Inviting Topics for helping social agencies work together?

Sun Aug 28 17:54:25 PDT 2005

Douglas D. Germann, Sr. wrote:

>Hi--
>
>A couple days ago I had lunch with a lady who is head of a volunteer center
>which gets volunteers for all the social service agencies in the county.
>She said that the major conversation that needs to happen in town is How
>can we work together better as social agencies? She sees turf wars as
>preventing working together.
>
>So I am curious what inviting topics you have seen people have that gathers
>passion and responsibility around getting social agencies working together.
>
>It occurred to me we need to get specific when we invite conversations on
>this question--"turf wars" is too general, people cannot really get a
>handle on it, as something that might have a solution. It feels too much
>like this is the environment we live in: how can fish do anything about the
>water?
>  
>

Thanks for sharing the question.  This is a topic of particular interest 
for me. 

My sense is that there are a variety of internal and external forces 
(some positive, some negative, some...) that are leading people in the 
non-profit sector to revisit or reframe "working together."  My careers, 
jobs and volunteer work for most of my life have been rooted in various 
dimensions of working together...especially among private and public 
organizations involved in issues of social justice.  In the last 10 
years it has been the core of most of my work.

When I start working with a new client system I usually "interview" 
members and leaders of the stakeholders in the system.  Early in the 
interviews most people talk about how they are not sure what the big 
deal is about working together...they say they have been doing it for a 
long time and suggest it is a core value of nonprofits. However, when we 
talk longer they begin telling me about other nonprofits in the 
community that make working together difficult and the word "turf" 
always comes up.  The person or organization I am with says something 
like this:  "I/We like to work with others and do it well [providing a 
few examples in which it appears to me clear that they are the dominant 
player in the relationship], but when we try to work with [insert one or 
more potential partners] they are always trying to protect their turf."  
[Translate the last part of the comment in a couple of ways: the other 
group was/is the more dominant member of the potential relationship 
and/or the speaker really is trying to invade the other's area of 
expertise, value to the community or sources of funding.]

I believe there is a part of the historic value related to working 
together among many social workers, advocates and others working in 
communities, as well as aspects of their professional training rooted in 
family systems work and in building on community assets.  Unfortunately, 
at the moment their dominant economic model is rooted in a 
scarcity-driven view of the world...in part because there are external 
forces such as funders, governments and others that seem to find 
reinforcing the scarcity view of the world advantageous to their 
interests.  Since the perception of scarce resources affects their view 
of survival they easily fall into protecting what resources they have 
(not limited to money) and, in some cases, try to expand their base.  
Voila!  Turf wars begin to emerge and historic values go out the 
window.  [This is a part of the conversation that I could go on forever 
about, but I will return to the original question...]

I agree that the question of what to do about turf is too broad...the 
phrase I like to use is that it needs to be broad enough to be inclusive 
and narrow enough to be actionable.  In my work with nonprofits I have 
found that framing the question around "legitimate interdependence" is 
very important.  In my view, this concept is quite consistent with OST. 
  Some of the reasons I believe legitimate interdependence is key are:

1.  It asks the question, "Why do we need to or want to work together?" 

2.  In answering the first question it usually leads to a focus on how 
the people or communities they serve will benefit. (passion & 
responsibility)

3.  When it focuses on the needs of those they serve it allows them to 
focus on what they each bring to the table in a positive way. (passion & 
responsibility)

4.  When the focus is on service, assets and justice it shifts the 
emphasis, at least for a time, away from turf, old baggage and agency 
survival.

5.  Even a little bit of conversation in the proactive mode provides a 
bit of a foundation to frame or reframe relationships, as well as mental 
models.

[I have written more about my view in "legitimate interdependence" in a 
few articles and as part of chapters in a couple of books concept if you 
are interested.  I am also working on my own multi-media publication on 
the models this is rooted in.]

In various situations I have seen OST, future search and appreciative 
inquiry (used alone or in combination) find the basis for legitimate 
interdependence (passion & responsibility)...being able to say, "we 
really need each other to achieve what we aspire to achieve."   When 
they get to this point they can usually begin to discover or re-discover 
what it will take to work together and get busy working on it.

So, Douglas, it seems to me the start of the process of answering your 
question about addressing turf wars is located somewhere in finding 
where there is legitimate interdependence - broad enough to be 
inclusive, narrow enough to be actionable, rooted in passion and 
responsibility.

An intriguing question to me is how to take this question "to scale."  
In my work the principle of think globally, act locally leads to learn 
what each client defines as local...a neighborhood, a city, a state.   
My sense is that this issue is a national issue in the US and, probably, 
global issue.  Your question challenges me to think about where the 
legitimate interdependence would emerge at that scale.

Shalom,

Chris Kloth

Senior Partner

ChangeWorks of the Heartland

250 South Virginialee Road

Columbus, OH 43209-2052

Phone: 614.239.1336 

Fax: 614.237.2347

E-mail: chris at got2change.com <mailto:chris at got2change.com>

URL: www.got2change.com <http://www.got2change.com/>

Think Globally, Act Locally

*
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