A ValuableBridge—How Linkages Can Advance Other Initiatives

October 17, 2007

Leslie Ann’s Session Guide

8:30am – 10:00am

1. Welcome (5 minutes)

2. Establish Session Goal: (5 minutes)

Provide Linkages Coordinators with the tools, information and strategies needed to maximize County attention and focus on Linkages as a mechanism to advance other agency priorities.

3. Initiative Brainstorm Session (10 minutes)

Instruct participants to use Worksheet One to determine which high-visibility initiatives their counties are involved with and to indicate initiative goals shared with Linkages goals.

4. Opportunities/Challenges Session (15 minutes)

Full group discussion listing the opportunities as well as challenges presented by the relationship between Linkages and other high-profile initiatives. LAH list opportunities on one flip chart and challenges on another.

5. PowerPoint Part One: Building the Bridge (15 minutes)

Show PowerPoint Part One to demonstrate two examples of building a bridge between a high-profile initiatives and Linkages.

6. Linkages/Initiative Relationship (10 minutes)

Direct participants to Worksheet One and instruct them to choose one initiative. Using Worksheet Two, have them examine the relationship between Linkages and their chosen initiative as preparation for designing a strategy to further the initiative.

7. PowerPoint Part Two: Identifying Common Barriers (10 minutes)

Show PowerPoint presentation detailing the three categories of barriers commonly experienced in implementing high-profile initiatives. Refer to Common Barriers handouts.

8. Conclusion: Creating an Action Plan (10 minutes)

Instruct the group to use Worksheet Three to design a four-step action plan that leverages Linkages as a way to advance the chosen initiative.

9. Questions (10 minutes)
Worksheet One: Identifying Initiatives

STEP ONE:

In the left column, list the high-profile initiatives in which your county is involved.

STEP TWO:

In the columns to the right, mark which Linkages goals are shared with the initiative’s goals.

High-Profile
INITIATIVES
In Your County / Prevention / Service Collaboration / Permanency / Self-Sufficiency
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

STEP THREE:

Identify opportunities and challenges presented by the relationship between Linkages & initiatives listed above:

Opportunities / Challenges

Worksheet Two: Examining the Relationship

Name of Initiative
What’s the connection between this initiative and Linkages?
Identify and list Linkages strategies that support this initiative’s goals.
Identify and list Linkages results that advance this initiative’s goals.

Developed by Hay Consulting

A ValuableBridge—How Linkages Can Advance Other Initiatives

October 17, 2007

Worksheet Three: Action Plan

Name of Initiative
Action Plan
Action Step / Who / When / What preparations are needed?

Developed by Hay Consulting

A ValuableBridge—How Linkages Can Advance Other Initiatives

October 17, 2007

Identifying Common Barriers:

Sustaining Momentum through Competing Priorities and Demands

Reinforce the integrative power of Linkages – The increased emphasis of California’s social service system on accountability to outcomes, client-centered interventions and service collaboration reinforce public expectation for programs, like Linkages, that reflect these values. Greater alignment across multiple priorities can come at the moment when those inside and outside the project fully understand how relevant a solid collaboration between CalWORKs and CWS will be to other change initiatives. Use your alignment exercise from Convening IV as a tool in this process.

Connect milestones and successes of Linkages to goals of other priorities – Demonstrate how achievements within Linkages have contributed to meeting the goals of other priorities. For example, the outcomes of safety and family stability within AB 636 can be furthered through strong service coordination between CalWORKs and CWS. Linkages also supports the interagency coordination objective of many System Improvement Plans (SIP). Build on Linkages successes as the means by which other priorities can be achieved rather than “re-inventing the wheel”.

Stay focused on what matters most – When resources are scarce and staff is being stretched thin, no one wants to decide what has to give. Instead, face this dilemma head-on by convening the key decision-makers to agree on the desired results (using AB 636 self-assessment and System Improvement Plan) then decide what few, critical efforts will produce those results most effectively with the available resources. For the major efforts consuming resources, one possible set of questions to help with this decision are:

  • How well are client outcomes advanced by this effort?
  • Is it aligned with the agency mission?
  • How will it satisfy stakeholders?
  • What is our level of passion, talent and energy for it?
  • Is it the best use of our resources?

Let go of what doesn’t matter – Once the priorities have been set, don’t go back to business as usual. Use the agency-wide leadership engaged in setting priorities to redirect organizational activity on those few goals and be clear about what activities need to be given up. Find opportunities in your own work and others’ to acknowledge specific examples of people letting go and how it has freed up their talent and time toward more meaningful work.

Form alliances across organizational boundaries – Keeping your head down during demanding times and thinking you can “handle it all” will lead to burnout of you and your team. Cultivate networks of allies up, down and across your organization to support the scope of what needs to be accomplished. Remind your superiors about additional demands and what affect they may have on desired results. Re-apply the priority-setting criteria to decide about any new demands, so that a reasonable fit can be maintained.

Identifying Common Barriers:

Maintaining Interest and Commitment

Communicate successes – Use the small (or big) wins you’ve already begun to experience to convey to others the benefits of the Linkages effort. Don’t be shy about sharing your success story in multiple settings and to varied audiences. Emphasize what the success meant to client(s), staff and other stakeholders in terms the audience can relate to.

Increase the “Emotional Quotient”– The strategies of Linkages need to live not just in the minds of those who need to make it happen, but also in their hearts. Peak people’s interest and gain their commitment by communicating the “what’s-in-it-for-me” factor through a story that engages people’s emotions and passions. Turn your strategies into a story that carries people along with it. This creates something people can remember and pass on to others around the organization. Some ideas for adding emotion to communications:

  • Use the “emotional currents” that play out within the organization to your advantage. Find out what inspires and motivates those you want to engage and tell the story of why service coordination works in those terms.
  • Use quotes from satisfied clients or staff members to reinforce the impact Linkages has had on their lives.
  • Create peer-to-peer encounters to share the relief, hope, joy that was experienced by engaging in successful service coordination.

Advocate, inquire and repeat, as needed – The power of observation and inquiry can’t be underestimated. If people are lacking interest and commitment, engage them in an honest dialogue about why they may be less than enthusiastic about the effort. Knowing more about what’s preventing that spark will help you determine the best way to ignite it. Also, circumstances can change, so the process of making the case for Linkages and inquiring about resistance may need to be repeated periodically.

Build trust across functions – Trust is built in the context of relationship and grows over time. Provide continual opportunities for CalWORKs and CWS to work together on coordination activities to validate the expectations of each other. Encourage and model the following behaviors to build different dimensions of trust. Trust of capability includes, respecting people’s knowledge, skills, abilities and judgment; involving others and seeking their input; helping people learn new skills. Trust of character includes, managing expectations, establishing boundaries, delegating appropriately; honoring agreements; being consistent. Trust of communication includes, sharing information; telling the truth.

Set the bar high in public view– If you really want to get things moving, generate outside support for internal action. Sometimes the best way to fuel action inside an organization is to make promises outside the organization. Set the bar high in a public way to deliver coordinated services to your target populations and internal teams will rise to the occasion.

Identifying Common Barriers:

Strategies for Reaching Full Implementation

Appreciate the “Implementation Dip” – Usually within the first year of a new initiative, a dip in performance and confidence occurs as people are expected to demonstrate new skills and new ways of behaving. During this “implementation dip” people feel anxious, fearful, confused and overwhelmed. In fact, some may prefer to do the old “wrong” thing competently, rather than the new “right” thing incompetently. Expect this and pay attention to people. Focus on building emotional connections, cultivating relationships and healing rifts. Invest in developing the team’s capacity to make the changes happen and continue to convey enthusiasm, optimism and clarity of vision to keep people going.

Utilize “informal networks” – Moving from partial to full integration can be given a boost by accessing the informal networks within both CalWORKs and CWS and giving them greater influence. Find Linkages “evangelists” to help navigate the informal networks within each agency. These passionate individuals—usually highly respected by their colleagues, optimistic and action-oriented—have an ability to directly impact program operations through their actions. Empower these informal leaders to lead others toward embracing service coordination strategies.

Pace the process for faster results – Although you want to get service coordination up and running as quickly and efficiently as possible, the process itself shouldn’t be focused on speed. Rushing though things will inevitably neglect the most important factor—people. It’s important to go slow in order to go fast, to take the time initially to communicate, motivate and manage expectations.

Coping with the challenge of diffusion – Service coordination is more likely to be fully implemented when certain conditions exist that promote such replication of the experience beyond the pilot location (diffusion). When these capacities are lacking, it can limit broader implementation—either by limiting the number of people who become interested and willing to commit to their own experiments, or by limiting the effectiveness of those who do try to adopt the new ideas, or both.

  • Build coaching capacity – Provide multiple opportunities for CalWORKs and CWS staff to cross traditional boundaries and work together. Those less experienced at coordinated services need access to someone who has “been there and done that”, to gain insight, moral support and perspective. Consider soliciting volunteers from the pilot locations to coach and mentor units that are just starting out.
  • Promote permeability of organizational boundaries – Examine to what extent the organizational boundaries between CalWORKs and CWS limit the movement of people, ideas and promote the formation of cross-functional communities of inquiry to problem solve issues spanning both organizations. Identify those barriers and eliminate or minimize as many as possible.
  • Information infrastructure – Make sure communication channels are uncluttered to make inquiry easy. People learning and practicing new skills need someone who is accessible to answer their questions, provide guidance or reinforce key concepts with specific examples. Make sure orientation and other training covers sufficient content, so people feel comfortable getting started, but then have supervisors and/or colleagues available to respond to questions and clarify details.
  • Establish a learning culture – An environment that encourages mutuality, collaboration, curiosity and reflection across both internal and external boundaries helps people learn. Full implementation of service coordination is really the challenge of people learning from one another, not just using technology to exchange information. The sense of mutuality and genuine concern for one another determines how much people want to cooperate and stay interested in what can be learned from one another.

Leslie: This is the original outline we concocted together at your house. There are some possible talking points lodged in it, so I thought I’d leave it here for you to delete when you see fit.

  1. Explain what we’re going to accomplish: presentation goal

Brainstorm of high-visibility initiatives (need to known own environment in which to navigate): fill out worksheet (list of high-visibility initiatives and shared goals with Linkages). Have people from the same county fill out individual sheet, then discuss differences.

  1. What are the opportunities and challenges that present themselves with respect to Linkages and other initiatives? (one page for opportunities and challenges, LAH listing on flip chart)
  2. Some can impede, some can support: How Linkages can leverage other initiatives—build on the momentum of high level initiatives, instead of competing with them: give PowerPoint example of Differential Response, Permanency and Family –to-Family.
  3. Back to worksheet to choose one initiative where there’s a connection to Linkages: create a plan for promoting Linkages as a means for furthering the initiative (strategy point: how Linkages can address challenges the initiative faces?)
  4. What’s the connection?
  5. Linkages strategies that support initiative goals
  6. Linkages results that advance initiative goals
  7. PowerPoint: Identifying common barriers to building the bridge between initiatives and Linkages and how to mitigate those barriers
  8. Create an action for the initiative you’ve selected: what three action steps will you take to begin building this bridge
  9. action step
  10. who’s going to do it
  11. by when
  12. what preparation is necessary?

Developed by Hay Consulting