How does it work?
At first you might not think that offering training to staff in the basics of how to run meetings would qualify as an important mechanism for promoting integration between teams. However GP Netherlands has noticed that a deficiency in exactly these sorts of very-trainable leadership and facilitation skills can be an obstacle that prevents departments from working together productively. So they have begun training staff in the basics of how to prep and communicate clearly in meetings and at key decision points, navigate difficult territory with negotiation and conflict management, and decide collaboratively on agreed action steps.
“Those are some essential skills. If you look at the way some of the teams are struggling in coming to decisions…this is essential to not waste time, to make sure that people are able to move forward. It’s important to not just focus on the content of the work but to really make it happen. So it’s important to invest in skills people need to actually do the job.”
– Simone Langley, Coordinator Mobilisation Unit
What’s the impact?
By investing in the leadership skills of staff they insert into leadership positions, GP Netherlands aims to improve the quality and efficiency of collaboration between departments.