Forum

Forum is a way for teams and their leaders to work together to achieve their shared goals. 

Forum is designed to address issues that impact the delivery performance of multiple teams:

• teams will struggle to optimise goal outcomes, unless they can align their decisions with a clear strategic view

• teams will be reluctant to collaborate with other teams, unless the effort they make is recognised and rewarded

• finding innovative solutions will be difficult, unless teams are supported to spend time together exploring ideas and then choose the best way forward 

• work initiatives will be slow to build momentum, unless teams are supported to create and maintain new working relationships

• changes in the external work environment will reduce delivery effectiveness, unless there is an organised way for multiple teams to review these changes and respond accordingly.

Forum comprises a framework and delivery principles that support the improvement of delivery performance. 

Framework

The framework enables organisations to describe:

• shared goals that define the Forum’s purpose 

• connected teams of people who deliver work in a collaborative way

• leaders who provide delivery focus and guide learning. 

Forum helps build awareness of: 

• how the prioritisation of work is focusing the efforts of multiple teams

• how learning is enabling teams to find the best delivery path forward

• the extent of collaboration and support between teams

• the impact of team effort on the overall achievement of goals.

Principles

Forum incorporates four delivery principles to optimise the flow of work. The principles remind Forum members to work in ways that promote transparency, balance, collaboration and enabling leadership.

Everyone establishes and maintains a common understanding

Forum values the transparent sharing of information to enable effective delivery. When a Forum is created, everyone confirms that its goals are understood and agreed. Forum participation is confirmed at the start and then updated over time when membership changes. Each team advises how to contact them in order to collaborate in the delivery of work. The Forum decision making process is clearly communicated regardless of the organisation and leadership rules that apply. 

Everyone reviews delivery performance and adapts as required

Forum values the search for balance in the presence of changing circumstances. Everyone reviews how the work they deliver impacts the achievement of goals. Everyone understands that the environment in which they work may change over time and that this may influence the achievement of goals. Everyone participates in the review of Forum performance and considers adaptations that might improve overall delivery. 

Teams align their work and support each other to succeed

Forum values cross-team collaboration as the means to optimise goal outcomes. Teams are open to exploring solution options that leverage all the skills and experience of the Forum beyond the capabilities of individual teams. Teams understand that collaborating and supporting other teams to deliver work is sometimes the best use of their time. 

Leaders provide focus and guide learning to maximise delivery impact

Leaders understand they have a responsibility to support others to reach their goals. Leaders support team delivery issues by providing focus on Forum work priorities. Leaders support the exploration of solution options by sharing their knowledge and perspective in order to guide team learning. Leaders assess the achievement of goals over time and support teams to maintain delivery effectiveness. 

Forum assigns an Enabler leadership role to support each work initiative through its discovery and delivery stages. When Enablers perform these temporary assignments, they provide the Forum with the flexibility to: 

• dynamically accommodate a wide variety of work initiatives with different outcomes

• maintain appropriate delivery oversight of complex work initiatives, when teams need the most help

• enable senior stakeholders to support strategic work initiatives without taking direct control of Forum teams

• enable any person, inside or outside a Forum, to perform a leadership role in a specific context.

Implementation

Forum can be applied to a broad range of work situations and environments. Forum is designed to support groups of people who want to work together regardless of their current organisational context. Once initiated, organisations can adapt the structure and operation of their Forum over time to more effectively achieve their shared goals. Forum changes will be based on monitoring overall performance and considering adaptations that improve the impact of goal delivery. 

Free to use

More information

Additional Forum information is available in the Resources section of this website.