Making Coalition Government Work: lessons from other sectors

Key points

The Socia Model

Collaborations and partnerships come in many forms. They can be located on a spectrum by the amount of collaboration required to make the relationships a success. This spectrum ranges from the kind of partnership a company has with its photocopier paper supplier, to something akin to a full merger.

On this spectrum, the initial presumption had been that a hung Parliament would produce a transactional (photocopier) relationship – a confidence and supply agreement.

But David Cameron's 'big' offer meant that the coalition headed straight for a closer relationship – a mutual partnering with some suggesting the end result might be symbiosis, with the two partners merging their separate identities.

But therein lies a risk. Evidence from other sectors suggests that the best collaborations are built from gaining trust through a track record of reliable transactions - rather than through an immediate leap into the messy middle.

Nevertheless, the Roffey Park research suggests that the bonding experience of doing the deal and the same people then moving into leadership positions in the Cabinet could serve as a solid starting point for the creation of trust and collective purpose. 

The secret of successful collaborations

David and Alex argued that successful collaborations needed to get three things right:

1. governance
2. operations
3. behaviours.

But the relative importance of each of these elements depended on the degree of interdependence in the relationship.

The audience thought the coalition was doing well so far on governance, with the coalition agreement and processes set down.

It was getting there on operations, but over time behaviours might be a key area of risk.

Managing a successful collaboration

Experience from other joint ventures pointed up the importance of having a central unit to support integration and to own the health of the venture.

Managing a successful collaboration requires particular qualities from the leadership:

• patience
• collective decision-making
• agility
• empathy
• building relationships
• handling conflict

Roffey Park's work emphasises that companies which create a sense of collective purpose that goes beyond the simple creation of shareholder value fare better than those who simply focus on the bottom line.

But this is a potential challenge in a coalition where both partners wanted to maintain separate identities based on different values – and where some of the overlaps on issues such as civil liberties might be quite fragile.

The challenge there is to keep the sense of purpose fresh – and to look for synergies rather than get locked into compromise.

Are lessons from other sectors transferable?

Views differed. Ultimately, the success of the coalition would be judged on the performance of the economy. It will also be down to political pressures from both inside the party and outside.

But the concluding advice to Messrs Cameron and Clegg would apply to leaders in other sectors too:

1. Spend time together as individuals to build mutual trust and respect
2. Harness the full potential of the civil service as an engine to drive collaboration
3. Need to strike a balance between creativity and governance – look for  synergistic solutions, not just compromises
4. A collaborative culture and common purpose need to emerge organically from the beginning of the partnership – they cannot simply be painted on afterwards
5. Take note of other countries' experiences with coalition government
6. Remember that listening, flexibility, empathy and open-mindedness are all important qualities for strong collaborative leadership.