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In the press


  • Strong relationships - and dangerous myths (103 Kb)
    The increasing interdependence of today’s business world means that strategic risks often lie at the boundary between organisations. Leaders must pay close attention to these relationship risks. In the past leaders have often based their risk mitigation plans on a belief in either: their own power and superior expertise, tightly defined legal contracts or partners they personally trust. However, a new article by David Archer and Alex Cameron in the journal of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries shows that these beliefs can be misplaced, rendering the confidence they engender a dangerous myth.
  • How to: Deal with the tricky nature of collaboration (30 Kb)
    People have always known that the greatest risks in any system are at the boundaries – and that’s never been more true than in today’s interconnected business environment. Read our article on managing risk in business relationships in Strategic Risk Magazine.
  • Collaborative Leadership - How to succeed in an interconnected world (124 Kb)
    This book discusses the increasing importance of collaborative leadership. It provides a practical guide to the key ingredients needed to form successful, sustainable partnerships (as well as the causes of failure).
  • Collaborative Leadership – Lessons from failure (418 Kb)
    Today’s interdependent world needs leaders who can get people and organisations working together across internal and external boundaries. But many traditional leadership role models are far from being collaborative. This article highlights four leadership stereotypes and looks at how the behaviour that may have taken them far in their chosen career can prove disastrous in a collaborative venture. It then goes on to identify six attributes that underpin future collaborative leadership success.
  • Tough times call for collaborative leaders (46 Kb)
    The paper analyses five areas of development for a collaborative leader with regard to conflict: understanding your own relationship to conflict; understanding the needs of groups; holding difficult conversations; finding the greater good; and mediating in other people's conflict. In each case it proposes practical steps to help leaders and development professionals handle these issues.
  • The new frontier (417 Kb)
    In this issue of Public Service Magazine, Socia argue that public sector leaders are bringing together interconnected groups to deliver results across traditional boundaries.
  • The Collaboration Spectrum (794 Kb)
    Socia’s presentation on 'The Collaboration Spectrum' at The Academy for Justice Commissioning high profile seminar on 17th June, is featured in their newsletter.
  • When Times are Tough, Check Your Partners Measure Up (991 Kb)
    Business Leadership Review feature article on the book by David and Alex: Collaborative Leadership: How to succeed in an interconnected world ...Across the public and private sector leaders are betting the future of their businesses on their ability to work in partnership and deliver results across boundaries...
  • The five key skills of Collaborative Leaders (2,965 Kb)
    Now that our book is published in the States, we were asked by Leadership Excellence to summarize the key skills of this particular collaborative approach Leadership which we believe is so important in these difficult and interdependent times. (See page 9 in the PDF)
  • The Rise of Collaborative Working (186 Kb)
    In an exclusive extract from their new book Collaborative Leadership, authors David Archer and Alex Cameron discuss Visa’s record-breaking IPO and how collaborative efforts can help stave off the direst predictions of climate change.
  • The Challenges of Collaboration (81 Kb)
    Collaborative leaders have to pull off a difficult balancing act: Respecting and valuing the differences of colleagues, while, at the same time, smoothing out some of those differences in the interests of making the business relationships work more efficiently. But the payoff is often business success now and in the future. It's up to HR leaders to help make such collaboration occur.
  • Collaborative leadership in times of change (48 Kb)
    For leaders, employees or citizens the scale of our interdependence is ever more apparent, the connections are getting wider and the speed of impact ever quicker.
  • Building better relationships (265 Kb)
    David and Alex explain how they have applied the principles of MBTI to organisations.
  • Perfect Partners (55 Kb)
    David Archer explains why building collaborative leadership competence now will help prepare for the future
  • Train for collaboration (43 Kb)
    The railways sector is characterised by conflict between organisations operating in a fragmented industry, developing new leadership skills in collaboration can resolve the problems that result from the complex web of relationships.
  • How to... be a collaborative leader (21 Kb)
    Collaborative leadership can be developed in any organisation and it is seen as a vital skill-set in an increasingly interconnected world. Socia feature article in People Management.
  • Mistrust ...makes long-term PFI contracts break down (21 Kb)
    Socia comments in FMX Magazine on PFIs
  • Forging successful procurement relationships (412 Kb)
    Socia has partnered with corporate law firm Pinsent Masons to explore the issues that can make or break a new contract in the first 100 days. This is the period when relationships are forged often under pressure. From very different perspectives, Socia and Pinsent Masons share how the procurement process and the contract can help or hinder the relationship building process.
  • Why PFIs go wrong - and how to make them work (38 Kb)
    Millions of pounds of public money are wasted because contractors charge unjustifiably high fees amending PFIs. And the problem, according to Socia, is a failure in leadership.
  • Making partnerships work (247 Kb)
    The quality of joint ventures and supply chain partnerships is critical to success in meeting targets. Alex Cameron looks at why partnering goes wrong and what to do about it.
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In his book, The Age of Paradox, Charles Handy looks at the concept of dual citizenship in organisations, which we explore in the context of partnership.

read our article