NET update: November 2022
Here’s our update for November…
We’re gearing up for our first in-person event since February 2020, and it’s safe to say we’re pretty excited about it.
What helps us collaborate? Collaborate for social change with Collective Leadership Scotland…North East Together’s whole network event 23
It’s on Wednesday 30 November, 16:15–20:00, in Newcastle, and you can still book your place.
We’ll hear about collaboration and collective leadership from Janet Whitley and Dot McLaughlin from Collective Leadership Scotland who will bring their wisdom, learning and some of their approaches to us in the north east. We have on our minds how the pandemic has affected how we collaborate and hope what we can learn from Janet and Dot will help us be super collaborators in the north east. We’ll also share the NET collaboration toolkit we’ve been working on.
Our outline timings are
- 16:15–16:45 — arriving, settling in, mingling and informal networking
- 16:45–19:30 — Collaborate for social change event
- 19:30–20:00 — informal networking in the room
- 20:00 to later — more informal networking at our event ‘after party’, if you’re free
The NET team met with Dot and Janet from Collective Leadership for Scotland yesterday to make final plans, check if we need to track down any props (wooden sticks or lots of empty boxes like that one time in June 2019), and decide where we’ll go for the event after party (all welcome at Tyneside Cinema bar cafe).
We’re as excited as you will be to hear more from How do we know we are doing good work, the recent Collective Leadership for Scotland impact report, and to learn more about the five components of collective leadership. The five components are all music to our ears and are ones you will recognise, and are…
- understanding complexity — systems, collective leadership complex issues
- practices that support self — reflection, journalling, pausing
- curiosity and inquiring stance — being open, action inquiry
- relational — asking good questions, listening, surfacing diversity, building relationships
- working more comfortably with emergence — taking action in uncertainty, now knowing, working with what is
If we need reminding about why we network and what we’re doing when we gather, Fabian Pfortmüller from Together Institute says: If we do collaborative projects, we need to invest into relationships first. Intuitively, we all know this: collaborative projects are highly depend on relationships. And relationships don’t magically appear overnight. Trust isn’t a given, but has to be earned. It takes time, it takes a caring environment, it takes shared experiences, it takes conversations. It takes intentional weaving. And the infrastructure piece doesn’t replace it. Putting up a virtual social network doesn’t create trust. An engagement plan doesn’t create relationships.
About Collective Leadership Scotland
Collective Leadership Scotland is a collaborative network that draws colleagues from across Scotland’s public services to help collaborate on complex, systemic issues in service of wider public service transformation. The emphasis is on building capacity for leadership that appreciates and engages with the whole system, including the behavioural and relational aspects, and where openness, learning and willingness to take collective action are at the core.
What else is going on
If you really can’t join us on 30 November, these two events might float your boat
Little Heresies with Neil Denton: Learning from disaster? Transactional government is not good for citizens
1 December, 18:00–19:00, Northumbria University, book your free place. Neil is a Professor in Practice at the Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience at Durham University, co-founder of the After Disaster Network and involved in the Relationships Project
What’s next for levelling up: VONNE AGM and conference
7 December, 16:00–18:00, Newcastle Helix, book your free place
That’s all for now…we’re looking forward to seeing you next week for a great mix of great speakers, action inquiry and guided networking…live and in person! Don’t forget to book your place.
Stephanie
For the NET team Cisse Tsang, Dr Jo James, Marie Foalle, Robert Laycock, Stephanie Cole
