Our relational approach: Working with teams, not individuals
We have always held a belief that incredible things can happen when you enable people to embrace the potential of technology to make their world better. So, right from the outset we knew that our work must bring together deep digital technology expertise, alongside expertise in organisational change and collective human behaviour. Technology projects are never just a tooling change, they involve understanding the impact of technology on people, and it takes time.
Over the years we have honed our approach to look at tech and teams; covering how an organisation practically implements their technical foundation and how they embrace culture alongside it. In this blog we share insights on how we have developed a deeply relational approach when working with teams; enabling us to create a collective vision for how a digital journey is approached within an organisation.
WE WORK WITH TEAMS, NOT AT THEM
Historically, digital is the responsibility of a single team or worst still, an individual within an organisation. But realistically, digital must permeate an organisation, if it continues to sit in silos, it will become restricted and isolated, quickly leading to technical debt.
Rather than training individuals to lead the digital change in their organisation, we therefore have to work alongside teams to create it. For example, in charities, the service users, staff and wider stakeholders should all be involved in digital change because of the unique perspectives they hold. This allows teams to start role modelling digital behaviours and practices from the beginning of the programme, encouraging them to consider the impact on different individuals and the impact on their cross-functional relationships.
Beyond this, one of the principal reasons we want to work with multiple teams rather than individuals is to build organisational memory, increasing the sustainability and resilience within an organisation. This is especially important given the relatively high turnover of staff within the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector:
“Over the last two years, 20% of Third Sector employers have found it harder to retain staff.” — Third Sector Trends England and Wales 2022 survey
IT IS YOUR STORY, NOT OURS
We set out to be different. Not to simply consult and prescribe an answer, but to provide an approach that deeply listens to the needs of the sector we support. At times, our insistence that we only work with teams (not individuals) has been one of the biggest barriers to winning new work. This can also be a challenge at the delivery stage, as for many charities, time, capacity and resources are scarce. But the digital and technology environment is complex, and we know charities can find their digital journey challenging. So, our approach is focused on a natural process of growth, making the right iterative decisions and investments in digital projects, alongside building the skills and capacity of teams.
By prioritising building confidence across the entire organisation, we empower and enable teams to collectively lead a digital change journey. Our approach centres on empathy, it’s their story, not ours so we must always focus on how our clients are affected. Without fail, this deep consideration improves the engagement of teams in our process, it also encourages them to take control of their own digital progress.
There are still very many teams who lack a collective confidence with digital and, or are, resistant to new ways of working. Our goal is to build digital capabilities, knowledge and skills and inspire a digital mindset where they are open to new possibilities and have the confidence to try something new.
WE LISTEN TO UNDERSTAND, NOT TO REPLY
Every change brings with it fear and uncertainty as much as it brings hope and opportunities. What is important to acknowledge is that this fear is deeply contextual and personal to both individuals and teams. For change to work, teams need to become deeply curious about the many hopes and fears that sit within their organisation.
“We are all in the same storm, but we are sitting in different boats.”
In order to hold deep empathy for others, you must first be aligned, so this is where we start. Alignment is a relational practice; it is a space we hold for teams to build trust amongst themselves and in us, and to align on their ambitions, hopes and fears for the digital journey ahead. Our alignment practice gives space for all voices to be heard, for individuals to acknowledge, listen and understand where the team is aligned, and to identify where there may be different feelings and anxiety ahead of our work together.
We collectively acknowledge vulnerability and ‘ghosts from the past’ that may impact how the team moves forward in their work. People don’t fear change, they fear loss and some common themes often emerge — feelings of failure from past technology implementations that “just haven’t worked”, fear of not understanding and having the right skills, fear of making decisions, fear of financial implications and ultimately fear of not embracing digital. Albeit complex and time consuming, this process is invaluable and one of the biggest steps towards positive organisational change. It highlights rich insights into the team’s anxieties and fears, helping us to empathise and support each organisation in the very best way we can. Together we are building a shared understanding of expectations, goals and objectives, and a way to connect and be brave together.
This framework drives our alignment practice
Alignment is not just a relational practice, it is also a communication practice, stimulating conversations and connections between team members. Poor communication is the single most likely factor in digital projects failing, so by aligning and realigning, teams can better understand their strengths and challenges, building a collective vision for the future.
In 2021 we contributed to the Patterns for Change project by Shift, New Philanthropy Capital, National Council for Voluntary Organisations and Institute for Voluntary Action Research. We focused on the need to Set directions together: Taking time to understand each other and in bringing together insights from 200 nonprofits, consultants, coaches, thought leaders and funders these behaviours were identified on how teams want to ‘be’ together through times of change:
Knowing your why
Setting directions together
Listening and sharing bravely
Building on what’s strong
Knowing by trying
Understanding your limits
Connecting generously
Patterns of behaviour will be unique to every group, team and organisation but to build digital resilience, teams must set directions together, and take the time to understand each other. Aligned teams will connect, balance and manage the change together.
WE CHALLENGE TO BUILD — NOT TO BREAK
When organisations look to build their digital resilience it’s important that they build collaborative structures and governance practices as part of their digital journey. This is why, when we start to work with organisations, we always begin with their organisational strategy, goals and objectives. We approach this conversation through the lens of digital but then quickly expand to understand the overall direction and environmental context of each organisation. If an organisation’s objectives are unclear, then any work we do to support their digital goals may risk missing or even worse, derailing the fundamental organisational goals. But if teams are aligned around a collective vision and goals for a change journey ahead, it becomes much easier to articulate how digital may contribute to these goals.
We are always interested to know whether Board members and Trustees are on board with digital change as, in our experience, the journey is significantly smoother when there is buy-in and support at this level. On one hand we’ve seen Board members with extensive experience, who have offered digital mentoring to senior managers and radically changed how digital is approached across an organisation. On the other hand, we’ve seen Board members who haven’t bought into the journey early enough and who have put a stop to months of work because they can’t comprehend the value and potential impact. We always recommend running alignment sessions with the board and the leadership team for all the reasons above.
Ideally, leaders should always be on the lookout for where change is needed, empathising with their teams and actively listening to different perspectives and points of view. They should build an internal narrative of how digital has the potential to support people in their individual work and support the organisation collectively in achieving its goals. This way, deep collaboration and constant, iterative learning can be embedded into the team’s culture without people becoming fearful that their role may change or become more challenging.
Our work can be disruptive. We surface not only a technical roadmap, but also the need for deep organisational change. Our technology assessment always surfaces dysfunctional behaviours like poor communication, lack of accountability, conflict and lack of trust and ultimately, it influences the leadership and teamwork dynamic. But taking the time to navigate this journey of change, alongside the technical aspects of an organisation’s digital journey can build deep foundations of collective confidence and digital resilience.
