Länka Consulting is a consulting firm that specializes in supporting multi-stakeholder collaboration. We do this by exploring and providing skills and methods that empower groups to progress when working with complex issues.
Why are collaboration skills so important?
Multi-stakeholder collaboration is needed for addressing today’s complex problems and future opportunities. Many professionals find themselves managing projects and processes where different organizations and knowledge perspectives meet to create new solutions. These projects and processes take place within and between areas such as climate, health, city planning, growth and competitiveness, healthcare, energy, mobility and transport, construction, international collaboration, local and regional development, research and innovation etc.
Collaboration initiatives help us uncover knowledge and insights that are hidden in between our traditional silos. When our diverse views and understandings meet, there is great potential for new ways of thinking and acting. But this can also be the biggest challenge, as we are not used to lead between our silos. So how can successful collaboration initiatives be enabled and managed practically to unleash this great potential? How to integrate the different perspectives, how to create a shared understanding among differing views, how to create strong relationships and build lasting trust, how to create real results, both short-and long term?
Specific skills and methods are needed in multi-stakeholder collaboration that differ from traditional project management tools and leadership models created for leading within organizations. These skills can be trained and applied for immediate and better results and real progress in complex issues.
About Länka Consulting
Länka Consulting was founded in 2015. The company is located in Stockholm, Sweden, and is focused on strengthening multi-stakeholder collaborative capacity. In 2019, Länka published the book “To succeed in leading in collaboration” (“Att lyckas leda i samverkan”).
We have educated over 2000 professionals in collaboration leaderships skills in Scandinavia during the last 7 years. Our open trainings are inspiring encounters of different sectors and perspectives, offering a comprehensive introduction to collaboration theories, models and tools. Participants from various sectors and both local, regional, national and international contexts meet and develop collaboration management skills.
Listen to our podcast Art of Collaborating!
In our Podcast Art of Collaborating we interview experts and thinkers from the world of collaboration in order to reflect on and share knowledge from this field. The episodes we’ve recorded in English are:
An Interview with Sam Kaner and Nelli Noakes, experts within process management and acknowledged worldwide. We met Sam and Nelli at a conference in San Francisco 2018.
A conversation with Ken and Mary Gergen from a conference on Färöarna. During this talk we get to hear about their thoughts on social constructivism, a theory and approach that inspired us deeply when trying to understand the skills that are needed in collaboration initiatives.
A discussion about the book Social Worlds. A Communication Perspective by Barnett Pearce. This book inspires us to look at our communication patterns from a meta perspective and thereby open up new insights, an opportunity in the global complexity with the different perspectives around the same issue that we live in right now!
A "thinking along episode" with researcher Els de Maeijer from Eindhoven university in the Netherlands. With a starting point in Els' dissertation we discuss the importance of languaging in academia and industry collaborations.
A “wicked conversation” with Dutch researcher Anu Manickam where we explore what wicked issues is all about and how we can think and work differently.
Join Länka Consulting in Barcelona in september 2023!
How to succeed in leading multi-stakeholder collaboration
Are you leading or part of a multi-stakeholder initiative where many different perspectives meet around complex issues? Join us for four inspiring days in Barcelona in September 2020. Be part of a unique and proven training where the “how” is in focus. Take this opportunity to improve your practical skills for unleashing the potential in collaboration!
Training objectives
The expected outcome of the training for the participants are:
A better understanding of the characteristics that are in play in multi-stakeholder collaboration
A toolbox for creating collaborative dialogues, culture, commitment and for dealing with complexity and conflicting interests
An opportunity to gain insight for improvements of your own collaboration context
A personal experience of the effects these mindsets and tools can create in a multi-stakeholder group
An exchange of knowledge and experience with other collaboration leaders and initiatives
An opportunity to be part of an international network of collaboration initiative leaders
Content
Monday 21st Sep
12:00-13:00: Lunch
13:00-17:00 Collaborative Foundation: The characteristics of multi-stakeholder-collaboration, basic perspectives on human interaction and communication, bringing in the context – mindset and tools.
Tuesday 22nd Sep
09:00-12:00: Collaborative Dialogue: Patterns of communication and relationships, methods for using a communication perspective that enhances meaningful meetings.
12:00-13:00: Lunch
13:00-17:00: Collaborative Culture: Questions as a powerful tool for mobilizing and sensemaking in groups of diversity. Collaborative inquiry and the art of creating an explorative culture, relational capacity and trust as a core strategy.
Wednesday 23rd Sep
09:00-12:00: Collaborative Complexity: How to utilize conflicting interests and perspectives – for new understanding and innovation. Being in complexity – in-the-moment capacity and managing yourself.
12:00-13:00: Lunch
13:00-17:00: Collaborative Commitment: Visualisation – basic tools for creating collective memory, creating short- and long-term commitment and building on driving forces.
Thursday 24th Sep
09:00-12:00: Collaborative Design: Designing multi-stakeholder collaboration processes and meetings, plan for implementing new knowledge and methods in your own context.
12:00-13:00: Lunch
Training approach
High usability and practical benefits in the participants’ everyday collaboration work characterizes our training approach. We put a lot of effort into integrating the learnings in the participants’ professional contexts. We alternate theory and practice and adapt to different learning styles. We consider it important to create a safe space for both dialogue, exercises and reflection, thereby enabling and creative presence among the participants. High interactivity and focus on typical situations in multi-stakeholder collaborations that are based on the experiences of the participants, ensures that the training becomes relevant for all participants. We always use creative tools for visualisation and documentation during our trainings.
Who are you?
You are one of many different participants with very different backgrounds and working contexts:
You are either leading/managing or participating in one or more multi-stakeholder collaboration initiatives involving different organizations and knowledge perspectives. You are interested in how to further strengthen the collaboration initiative and how to move it forward. You want to improve your personal and professional skills in order to contribute even more to the progress of these processes.
You may be working in a private company, or at a university, in a public organisation or a non-profit organisation. You might be working within city development, education, culture, sustainability, construction, healthcare, energy, agriculture, research and innovation, social services, local and regional development etc. You might be leading a larger triple/quadruple-helix network or cluster initiative. Your work can involve different levels (international, national, regional and local) and different geographies.
Place and date
Barcelona, September 2023
For information and application contact us:
info@lankaconsulting.se
About us
Karoline Bottheim, founding partner of Länka Consulting and trainer
Karoline holds a MA in Pedagogics and Organizational psychology from Munich’s Ludwig-Maximilians-University, is a certified coach (EMCC senior practitioner level) and certified systemic process consultant. Karoline has worked in different consultancy companies and with the Swedish Red Cross before founding Länka Consulting. Karoline has long international experience in designing and managing organizational development projects in the public, private and non-profit sector. She has worked with different projects helping organizations in various sectors to increase their collaborative capacity, and to effectively leverage and maximize capacities and potentials. Karoline has developed expertise in efficient intra- and inter-organizational collaboration and organizational performance. She is a professional trainer and educates in managing multi-stakeholder collaboration initiatives.
Anna Zingmark, founding partner of Länka Consulting and trainer
Anna holds a Bsc in Economics from Umeå University and has been working for the last 25 years with local and regional development. She has previously worked at Ramböll Management Consulting, Vinnova (Swedish national innovation agency), Nutek (Swedish national agency for regional development and growth) and ALMI (Business development for small and medium sized companies) before starting Länka Consulting.
Anna has long experience in supporting public and private sector clients in complex development and transformation projects – in Sweden and abroad. She is an expert in local and regional development, research and development, cluster development and international collaboration. Anna has experience from designing multi-stakeholder collaboration initiatives, working within collaboration initiatives, analysing collaboration and supporting multi-stakeholder collaboration initiatives. She has a profound experience in helping organizations in various sectors to increase their collaborative capacity, and to effectively leverage and maximize capacities and potentials. Anna has developed expertise in efficient intra- and inter-organizational collaboration and organizational performance. She is a professional trainer and educates in managing multi-stakeholder collaboration initiatives.