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Indigenous Governance Toolkit Indigenous Governance Toolkit
Understand Indigenous Governance
MG Corporation: How their governance works
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Understand Indigenous Governance
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AIGI / Resource Hub / How to manage problems with your networks
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How to manage problems with your networks
  • Home triangle
    • Home
    • About the Toolkit
    • How to use the Toolkit
    • Toolkit Topics Overview
  • 01 Understanding governance triangle
    • 1.0 Understanding governance
    • 1.1 The important parts of governance
    • 1.2 Indigenous governance
    • 1.3 Governance in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations
    • 1.4 Case Studies
  • 02 Culture and governance triangle
    • 2.0 Culture and governance
    • 2.1 Indigenous governance and culture
    • 2.2 Two-way Governance
    • 2.3 Case Studies
  • 03 Getting Started triangle
    • 3.0 Getting started on building your governance
    • 3.1 Assessing your Governance
    • 3.2 Mapping your community for governance
    • 3.3 Case Studies
  • 04 Leadership triangle
    • 4.0 Leadership for governance
    • 4.1 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership
    • 4.2 The challenges of leadership
    • 4.3 Evaluating your leadership
    • 4.4 Youth leadership and succession planning
    • 4.5 Building leadership capacity to govern
    • 4.6 Case Studies
  • 05 Governing the organisation triangle
    • 5.0 Governing the organisation
    • 5.1 Roles, responsibilities and rights of a governing body
    • 5.2 Accountability: what is it, to whom and how?
    • 5.3 Decision making by the governing body
    • 5.4 Governing finances and resources
    • 5.5 Communicating
    • 5.6 Future planning
    • 5.7 Building capacity and confidence for governing bodies
    • 5.8 Case Studies
  • 06 Rules and policies triangle
    • 6.0 Governance rules and policies
    • 6.1 What are governance rules?
    • 6.2 Governance rules and culture
    • 6.3 Running effective meetings
    • 6.4 Policies for organisations
    • 6.5 Case Studies
  • 07 Management and staff triangle
    • 7.0 Management and staff
    • 7.1 Managing the organisation
    • 7.2 The governing body and management
    • 7.3 Managing staff
    • 7.4 Staff development and training
    • 7.5 Case Studies
  • 08 Disputes and complaints triangle
    • 8.0 Disputes and complaints
    • 8.1 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous approaches
    • 8.2 Core principles and skills for dispute and complaint resolution
    • 8.3 Disputes and complaints about governance
    • 8.4 Your members: Dealing with disputes and complaints
    • 8.5 Organisations: dealing with internal disputes and complaints
    • 8.6 Practical guidelines and approaches
    • 8.7 Case Studies
  • 09 Governance for nation rebuilding triangle
    • 9.0 Governance for nation rebuilding and development
    • 9.1 What is nation rebuilding?
    • 9.2 Governance for nation rebuilding
    • 9.3 Governance for sustained development
    • 9.4 Networked governance
    • 9.5 Kick-starting the process of nation rebuilding
    • 9.6 Case Studies
  • Governance Stories
  • Glossary
  • Useful links
  • Acknowledgements
  • Preview new Toolkit triangle
    • Understand Indigenous Governance Overview
    • Defining Governance
    • Indigenous Governance
    • Governance Lingo
    • Self-determination and Governance
    • Effective Indigenous Governance

How to manage problems with your networks

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Tips: How to manage problems with your networks

To make sure your networks give you the best support for your governance, here are some potential problems to watch out for, and some tips for how to address them.

Network governance problem

Tips

Making decisions.
Some networks aim to reach consensus decisions—that is, all parties agreeing. But sometimes a single party may disagree, stopping a decision being made or later undermining it.
  • Clearly identify how decisions are made when consensus cannot be reached.
  • Encourage wide support for and the legitimacy of the decision-making process.
  • Have rules for ‘majority consensus’ and confidentiality to improve implementation.
Becoming complacent.
Networks can run the risk of becoming complacent, operating only in their comfort zone. They may also become bureaucratic and inflexible.
  • Make sure it is someone’s role in the network to seek new opportunities.
  • Arrange informal social and cultural activities.
  • Meet with other groups, communities and organisations to exchange contacts and ideas.
Accountability can become dispersed.
Accountability may become more difficult to monitor in large networks because decisions are made at many different points. Large networks are also more likely to lose touch with outlying members.
  • Make sure that the roles and responsibilities of the different parts of your network are clearly defined and understood.
  • Make sure that the accountability of network participants and processes is clear and agreed to by everyone.
Acquiring new skills.
Setting up new partnerships may require entirely new skills and knowledge, or may come up against resistance from the existing network.
  • Do an internal audit to work out if you have the people with the right skills for the partnership activities.
  • You may need to recruit or connect to people with new skills, contacts and relationships.
  • Share knowledge and plans between existing members by regular open communication.
  • Make partnerships with parties who have a good reputation for strong governance and creative solutions.
Becoming competitive.
Networks between groups or organisations with similar functions, memberships and funding sources may become competitive rather than collaborative.
  • Build trust across your networks—for example, by sharing resources, or by making joint decisions on issues that concern you all.
  • Encourage more open, accurate and easy exchange of information across the network.
Losing control.
Leaders and managers risk losing control of their own agenda if key stakeholders in your network—government, non-government organisations or industry groups—have different ideas and priorities.
  • Analyse the different concerns and issues of each stakeholder and how they are influencing your governance processes and outcomes.
  • Decide what parts of your agenda or goals are non-negotiable, and which you want to collaborate with others on.

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