By Melissa Porteous and James Chapman.
In September, The Partnering Initiative (TPI) welcomed a diverse cohort of 20 individuals from nine different sectors onto our flagship facilitated online training course: Partnering for impact: Building effective partnerships for transformational development. I had the pleasure of sitting down with Melissa Porteous, TPI’s Senior Programme and Training Manager, to delve into the rising demand for cross-sectoral partnership training and the unique benefits of bringing together individuals from a broad range of sectors.
What do you enjoy most about cross-sector partnership training?
One of the things I love most is the sheer variety of sectors we encounter in each course. In our most recent course, we had nine different types of organisations – from private sector to academia to global networks – representing thirteen countries.
This diversity is not only invaluable for the course participants but also for TPI itself. There’s a constant symbiosis between the training we deliver and the theory we develop, each informs the other as we encounter more diverse examples and further complexities within the field of partnering practice.
Given the diverse backgrounds of participants, is it difficult to apply cross-sectoral partnership theory?
You might think that this variance in course attendees means their issues are hyper-specific, and no ‘one-size-fits-all’ theoretical approach can help. However, what we’ve found is that although the context may differ, the root causes of challenges for these organisations are often very similar.
While a small NGO and a large private company have different aims and structures, their partnership teams all need to know how to set up a partnership, how to ensure win-win outcomes, the importance of understanding organisational culture, and how to understand other sectors.
TPI’s mission is to unleash the power of cross sector collaboration, so the diversity of our cohorts, the variety of sectors and organisations who take part in our training, is really important to us. In our breakout rooms and interactive scenario-based learning, individuals are tasked with approaching a partnership from a completely new context; you’ve got the head of sustainability for a private sector organisation working from the context of being a regional NGO. These conversations are what our participants really value, and often lead to lightbulb moments!
It’s vital to bring people outside of their own box – whether that’s sectoral or seniority – that’s where people really learn.
When do these ‘lightbulb moments’ typically occur?
We see lightbulb moments across all five sessions. It could be from the very first session where we discuss the idea that there is a structured approach to understanding partnerships. Or it might be a day or two in, where we discuss the concept of win-win outcomes and mutual benefit. Often you can sense when that “aha” moment comes for a participant, whether it’s the realisation that their organisation has been oblivious to the power structures they’re operating within, or to the importance of building long-term sustainability into partnership projects, or whether it’s simply how to deal with unproductive partnerships that are no longer delivering real value.
Our aim is to leave participants with a new understanding of partnership working and the additional value it can bring. And often also with an enthusiasm to share their new insights with colleagues.
TPI is launching a new course, Interpersonal Alchemy: Mastering Relationships for Impact, why is this course needed and who is it for?
While our flagship Building Effective Partnerships course provides all the foundational skills and concepts a partnering practitioner needs, there’s a limit to what we can achieve in five sessions. We’re increasingly seeing people asking about topics such as relational power dynamics, working cross-culturally, and collaborative leadership. In essence, there’s a demand for knowledge and expertise regarding the day-to-day building and maintenance of relationships, both within and between organisations.
This facilitated online course delves deeper into areas like influencing without power, understanding different personality traits, and mastering the art of difficult conversations. These skills are crucial whether you’re working in a small organisation or a multilateral institution.
While structures and processes are very important, partnerships ultimately succeed or fail based on the relationships between the people involved. By focusing on these interpersonal skills, we’re equipping our participants with tools that will serve them well in all aspects of their professional lives.
Understanding how people think, whether they’re more logical and fact-based or moved by emotional and inspiring rhetoric, the push-pull factors and the different ways people operate are important at all levels. Developing a better understanding of ourselves and others, and of the complex ways that we interact, plays a vital part in building healthy, effective relationships and strengthening collaboration.
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