Age NI Merger Professor Brendan McCormack & Ms Anne O’Reilly

• How we behave• How we make decisions

“Let us live the highest vision of what is possible”

- Inga Grac

How we do things around here

• Work hard at creating shared vision and a vision of impact; • Strong leadership – partnerships are about people and

relationships – people merge not organisations;• Timing and luck – parallel merger and modernisation process

across the age sector supported by investment;• Individual and organisational relationships – forming,

storming and norming;• Importance of creating trust and mutual respect;• ‘Creating a new organisation a central hallmark to support

trust building – not a takeover of either;

Creating the Conditions

• Spend time to get beyond stereotype and perceptions – walk in the other persons shoes;

• Allow/ encourage dissenting voices “dissenting voices helps build responses”

“Age NI is succeeding in reshaping and refocusing the age sector and has become a recognised template for future development particularly with the requirements to influence Policy Development. The Fit for Purpose Programme has tapped into and amplified a key strength of age sector which is the appetite and willingness to meet people, be connected and work for the common good.”– CENI 2010

Creating the Conditions

Milestone towards Merge www.co3.bz/amalgamate

• Merger Case Study • Preparing to merge • Merger Management • Merger Process – People • Merger Process – Communication • Merger Process – legal issues• Merger Template • Post Merger

‘The soft stuff is the hard stuff’

Personal Impacts/ Behaviour

• Prepared to be insecure and operate outside comfort zone;• Communicate – even if there is nothing to say – say so;• Develop confidence to challenge misinformation/ perception/

sabotage/ power bases;• Acknowledge stress, fear anxiety – try to see change as an

invitation;• Willingness to set aside personal interests – feel the fear and

do it anyway;• Use value base to bring you back to first principles –

relationships will be tested, even good ones.

Culture and Values Journey

•Starting Out •Agreeing a process/ methodology•Appreciative Inquiry explained•Culture and values workshops

The way we behave around here(Reference: Good Practice Guide – Developing Culture, Values and Behaviours

Starting Out

•Solid groundwork had been laid up to the formal creation of Age NI;•Principles – collaboration, inclusion, participation;•Clear desired outcome – a set of values that would shape the behaviour and actions of the organisation, its Trustees and staff team – a framework that supports both positive changes and gives a safety to challenge and confront negative behaviours constructively.

Appreciative Inquiry Explained AI•A positive orientation; •Envisioning a future that ‘fosters positive relationships and builds on the goodness in people, a situation or an organisation’;•Accelerates changes of all kinds – increasing rate of improvement and the speed of attainment of goals and results;•Powerful side effects:

• Creates motivation and energy among the people who are changing;

• Improves communication, trust, understanding and relationships;

• It is empowering and gives people confidence to take risks;

• It makes work a more enjoyable experience and so promotes commitment, enthusiasm and effectiveness

Core Questions

•What is good about here?•What would it be like if we had more of what is good? •How do we get it?

The ‘D’ Stages

•Discover •Dream •Design •Deliver

“Be mindful of the words that you use and the actions that you live,

and who you are and how it is you use your POWER – keep clear at all times that you are what you say you are, that you put your force behind

what you say, and monitor it accordingly”

How we make decisions around here

Shared Governance Journey – Starting Out

• A conscious shift from a hierarchal form of leadership and decision making to a more shared form of decision making/ leading from the middle;

• Three pilots – Strategic Plan; Consultative Forum; Learning & Development ;

• To build consensus on a decision making framework that will guide the decision making of Age NI – via Trustee Board; Councils; key organisation development processes.

How we make decisions around here

Shared Governance Explained

•A way of working to ensure people effected by decisions are involved in the decision making process – Trustees; Older People; Staff;

•Benefits:

• Trustee commitment/ engagement ;• CEO/SMT no longer sole influencers and decision

makers;• Older people directly influencing strategy of organisation

Core Principles•Partnership•Accountabilities •Equality •Ownership •Leadership

• Collaboration/ inclusion• Participation • Openness • Transparency • Timely • interdependency

“When the deepest part of you becomes engaged in what you are doing, when your activities and actions

become gratifying and purposeful, when what you do serves yourself and others, when you don’t tire within but seek the sweet satisfaction of your life

and work – you are doing what you are meant to be doing”

Twelve Months On – with more to do!!

•Valued contribution seen;•Practice is based on older peoples views and experience;•More informed decision making;•People close to lives of older people involved in decision making;•Erodes team/ departmental boundaries;•Ownership/ morale/ motivation•Culture of equality in decision making - leveller

Benefits Realisation

1. Wider Social Impact •Political/ public awareness rating – AQ, political engagement, media contact + INONET measures;•Policy traction – OPC (negative to positive), Fuel Poverty (negative to neutral), Social Care (negative to neutral)•Policy expertise/ authority “one of significant set of submissions compared to other organisations – a significant development for organisations – (Budget submissions)

Top Ten Issues – Heard Of

Flood in Australia 93%

Haiti Earthquake 1 yr on 73%

Older people in poverty 67% (3rd)

Health care for older people 45% (5th)

OPC 9% (10th)

2. Individual Impact

Direct support – 20,000 – direct care; advice; elder abuse/ emotional support (RQIA Excellence)

Age Sector Support •25,000/ 30,000 engaged in sector (cohort engaged circa 77k) (3.5% nominal rating) •7 sub-regionals in place – ready to ‘snap into place’ •130 statutory/ voluntary agencies linked in a comprehensive approach•3.5 million bids to Big Lottery (support each network)

“Age NI has had major impact in advantageously positioning the sector within the broader community and voluntary sector

when (twelve) the voice of older people needs to be heard most”

3. Sustainability Strategy

50/20/20/10 •Commercial Strategy – trading/ affinity•Social Enterprise Strategy – care; practical services•Brand partnerships – wider age sector sustainability •Fundraising Strategy – compelling call to action/ support