter from Joan Roberts Consulting

Please pass on to your network!

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The Complexity of Alliances, Coalitions and Partnerships
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More time, energy and resources are required to deal with the complexity of
building this form of organization ( I use the term trans-organizational
system coined by organization  theorist Thomas Cummings) than a traditional
organization.


Increased complexity comes from:

-the problems in the external environment that the group/process is forming
to address are complex problem sets or what Russell Ackoff deems "messes".

-the need to build trust over horizontal boundaries and across
organizational cultures.

-having to determine a participant selection process-  it needs to be chosen
with intention and thoughtfulness.

-when the group is large (over 9 people) - we deal with large group
dynamics- generally an participation/accountability avoidance dynamic.

 -the need to develop a common vision for the group or process-if it doesn't
occur the group will flounder.  The vision creates the goals to address the
problem set and a boundary for the strategy.

-there may be a history of competitive interaction between participating
organizations.

-TS participants struggle with building ongoing capacity and infrastructure
while maintaining flexibility and accountability to their organizations of
origin.

-there is little academic knowledge about his emerging form of organization.


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Upcoming Teleclasses
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A teleclass is a live, interactive workshop conducted over the telephone
through a conference call, or bridge line, where participants call a regular
telephone number at a specific date and time to participate in a class with
a teacher. It is just like being in a classroom except you are accessing the
classroom with a telephone rather than sitting in a room together.

You simply punch in a given phone number from your office or couch, and you
immediately are connected to a phone bridge with other students from all
over the world. Classes generally run an hour in length.


1.      Managers, organization and community developers: you can build
successful alliances, coalitions and partnerships!

This class is an introduction to the form of organization used by alliances,
coalitions and partnerships.

        You will learn:

-The reasons why this form of organization is chosen to solve complex
problems
-The kind of work these organizations do
-The organizational continuum
-The top 5 benefits and challenges

Learn the first steps to get the most of your multi-stakeholder processes!

Thursday July 22, 1:00 pm Eastern time

2. Discover the 6 phase development framework to build successful alliances,
coalitions and partnerships.

This is a class for managers, organization and community developers who want
to increase their success rate with this emerging form of organization.

You will learn:

An over view of the 6 phase TS* development framework.

Phase 1 - Determining the need for a TS and exploring the problem set
Phase 2 - Motivation to collaborate
Phase 3 - Member identification and selection
Phase 4 - Collaborative planning
Phase 5 - Building an organization
Phase 6 - Evaluation

*TS stands for trans-organizational system, a technical term that describes
the multi-organization nature of alliances, coalitions and partnerships

Tuesday July 27 1:00 pm Eastern time

3. Build the infrastructure for successful alliances, coalitions and
partnerships!

This is a class for managers, organization and community developers who wish
to build trust, governance structures and work systems to implement
collaborative initiatives and programs.

You will learn:

About the 3 process streams for TS organizational effectiveness
Many new tools for trust building, governance and work co-ordination

*TS stands for trans-organizational system, a technical term that describes
the multi-organization nature of alliances coalitions and partnerships

Thursday July 29, 1:00 pm Eastern time

4. Discover the different kind of leadership skills you require for
successful alliances, coalitions and partnerships.

This class is for those building alliances, coalitions and partnerships or
anyone interested in acquiring the lateral leadership skills to manage
across horizontal boundaries.

You will learn:
-The characteristics of Lateral Leadership
-The power of emotional awareness in order to build a safe container for
your group.
-How to establish boundaries for the individual and the group.

Thursday August 5, 1:00 pm Eastern time

5. Learn strategies and techniques to deal with power issues in alliances,
coalitions and partnerships and improve your effectiveness with this
emerging form of organization.

This is a class to enhance your ability to identify power issues and develop
appropriate strategies.


You will learn:
-About power and authority
-The sources of informal and formal power
-About power issues at various stages of TS development

*TS stands for trans-organizational system, a technical term that describes
the multi-organization nature of alliances coalitions and partnerships

Tuesday August 10, 1:00 pm Eastern time

To register go to:
http://www.teleclassinternational.com/teleleader_courses.html?tlid=11287.
Note all prices are in US funds.
All classes are separately priced and will run again in the fall.


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Diversity
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We often have to work with people from diverse cultural backgrounds in our
work.  This short article describes some interesting research findings about
the how time is approached in different cultures.

http://www.globaltmc.com/Articles%20html/temp.fugit.html

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About Joan Roberts Consulting
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Joan Roberts M.A. has over 20 years of experience managing projects,
developing organizations and working with different levels of government.
Joan's work focuses on building collaborative processes that engage members
of delivery systems to enhance and improve their service delivery.  Her
skill set includes high level knowledge and hands on experience of the
fields of change management, communications and governance.

She is a former city councillor and for the last 6 years has run her own
consulting and training practice.  With a Masters Degree in Organization
Development she has designed and delivered workshops on advocacy, economic
development, multi-stakeholder processes and governance.

Her new book entitled Alliances Coalitions and Partnerships, Building
Collaborative Organizations, published by New Society Publishers, will be
hot off the press in October/November of this fall.  Copies can be purchased
through the website www.joanroberts.com.

Joan Roberts MA
Joan Roberts Consulting
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www.joanroberts.com
"Helping Large Systems Change"
New Teleclass: Building Successful Alliances Coalitions and Partnerships.
Register at http://www.teleclassinternational.com/course_listings.html

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