In September this year I participated in a virtual program to become accredited in the Smart Collaboration Accelerator ™.  The only difficulty was the US-based program meant 1am starts for the Aussies!  Now that problem is solved …

Many of you will be familiar with Dr. Heidi K. Gardner’s work on Smart Collaboration and her bestseller, Smart Collaboration: How Professionals and Their Firms Succeed by Breaking Down Silos.

Heidi Gardner, PhD, is a Distinguished Fellow at Harvard Law School, Faculty Chair in Harvard’s executive education courses, and co-founder of advisory firm - Gardner & Co. Previously she was a professor at Harvard Business School and was named a Next Generation Business Guru by Thinkers50 . Dr Gardner has lived and worked on four continents, as a Fulbright Fellow, and for McKinsey & Co. and Procter & Gamble.

Gardner & Co has developed a suite of tools called the Smart Collaboration Accelerator ™ – a research-based psychometric assessment that helps individuals, leaders, and organizations understand their behavioural tendencies and turn those behaviours into 'catalysts' for Smart Collaboration.

A Two half-day Accreditation Program in February 2021

In February 2021 Gardner & Co. will be offering an accreditation program at a time that works for Asia Pacific.  

The short (two ½ days) online accreditation program introduces the business and talent case for Smart Collaboration and trains participants on the tool so that they can become Accredited Partners and use the tool in their business.

People who have been through the accreditation already find the Accelerator to be a good door-opener with new and existing clients, especially now that the pandemic has made effective collaboration so critical.

In my role on the executive of the Continuous Legal Education Association of Australasia (CLEAA)  I’ve arranged to Partner with Dr Gardner and her team to provide the program at a discounted rate for CLEAA members. The program fee for CLEAA members is $USD 750 (a discount of $USD 250 on the standard fee).

February 2021 Program:  Smart Collaboration Accelerator ™

• When: 10am – 2pm AEDT on Tuesday February 9 and Wednesday February 10

• Format: online

• Pre-work involved? Yes – reading materials and completion of the collaborator profile.

• Post-work required? Yes – a small amount including a brief video exercise if participant wants accreditation

• Is the program interactive: Yes - very interactive with opportunities to talk through scenarios in small break-out groups.

• Standard program fee : $USD 1,000

• Fee for CLEAA Members: $USD 750

• Cost of CLEAA Membership: $AUD 75 per annum. https://cleaa.asn.au/join-online/

Who Could Find This Useful

• Leadership teams, especially internal coaches, in firms with a strategy to increase collaboration on client engagements or innovation / problem-solving projects

• Client Relationship Partners responsible for large multi-service / multi-contact key accounts.

• Learning & Development and Business development professionals

• Facilitators and coaches with a specialisation in professional services firms.

(When I did the course the other Australian participant was the Managing Partner of a large law firm)

To Register For The Program

If you would like to register or have any questions, please contact Mr Esteban M. Guijarro, Outreach Director at Gardner & Co. at esteban@gardnerandco.co . And remember to mention your CLEAA membership!

More detail can be found at the Smart Collaborator website https://smartcollaborationaccelerator.com/

Further Reading & References

The Continuous Legal Education Association of Australasia (CLEAA) https://cleaa.asn.au/

Katie Walsh, Australian Financial Review (15/2/18) Want a Profitable Law Firm? Don’t Hire Jerks

Gardener, Heidi K (2017) Smart Collaboration: How Professionals and Their Firms Succeed by Breaking Down Silos. (Book)

Gardener, Heidi K (2017) Getting Your Stars To Collaborate - Harvard Business Review, January 2017

Gardener, Heidi K (2016) Smart Collaboration: Breaking Down Silos (one hour webinar)

Gardener, Heidi K (2015) When Senior Managers Won’t Collaborate : Lessons from professional Services Firm - Harvard Business Review , March 2015

Sue-Ella is the Principal of Prodonovich Advisory, a business dedicated to helping professional services firms sharpen their business development practices, and attract and retain good clients.