REPORT ON
TRAINING OF TRAINERS’ WORKSHOP FOR IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS OF COCOALIFE
1.0 Introduction
As part of the 2017 Joy Ambassadors Programme of Mondelez International, a training of trainers’ workshop was held for Implementing Partners (IPs) of the Mondelez/Cocoalife Programme in Ghana. The workshop took place on Monday, October 23 and Tuesday, October 24, 2017 at Hans Cottage, Cape Coast, in the Central Region. A total number of about twenty-five representatives from the various Implementing Partners were present. ABANTU for Development was represented by Grace Wornyo Azaonoo, the Programmes Coordinator and Grace Ampomaa Afrifa, Programme Officer.
The aim of the workshop was to build the capacities of the Implementing Partners in areas such as networking and alliance building, people management and planning and orgainising in order for the IPs to integrate the learning into their programmes and trainings on the Cocoalife Project.
2.0 Day 1
The first day of the programme began with introductions by both Implementing Partners and Joy Ambassadors (JAs). Matilda Broni of Mondelez International Cocoa Life Ghana, welcomed participants to the forum and urged IPs to tap from the knowledge, experience and expertise of the JAs, within the two-day period. IPs were then placed into three different groups to treat three different topics concurrently. The trainings were facilitated by the JAs who took each group through the topics namely:
- Networking and Alliance Building
- Planning and Organising
- People Management
2.1 Networking and Alliance Building
The JAs used various methodologies in their presentation to enable participants co-create the content as well as contextualize the concept of networking and alliance building. Some of the methodologies used included pictures, videos, stories, group work, drawing, role plays, games, competitions and several others to ensure maximum participation.
Based on a picture story participants deduced the following:
- Unity is strength
- Teamwork helps the achievement of a common goal
- No one is useless; everyone is valuable
- We all need motivation
- We should be humble enough to ask for assistance
- Diversity is an asset
- We should be able to open ourselves up for opportunities presented by our environment
- Inclusiveness is in institutional development
- Individual weaknesses can be built to produce organisational strength
- Communication is the basis for networking and alliance building
- Networking requires follow-up from both sides
- Alliance building arises when both parties have realised a common goal based on the network created
2.1.1 The Golden Circle by Simon Sinek
- Why do you do what you do?
- How do you do it?
- What do you do?
When this hierarchy is followed through, we are able to identify the purpose of an existence and this drives our decisions and behaviours to success or otherwise. The block-enablers of networking and alliance building include:
- Commitment
- Common goal
- Communication
- Open-mindedness
- Acknowledging each other’s value
The blockers on the other hand include;
- Pride
- Tradition
- History
- Assumption
- Perception
- Prejudice
- Personal interest
- Selfishness
- Ego
- Greed
2.1.2 Techniques for Networking and Alliance Building
- See
- Hear
- Speak
In other words, prioritise listening to the other person, as everyone really wants to be heard and understood not judged. Thus, after listening, ask the right questions.
2.2 Planning and Organising
When planning for projects, consider the following:
- Set objectives or expectations; be clear and why, how and what is being done.
- Develop a simple execution plan
- Execute the plan accordingly and make adjustments where needed (break what you seek to do into little pieces, eg. 10 things to do before developing a presentation)
- Integrate flexibility into the plan
- Assign responsibilities
- Clearly communicate the objectives and plan
When planning for yourself,
- List everything
- Create daily, week and monthly checklists
- Block your calendar
- Organize data
- Capture information from former projects by referencing old projects
- Keep all documents from projects (ongoing and ended)
- It is always best to spend five to ten minutes planning than to spend 5 hours organising yourself or looking for a document.
2.2.1 Basic Tenets of telling a story (It is always best to convey a message through story telling)
- Focus on the objective of the story (what you want to communicate – one objective per story)
- The story must have a hero
- Setting – where is the story going to be shared, where did the story take place?
- There should be a conflict
- A turning point
- The story must be simple
- Emotional – the story must touch the heart of your audience
Every story must have a beginning, middle and an end.
3.0 Day 2
The second day of the workshop began with a recap of the previous day’s activities. IPs shared what was critical to them throughout the presentations, after which participants went back into their various groups.
3.1 People Management
People remain critical to the achievement of goals and objectives of every institution.
- People management refers to leveraging strengths and building on weaknesses to achieve organizational goals and objectives
- It also means organising and motivating people to achieve a specific goal.
3.2 Leadership Styles
- Transactional leadership – this is a task-reward relationship where the leader awards the subordinate based on a task that has been undertaken. The leader is seen only as a manager as no change occurs; he is only maintaining the status quo.
- Transformational leadership – this leader works towards the achievement of
- Autocratic leadership – allows no room for opinions. Decisions are made solely by the leader. Usually used in emergency situations, where deadlines have to be met and in instances where indiscipline abounds. It creates fear, timidity and takes away initiative and creativity.
- Laissez-faire leadership – minimum or no supervision and is useful where there are qualified, competent and committed people in the organisation.
- Democratic leadership – the leader is concerned about the views of others. Allows members to share their opinions and contribute to decision making. This could delay the process of decision making and could create factions. However, it ensures ownership and commitment of the majority.
The best leaders do not use only one leadership style. They are those who are able to blend the various leadership styles by identifying a situation and applying the required leadership style.
Performance is a combination of;
People
Ability
Motivation
Opportunity
Direction
(PAMOD)
4.0 Conclusion
The two-day workshop came to a successful end at approximately 2pm. Participants shared what they had learnt within their groups and how these were applicable in their work. Matilda Broni added that the knowledge shared was relevant for work especially within the communities. She appreciated the methodologies used by the JAs and recommended that field officers in their trainings in the communities use these simple approaches instead of the theoretical and complex ones. Participants added that though the issues were not new to them, the approaches and added knowledge enhanced the learning.
Finally, Matilda Broni called on IPs to utilise the learnings in their organisations. She added that the knowledge gained should reflect in IPs reporting to demonstrate maximum use of the opportunity. She hoped that the training could be repeated for all field officers of the Cocoa Life Programme but used the opportunity to call on participants to share the knowledge gained with all other field officers as the workshop was a training of trainers’: the responsibility of sharing and replication therefore falls on the participants.
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