A 90-minute virtual workshop
Collaborating across teams, services, and with a variety of stakeholders and decision-makers is increasingly important. It enables problem-solving to take place based on real issues and challenges and is a means to finding shared and effective solutions, making improvements to performance. It breaks down barriers and supports relationships and accountability. Yet collaboration can be a challenge, for a variety of reasons. This workshop will help.
The workshop outlined here is a flexible ‘template’ that can be delivered over different lengths of time, depending on need, numbers and the best method for those attending. At its leanest, a 90-minute virtual session can be facilitated to drill down and focus on one issue to solve. The workshop aims to promote and develop a values-driven workplace that enables everyone involved to flourish and work in an aligned and congruent way with the organisation’s values.
- Identify and address specific challenges from different perspectives
- Understand the drivers and reality of your operating environment
- Understand a shared vision and how our values shape the ways of working the organisation needs
- Understand the strengths, skills and capabilities available individually and as a team or department
- Deal with challenges through collaborative problem-solving and action-planning
- Promote a solution-focused way of working and apply the core values to strengthen collaborative ways of working
Session overview
Session one
- Welcome, today’s objectives, introductions
- Hopes and concerns and how we will work together
- Optional – leader/manager input to frame the day and set expectations
- Getting to know each other
- Group exercise: sunshine and rainclouds (challenges and what we have in common) using the organisation’s values as a framework
Session two
- Over to you
- Team marketplace (activity)
Session three
- Open Space Event
- Delivered and facilitated in the commonly known and used ‘open space’ stages, initiated through self-directed gathering around areas for discussion and problem-solving to find solutions together:
- Using ‘we will’ statements
- Clarity on shared vision, values and ways of working
- Using the organisation’s values to frame action statements
Session four
- Commitments, actions and next steps: sharing our commitments to collaborate: group or whole team action-planning exercise
- Review and reflection on how collaboration and shared problem-solving has had an impact and how we will remain accountable to each other for our success
- Facilitated review activity
