collaborative
Social justice organisations are facing unprecedented challenges: adaptation to the climate crisis, breakdown of the international rules-based system, privatisation of social welfare, impacts of the COVID pandemic, rising inequalities and pressure on funding. At the same time, movements are seeking radical changes to racial, gender and environmental injustice.
In responding to these challenges and opportunities, it is critical for organisations to be strategic: clarity about the contribution to social justice you aim to achieve, focus on the priorities that will help you get there, and understanding of the organisational cultures you need to develop to be successful.
We have experience facilitating strategy development at a number of levels: organisational, geographical, functional and team. We also specialise in supporting the development of strategy for campaigns and advocacy.
We can offer you a clear and simple framework that will challenge your organisation to make strategic choices that provide focus and ambition. We aim to leave you with a strategy that is owned by the organisation, communicable and motivating, and measurable.
We support strategy development through:
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Process design: helping clients develop a process that balances engagement with efficiency
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Consultation: interviews, focus groups and workshops with staff, boards and stakeholders
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Online surveys: with a range of internal and external stakeholders to ensure that all voices are heard
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Facilitation of strategy workshops: face-to-face or virtual events to analyse, imagine and decide strategic direction
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Support and facilitation in setting indicators against strategic outcomes and objectives
To be successful in these challenging times, social justice organisations need to ensure that all your staff are able to get the best out of themselves and others they work with. We see leadership as a broad range of behaviours that anyone can develop, irrespective of their position and authority. It is particularly important for managers to develop their leadership.
We can work in a variety of ways to suit your needs and budget. We regularly work with people managers and senior management teams, remotely and face to face, to support leadership development. We can support you to:
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Lead yourself and others in ambiguity and uncertainty and demonstrate adaptive leadership
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Develop a stronger feedback culture and build your confidence and courage to hold crucial conversations
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Understand your own bias, strengths and preferences and the bias, strengths and preferences of those who are different from you
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Develop greater awareness of the power and privilege you hold and how to share power and include different voices
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Reflect on action and learn in your unique context; enabling you to develop small, practical steps to address your current leadership challenges
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Lead and influence in complex systems; analysing, sense-making and responding wisely
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Build engagement and develop the capacity of teams
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Identify the blocks to your personal leadership and develop actions to overcome them
In recent years, we have found that trust in social justice organisations has become increasingly important. Pressure on organisations to deliver – and sometimes to survive – has led to divisions, and sometimes conflict, between individuals, teams, levels of seniority and geographical locations. The increase in remote working and a greater pressure on funding, are likely to present further challenges to trust.
Our work on culture change seeks to erode patterns of division and build patterns of trust which enables people to thrive.
We approach our work on strategy and leadership development with attention to current and desired organisational culture: strategy development helps to define the culture an organisation needs to develop to achieve social justice goals; leadership development supports people to model and establish behavioural patterns that build an effective organisational culture.
We can support you to assess and shift your organisational culture: at organisation, department and team levels. This support includes:
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Reviewing culture: through interviews, workshops and surveys
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Supporting organisations to articulate desired culture
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Developing programmes of work that challenge and shift culture
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Facilitating senior team retreats that reflect on internal (team) and organisational culture
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Facilitating processes that transform conflict, both inter-team and intra-team