Value-Based Partnerships™:
Improving Performance &
Engagement
Presented by: Enette Pauzé, PhD
Tuesday June 17, 2014
CMHA - Windsor
Highlights:
1. Value-based partnership foundation
2. 2 Criteria for partnering
3. 5 strategies to improve partnership performance and engagement
Partnership Foundation
Why might you partner?
• Better quality of care • Better results, faster
• Access new resources • Focus on what you do best
• More efficient use of resources • Delegate lower priorities
• Leverage strengths or expertise • Increase profitability
• Get more done in less time
Partnership Examples
Partnerships:
• Multi-stakeholder (different types of apples) vs. Cross-sector (different fruits)
• Formal (written agreement) vs. Informal (no written agreement)
• Can be differentiated by task or type
Tasks Types
• Joint program development • Strategic alliance
• Co-location • Affiliation
• Joint consults • Secondment
• Shared services • Project team
• Shared equipment • Patient care team
• Case reviews • Working groups
• Education/learning • Board of directors
• Networks
• Community partnership
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©2014 Enette Pauzé & Level 8 Leadership Institute. All rights reserved.
info@enettepauze.com 416-809-4270 www.enettepauze.com
Co-Location
• Public health professionals from a different community organization works part time at a Family
Health Team
Joint Consultations
• Patient care team (providers from different organizations) meet with patient to discuss needs,
prevention and treatment
Chronic Illness Task Force
• Providers, leaders, researchers, policy makers, educators, from a local community work together
to improve mental illness prevention and mental health services for diabetes patients
Value-Based Partnerships™
“Value-based partnering is about focusing on shared highest priorities
so that you can leverage the best of others for mutual benefit and growth.”
Partnerships are created when two or more individuals (or organizations) agree to work together
towards a common goal. Partnering is about helping people meet their needs.
How can you help your partners meet their needs faster, better and with less stress?
Fostering Partnerships
2 Criteria for Partnering
1. Partners have a shared vision, need or purpose.
2. Partners believe they will reach their objectives more efficiently/effectively with others.
Quality questions:
1. Are you really working towards the same purpose? (e.g., we’re both painting, but are we
painting the same thing!)
2. Are your partners running a 3-leg race, or a 2-leg race?
Common results desired by your partners: Wellness, money, access, engagement and sustainability (of
results).
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©2014 Enette Pauzé & Level 8 Leadership Institute. All rights reserved.
info@enettepauze.com 416-809-4270 www.enettepauze.com
Strategies to Improve Performance & Engagement
The 2 criteria for partnering must be met for any partnership to exist and thrive. If these are met, the
next area leaders must look at is the level of engagement of partners. If partners are not engaged,
strategies to improve performance will not be effective.
Top Partnership Challenges
These are five of the challenges experienced by partnership leaders and are factors related to
performance.
1. Lack of clear roles and expectations.
2. Too many or conflicting priorities.
3. Lack of time.
4. Challenges related to formalization of the partnership.
5. Lack of accountability or processes to enhance it.
Partnership Engagement
Engagement really means “needs/values met”. We give our attention to things in our environment and
make a decision about an intention to move towards or away from these things based on whether we
believe they provide us with value or meet our needs. If they meet our needs, our engagement and
interest goes up. If they don’t meet our needs, our engagement and interest goes down.
We are constantly assessing our environment, making decisions about where and when to invest our
energy most efficiently and effectively.
Partners communicate their level of engagement differently. Including: what they say, do or give. They
can be ‘out-in-front’ or ‘behind the scenes’ engaged.
Remember, partners show engagement according to their values (not yours!). Define what being
engaged means to you and your partners. How do you know if you are engaged? How will you know if
your partners are engaged?
It’s unrealistic for partners to maintain a high level of performance or engagement all of the time.
Engagement and disengagement are continuous cycles of re-engagement.
Look to strategically engage partners (timely) and within their values (priorities). Consider the life cycles
of the organizations and the partnership as a whole.
5 Ways to Improve Partner Engagement
#1: Solve a problem
A problem is something that others can’t solve without your help. Problems are both urgent and
important. Examples of problems you might be able to help with:
• Increase urgent access to services
• Secure make-or-break funding
• Extend hours of services
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©2014 Enette Pauzé & Level 8 Leadership Institute. All rights reserved.
info@enettepauze.com 416-809-4270 www.enettepauze.com
• Expand services to new population
• Expand geography and reach
• Provide services in multiple languages
• Using shared referral/intake forms
• Common patient forms
#2: Meet a Need
A need is something your partners meet without your help, but is so much better when you are around.
Needs are important, but not urgent. Examples of partner needs that you might be able to help with
include:
• Time off, space, re-group
• Promote a special program
• Coffee and conversation
• Appreciation, thank you
• Arrange a key stakeholder meeting
• Referral or introduction to key individual
#3: Focus on Strengths
Help your partners focus on their strengths. In order to do this, you’ll need to first clarify the strengths
and interests of your partners and their respective organizations. Other strategies include:
• Allowing partners to self-identify opportunities
• Aligning and linking tasks and people
Consideration: If no one wants to help with the key tasks of your partnership, you may have the wrong
people.
#4: Accountability
Accountability is about doing what you say you will, when and how you say you’ll do it. Strategies to
help increase the accountability of your partners include having them:
• Teach others • Complete tasks with tangible outputs
• Present to others • Engage in short feedback loops
• Explain a process • Host a meeting
• Track what works, what doesn’t
#5: Reduce the Ask
Sometimes partners don’t appear engaged because leaders haven’t discovered their optimal zone of
engagement. For example, you might be asking them to do too much, or to do activities that fall outside
of their interests or competencies. By reducing the ask (e.g., amount of work or number of tasks), you
might notice an immediate shift in the energy and engagement of specific partners. Strategies to reduce
the workload include:
• Smaller tasks, shorter timeframes
• One-time activities
• No-preparation
• Advice/opinion versus management or leadership
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©2014 Enette Pauzé & Level 8 Leadership Institute. All rights reserved.
info@enettepauze.com 416-809-4270 www.enettepauze.com
