1. Leading by Convening: The Power of Authentic Engagement Presented at Family Voices/NEPACT Joint Training Burlington, Vermont October 27, 2016

2. Do you think that state agencies can make a sustainable change without authentic engagement of diverse stakeholders, including the families who are their intended beneficiaries & the family organizations who support them?
Do you think that stakeholders can create sustainable changes without the participation of the people in authority?
Elicit comments/experiences working on systems change that results in measurable improvements
What experiences have you had that would make you answer yes or no to this question?

3. Stakeholders – whether individuals or representatives of constituency groups - can be the most valuable allies, or the most powerful opponents, of systems improvement.
Stakeholders at the table changes it from us vs. them to us vs. the problem.
Creating stakeholders as allies requires trust, time, reciprocity, & engagement…from the beginning…

4. Challenges Policy alone cannot change practice.
State policymakers, implementers, family organizations, & families are not all motivated to change for the same reasons.
Leaders believe they are already engaging stakeholders. Stakeholders often are not satisfied with the opportunities for, extent of and/or depth of engagement.
It’s difficult to address system deficits while also mobilizing widespread support.
Capability building usually focuses solely on technical skills.
There will never be enough direct technical assistance to change practices system-wide.
-People have to support and apply the change.
-It’s critical to listen and/or let the stakeholders write their own message for change; Groups with influence can help develop the key messages and bring the message to their own constituents.
- State leaders (as well as organizational and family leaders) think they are involving stakeholders in meaningful ways but the approaches do not usually involve two-way learning nor do they create ways for the various stakeholders to engage at different levels/various ways
-Beliefs, assumptions, thoughts and feelings drive behavior so it’s just as important to focus on the mindset or “mindshift” as the technical skillset.
-People have good intentions but need opportunities to apply what they learn in practice. Support is needed through behavior change and we have to make it more likely that groups can practice skills in incremental ways (e.g., bridging tools, cross-stakeholder dialogue, etc.), and get support from the networks to which they belong.

5. Engaging Stakeholders as Allies for Change
Will we go beyond engaging a few stakeholders…the same ones that are always on committees, etc.?
Will the stakeholders feel the responsibility to bring their networks into the changes?
Will they create the relationship together that will support the goal of being allies in the change over time…not just a planning process?

6. Engaging Stakeholders
Authentic Engagement
Public Relations
“Pull” people & their constituency organizations together around shared interest or concern
Invite others in and ask why they care
Learn how they express their practice
Find commonality of purpose that leads to practice change
Create ways to take action together
Reach out to people and convince them to care
“Push” messages out
Tell others why they should care about an issue
Rely on expert knowledge to back up the claim that people should care
Let people know you care and offer more information

7. Leading by Convening: A Theory of Action
There are both informational and attitudinal barriers to important practice changes
Decision makers often lead change through technical strategies such as information, training and authority
Stakeholders impact the extent of change by exercising adaptive strategies such as using their influence with other stakeholders (positively or negatively)
Practice change requires both technical information and human approaches. 7

8. Persistent Challenges
Technical Challenge
Requires information, knowledge or tools
Adaptive (Relationship) Challenges
Requires understanding and a willingness to make behavior changes
Source: Heifetz and Linsky, Leadership on the Line, 2002

9. Challenges Experts Checklists Manuals Tools Protocols Technical
Adaptive
Principles
Communication
Understanding
Agreement
Willingness to change
Trust!

10. Learning that technical solutions are necessary but often not sufficient
Knowing when a persistent problem needs a adaptive (relationship) solution
Building adaptive (relationship) skills as a part of strategy

11. Leading by Convening means we…
Bring people & organizations together to support improving child and family outcomes.
Convene the stakeholders to discover why this is important and how it will improve practice.
Meet people ‘where they are’ on the issue.
Translate complex challenges into ways that stakeholders can contribute

12. Leading by Convening means we…
Help people ‘lead in place’ regardless of role, position, or title.
Create new knowledge together.
Solve complex issues that need the various perspectives to find solutions.
Build a personal commitment to working in this way because we believe inclusive work is better and more sustainable work.

13. Reviewed and refined by 100 more partners
Contributors
Project Coordinators
Development Team
Reviewed and refined by 100 more partners
Project coordinators were Luann Purcell of the Council for Administrators of Special Education and Stacy Skalski from the National Association of School Psychologists
The Development Team consisted of about 35 people (excluding staff) representing families, family organizations, practitioners, administrators and policymakers
And then reviewed by more than 100 others representing Technical Assistance Centers (Michele Rovins, Catherine Burzio, Holly Cavender-Wood, Lynn Kahn (and others)

14. Patrice
Learning that technical solutions based on knowledge, information, tools, are necessary but often not sufficient
Knowing when a persistent problem needs a adaptive (human) solution (understanding, willingness to make behavior changes)
Building adaptive (human) skills as a part of strategy

15. Leading by Convening Resources
Webpage & Tools
Coalescing around issues
Ensuring relevant participation
Doing work together
Bringing it all together
Meetings to create tools
Patrice
We will be introducing 1 tool from each of the habits of interaction:
Briefly show how to get to these tools on the website ….
Coalescing around issues: How people are: first question
Ensuring relevant participation tools: What’s in it for me? Creating professional and personal value
Doing the work together: Problems come bundled
Bringing it all together: Measuring progress
Meetings to create tools: Needs of the field (Focus on authentic stakeholder engagement)

16. Engagement at the heart of the solution -
Developing habits of interaction:
Coalescing around issues
Ensuring relevant participation
Doing work together 16 16

17. Adaptive/Human Elements
Coalescing around Issues
Adaptive/Human Elements
Technical Elements
Value each and all perspectives
Acknowledge individuality of language
Agree upon the accurate data
Reach consensus through common understanding in the group
Acknowledge and agree a collective impact is greater than the individual impact
Agree to move on specific actionable goals
Determine the issue
Seek out and acknowledge related initiatives at differing levels of scale
Develop mission, vision statement, guiding principles, and ground rules of interaction
Develop process of continued engagement
Develop work scope and actionable goals
Use a process of reflection

18. Ask Yourself….. Which might be the most challenging?
Are any completely ‘doable’ in the short run?
Where might you begin?
What might ongoing work look like?
What could go wrong?

19. Coalescing Around issues
Depth of Interaction
Informing Level
(sharing/sending)
Networking Level
(exchanging)
Collaborating Level
(engaging)
Transforming Level
(commitment to consensus)
Acknowledging and valuing diversity
Core group of interested stakeholders disseminate information to potential interested stakeholders, across roles, to inform about issues and invite into the discussion
Stakeholders from diverse roles exchange ideas and resources with one another; Clarification on role-specific vocabulary is at beginning stages; Outreach to others with a specific focus on roles not yet involved continues
Diverse stakeholders engage in dialogue about issues; Differences are acknowledged and explored; A common vocabulary begins to emerge
Diverse stakeholders with diverse perspectives are engaged through multiple ways in active collaborative dialogue about issues in order to reach consensus about priorities and future research, policy, and practice opportunities
Researching and agreeing on relevant data
Personal and professional experiences (anecdotal) are the primary source of evidence for consideration
Stakeholders consider what other data beyond personal stories could be a source of evidence and begin collecting relevant data and resources
Stakeholders identify relevant data from across disciplines, examine for common themes and understanding (collective analysis)
Through consensus, stakeholders agree on the anecdotal and research data from various perspectives and sources relevant to the issue
Decision-making through consensus
Core group identifies an issue of importance
Stakeholders contribute to the discussion bringing in other perspectives
Stakeholders take into consideration the whole issue, develop a common understanding, and develop areas of agreement
Through consensus, stakeholders determine the specific aspects of the issue that the group will move forward to influence
Coalescing to move to future work together
Core group intentionally shares with others, who are not already stakeholders, the reason for caring about this issue; Meeting one on one with targeted persons/ organizations/etc.
Stakeholders are intentional about inviting new members into the group work; Being purposeful in getting the people in the same room to work together
Stakeholders develop grounding documents (mission, vision, guiding principles, and ground rules; Stakeholders develop and agree on a process of continued communication that fits their needs
Through consensus, stakeholders develop a set of actionable goals that define the work scope of the effort; Relationships have been built for strategic advantage

20. Let’s Look at the Tools for Coalescing
Four Simple Questions
How People Are
Meet the Stakeholders
Seeds of Trust

21. Coalescing around issues
“How people are” activity
“Leaders are no more likely to start a social ‘contagion’ than the rank and file…Success depends less on how persuasive the ‘early adapter’ is, and more on how receptive the society is.”
Diana Introduces the question from the Coalescing around issues tool: How People Are Activity
What are you thinking?
Areas of agreement or disagreement?
How is this similar to or different from your work?
If we don’t get any immediate feedback from participants, Karen will help get things started …
From the Inconvenient Truth of Change Management (Keller and Aiken)
Since Malcom Gladwell popularized his “law of the few” in his best-selling
book, The Tipping Point, we have observed that the role of influence leaders has moved from being perceived as a helpful element of a broader set of
interventions to a panacea for making change happen (likely an unintended consequence of Gladwell’s work which itself was directed towards
marketers versus change leaders).

22. Adaptive/Human Elements
Ensuring Relevant Participation
Adaptive/Human Elements
Technical Elements
Demonstrate a commitment to inclusion and participation
Engage stakeholders who are representative, relevant, purposeful, knowledgeable, and influential
Acknowledge disagreement as part of the process to move forward
Engage through leadership; begin with a skilled facilitator; continue through shared leadership
Implement a process of welcoming and orienting
Develop guidance on when to convene
Develop and follow communication protocol
Contribute to and create a shared vocabulary
Conduct an environmental scan
Use a process of reflection
Engage stakeholders who are representative, relevant, purposeful, knowledgeable and influential: engaging family-led organizations that represent the interests of a broad range of diverse families is more likely to ensure that the family leaders you are working with are representative, relevant, purposeful, knowledgeable, and influential
Acknowledge disagreement as part of the process to move forward: only engaging stakeholder individuals and groups who agree with you on everything ensures that you will not have the right people on your stakeholder team.

23. Ensuring relevant participation
What’s in it for me? Creating professional and personal value; moving from participants to partners
Diana can give a specific example in 1 or 2 of the areas
Ensuring relevant participation tools: What’s in it for me? Creating professional and personal value:
Which of these have you seen or facilitated at state stakeholder meetings?
Which have you not seen but that resonate with you? How might you support implementing that approach at an upcoming state stakeholder meeting?
Here are some ideas from the “What’s in it for me” activity:
Conduct a public count of the roles (personal connection to the issue) represented by the attendees.
Publicly note and set goals for engaging underrepresented groups (roles and/or organizations).
Have shorter content presentations followed by longer interaction sessions.
Create a voluntary list of organizations that want to take a leadership role on an issue of interest

24. What’s in It for Me? Creating Professional and Personal Value
One error that we made as we began to work across groups was mistaking participation for involvement. When you are convinced of an opportunity or a course of action, it’s easy to become very focused on convincing people of your viewpoint. In our early work we found ourselves reviewing the participant lists and feeling good that so many had come to hear our message. Soon we learned that a participant list is just that, nothing more. To engage people, we had to support and encourage interactions, exchange views, and form opinions about the personal and professional value of continuing to engage. 24

25. Faces of Relevant Participation
Range of participants
Power differential
Supporters & Critics
Players at different levels of scale
Frequency
Episodic or ongoing
Predictable, sufficient to build relationships
Often enough so stakeholders can assume roles
Role
Fixed or shared leadership roles
Everyone participates as a learner
-Range of participants – remember that it is important to include family leaders and practitioners with current experience “on the ground,” as well as representatives of the constituency groups that represent those stakeholders, for example, not just a nurse but the nurses’ association; not just a parent but a family organization such as a Family to Family Health Information Center, Parent Training and Information Center, etc. 25

26. Focus…. On the technical side
*Remember…this is the technical side of collaboration…not the issue
Why would these actions be considered the technical side…could they be accomplished with a tool, a protocol or a plan?
On the adaptive side
Why are these considered the human side…what do they require that the technical side does not require?

27. Ensuring Relevant Participation
Depth of Interaction
Informing Level
(sharing/sending)
Networking Level
(exchanging)
Collaborating Level
(engaging)
Transforming Level
(commitment to consensus)
Ensuring diversity among relevant stakeholder representatives
Core group of interested stakeholders disseminate information to potential interested stakeholders, across roles, to inform about issues and invite into the discussion
Stakeholders from diverse roles exchange ideas about who else might be important to this issue (relevant stakeholders); Outreach to others with a specific focus on roles not yet involved continues; Ideas about method preferences, accessibility, and responsibilities are exchanged
A process of welcoming and orienting is in place for new members; Inclusion and participation supports are in place
Supports for participation are a natural way of working together; Each and all in the group take responsibility for inviting and orienting new members of the group
Creating opportunities for engagement on the issue
Core group of interested stakeholders invite others to participate in various ways (on- or off-site)
Stakeholders share preferences for on-site and virtual methods of communication
Group develops guidance on when to convene; Stakeholders consider suggested communication methods that meet the needs of the members and match methods with purposes and/or types of engagement activities
The group considers and utilizes, as appropriate, multiple methods for engagement (online, face-to-face, conference calling, etc.; Methods are utilized and modified as needed; Flexibility in method use is demonstrated
Working together to facilitate understanding of the issue and diverse perspectives
Core group initiates an environmental scan to determine who else has resources to contribute to the work
Stakeholders from diverse roles exchange information, share work that has been done previously; An environmental scan is conducted and others with expertise, materials, and resources are invited into the group
Stakeholders contribute to and create a shared vocabulary; They reach across systems in reviewing, critiquing, and revising/confirming the issue to be addressed
Stakeholders demonstrate disagreement is a way to reach agreement; A common vocabulary is used; The question of who else needs to be involved continues to be addressed
Evolving leadership roles
The core group identifies and shares a variety of different roles and functions that can occur within the group as it evolves
Stakeholders discuss roles and responsibilities and determine who is interested in assuming specific roles for distinct periods of time or in relation to a particular sub-issue or activity; Flexible leadership is emerging
Group members are working together and assuming roles and responsibilities appropriate to their knowledge, skills, and interests; Shared leadership is emerging
Shared responsibility and accountability for all roles and activities is evident; Roles are flexible and different people assume them at different times, as needed

28. Tools for Relevant Participation
What’s in It for Me?
Engaging Everybody
Learn the Language: Make the Connection
Web of Connections
Web of connections: Engaging constituency groups and not just individuals is critical to ensuring that you are expanding your web of connections.

29. Adaptive/Human Elements
Doing Work Together
Adaptive/Human Elements
Technical Elements
Value and appreciate diversity in participants and interactions.
Model and demonstrate respect for and among all participants.
Practice shared leadership.
Encourage and support participants’ personal investment in the value of the work.
Acknowledge the human need (individual and group) for recognition.
Develop and maintain principles for interaction and engagement.
Develop a structure for convening and working together.
Create and maintain systems to support group interactions.
Identify levels of potential interaction/influence.
Develop and implement an action plan.
Use a process of reflection.

30. Think about it….. Look at the technical side ….
Many say that the technical side is necessary but not sufficient”.
Do you agree? Why? Why not?
Now….look at the adaptive side.
If you were to rank the statements…how would you rank them … starting with the most important?

31. Doing Work Together Doing the Work Together Depth of Interaction
Informing Level
(sharing/sending)
Networking Level
(exchanging)
Collaborating Level
(engaging)
Transforming Level
(consensus decision-making)
Engaging diverse participants in completing the relevant work
The expanded group (after coalescing) informs others about the proposed work and the anticipated outcomes, along with the opportunity to participate.
Each group agrees to become the conduit for their members to learn and be involved.
Stakeholders work together to share unique perspectives and begin the work. Efforts to find others who might be important to this work are ongoing and intentional.
Partners who have experienced working together with a diversity of individuals cannot think of any other way to work. This type of engagement is internalized and expected.
Evolving leadership roles
The expanded group informs their constituents that the effort is underway and opportunities for engagement continue.
Stakeholders share levels of expertise in organization, facilitation, etc.. Members begin to identify and ask individuals to facilitate certain activities.
Meeting facilitation is shared among members of the group. Flexibility in leadership is evident based on comfort and skill levels of the individuals.
Members of the group demonstrate willingness to work together to accomplish a common goal. Flexibility in leadership is evident. When designated facilitator becomes unavailable another steps up from the group.
Working together to understand and articulate the issue
The expanded group communicates evolving ideas, issues and resources.
The expanded group seeks opportunities for their constituents to respond to the current ideas, issues and resources.
Stakeholders consistently revisit their structures for interaction and revise as needed.
Group members agree and clearly articulate the work through the products created and/or their discussions with others.
Working together to plan and implement action
The expanded group identifies strategic ways in which to customize messages for their audience and help them to act.
Participants exchange ideas about the work and how it could be accomplished, possible action steps and timelines.
Through shared decision-making, stakeholders create a well-developed action plan. They share responsibility and are actively engaged in implementation of the plan. Transparency and open communication occurs between and among different levels.
Vertical and horizontal influence occurs as a result of implementation of the action plan. Practitioners influence policy, policy influences practice.

32. Tools for Doing Work Together
Problems Come Bundled
Building Engagement
Defining Our Core
One-Way, Two Way Learning

33. Doing the work together
Problems come bundled
Give an example and show the tool
Doing the work together: Problems come bundled
How is more deeply and authentically engaging stakeholders both a technical and an adaptive problem?

34. (consensus decision-making)
Group Change: Toward a Culture of Collaboration
Leading by Convening
Informing Level
(sharing/sending)
Networking Level
(exchanging)
Collaborating Level
(engaging)
Transforming Level
(consensus decision-making)
Evaluating and showcasing collective influence through accomplishments and positive outcomes
Disseminating program outcome data to interested stakeholders
Sharing success stories (anecdotal)
Exchanging ideas about what we think and believe was successful and has been accomplished
Determining together what constitutes the standards for success
Reviewing together work based upon these standards
Identifying, sharing and celebrating accomplishments
Looking for opportunities to influence change as a result of these accomplishments
Considering opportunities for replication and generalization
Observing there is vertical and horizontal influence that occurs as a result of this work

35. Individual Change: Toward a Different Identity as a Collaborator
Leading by Convening
Depth of Interaction
Informing Level
(sharing/sending)
Networking Level
(exchanging)
Collaborating Level
(engaging)
Transforming Level
(consensus decision-making)
I am a learner and a leader
stating clearly that I am here to learn from others
stating clearly that I am willing to share leadership
acknowledging leading comes through skill development
asking others to come to the table as learners and to lead as they feel comfortable
relying on leadership from those with influence and expertise as needed
knowing that in the role of leader I am still a learner
moving with ease in and out of the learner and leader roles
When meeting a new challenge/issue, I cross environments by…
consciously seeking out others with interest in the challenge/issue and sharing my information and questions with them
consciously ensuring that others I seek out are coming from differing roles/ experiences/perspectives
exchanging questions, ideas and resources with one another
clarifying role-specific vocabulary
consciously asking who or what perspective is still needed to make the best decisions and inviting them into the conversation
engaging in dialogue about the challenge/issue with as many differing perspectives “in the room” as possible
utilizing communication systems that support working across environ-ments (conference calls, electronic media, etc.)
no longer needing to bring the process of crossing environments to the conscious level
inviting and engaging with others automatically
I rely on a blended leadership style to address new challenges/issues by…
analyzing data around the issue
sharing my perspectives with others
asking others to share data and perspectives
listening carefully to what others have to share
asking clarifying question
offering possible solutions
calling on others in the group to lead or facilitate discussions
ensuring that each has an opportunity to share
encouraging consensus decision-making
consciously building relations that attend to the human as well as the technical side of working together
using with automaticity activities/strategies that support relationship-building
acknowledging that each and all stakeholders have a role and their interactions produce value

36. Tools for Bringing It All Together
A Quick Chronology of Change
Give Value First
Your Brand
Measuring Progress

37. Meetings to create tools
Needs of the field – authentic stakeholder engagement
Meetings to create tools: Needs of the field (Focus on authentic stakeholder engagement)
Who else might need to be engaged to make this change beyond the stakeholders you typically see in the states you work with?

38. Leading by Convening: Engagement Mapped to Systems Improvement
Data
Focus Area
Infrastructure
Theory of Action
Implement EBP
Evaluation Plan
Mutual agreement on data interpretation; data sets to track progress; shared commitment to action designed to create measurable change
Engage stakeholders to determine areas for improvement and focus for improvement
Leverage both state agency infrastructure and the deep and durable networks already in place in professional organizations and family groups
Leading by Convening; Technical and Adaptive Approaches to Change; CoP for Strategic Advantage
Leverage the power of trust and stakeholder connection to advance the ‘capacity with capability’* to implement evidence based practice
Agree on standards for success; share, celebrate and scale-up accomplishments; joint responsibility
How are you doing in engaging stakeholders including stakeholder groups such as family organizations in the data collection and analysis, infrastructure, and evaluation work? Family organizations often have critical information – both quantitative and qualitative data – that can help identify areas of strength and areas for improvement moving into improvement planning as well as evaluating the effectiveness of the improvement plan. The deep and durable networks that family-led organizations already have in place are critical for state agencies to reach and engage diverse families in the work.
It seems particularly difficult for states to figure out ways to meaningfully and authentically engage stakeholders in data, infrastructure, and evaluation. Why might this be? How can state convenors address this challenge? What is the role of constituency groups such as family organizations in helping stakeholders including families understand data, infrastructure and evaluation?

39. Leading by Convening: Platform for Capability and Capacity Building
Deep and durable networks are in place among stakeholders.
These networks easily personalize messages for understanding …not just adoption.
These networks can mobilize stakeholders to attend and act.
When shared interests make allies of decision makers and stakeholders, existing networks become powerful channels for knowledge dissemination, authentic engagement and the development of new knowledge.
Stakeholder networks are generally represented by the organizations and groups with which stakeholders are affiliated, such as professional associations or family-led organizations like F2Fs, PTIs, etc. These stakeholder organizations and groups know how to reach their constituency, know their constituency’s strengths and needs, and can engage them more effectively.

40. 4040

41. Levels of Engagement
Disseminate
Network
Collaborate
Transform
Convene

42. Leading by Convening Modules
Module 1 – Why authentic stakeholder engagement? What is Leading by Convening: The Partnership Way?
Module 2 – Coalescing Around the Issue(s)
Module 3 – Ensuring Authentic Participation of Relevant Stakeholders
Module 4 – Doing the Work Together
Module 5 – Measuring Engagement