HIDDEN INSIGHT 12: PACKTYPING AND THE IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING YOURSELF AND OTHERS This insight offers an overview of how the organisational commitment to Packtyping, (a self awareness approach) can be understood in terms of planning and experimenting with new and adapted approaches to community engagement. It considers how differing personality types can complement each other and contribute to the development of a supportive team environment where community outcomes are successfully delivered.
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The MutualGain programme The future of community MutualGain worked with its encourages staff to take a serious engagement rests on sound, commissioning partner to profile look at the effectiveness of their productive and resilient participants during a community current beliefs and practice in partnerships with other statutory engagement programme.. The type community engagement, whilst and non-statutory agencies, and of profiling the organisation uses engaging in a safe, fun learning more importantly the residents is called packtyping.. This insight environment – they are encouraged within communities. shares the learning from one cohort to play at new ways of doing things, who had been packtyped: test out their new learning, and Self-awareness, strong facilitation experiment with new ideas in order skills, and tenacity are essential in • When calculating the total to capture the learning. nurturing and developing a self- scores for Packtypes across the reliant and resilient community who whole group, Retriever was the Among other benefits, have the “willingness, capacity and most common ‘type’ which was understanding your style can opportunity to participate” as set closely followed by Coach dog improve self-awareness so that out in the definition of community and Guard dogs. The lowest staff are equipped to: engagement for policing and scoring types were Pointers partners (NPIA 2012). and Sheepdog • ‘Learn effectively and adapt faster.’ • The profile was created immediately after a week of • ‘Enjoy more fruitful relationships.’ training in new creative methods • ‘Be purposeful and cooperative at of engagement and may not the same time.’ reflect the natural day-to-day working ‘types’ of those on the • ‘Be more resilient and programme: many commented resourceful.’ how different their Packtype was • ‘Build respect and trust.’ compared to previous profiles. • ‘Exert a greater influence on other • It was noted by those who are people’s thinking.’ familiar with the Packtyping process and analysis that it was particularly unusual to have low numbers of Pointers or Sheepdogs within a police programme. Pointers (firmly in the facts and certainty quadrant of the grid) and Sheepdogs (located in the ‘results and action’ quadrant of the grid) are often used as the stereotype of policing which often emphasises both facts and certainty, and results and action.
2 Using the profiles from the group the following can be summarised Example about the particular cohort in relation to the MutualGain A playful example of the Retriever being supported to let go, with a view programme: to doing the right thing, was found in the delivery of the programme. Unsure of the potential of participatory budgeting the leader let go 1. Retrievers: MutualGain adopts of skepticism and focused on the strengths of a Retriever to develop an asset based approach to ethical and sincere long term relationships. community engagement and encourages statutory agencies to utilise methods and techniques that enable the community and His playfulness and commitment to do the right thing meant that with the help agencies to convert negative of his team (comprised of a mix of Coach, Hound and Guard dog) they now social norms into positive ones, had a new productive relationship with what was previously seen as a hard to through the building of social reach group capital. 2. MutualGain believe that an The balance in the team meant that the Retriever/Coach dogs who like to increase in social capital is the take things one step at a time were encouraged and supported by the Guard right thing to do in public service dog need for results and fast progress. The quick learning from engagement provision. Having a cohort with activity meant that the guard dogs were more open to support the Retriever/ a high level of Retriever types Coach dogs willingness to take a slower approach to participatory budgeting, means that this philosophy and which was largely led by the local authority. approach was seen by many as the ‘right thing to do’ and therefore secured much support from the group. Coachdogs: Being ‘kind, considerate and caring’ is an essential characteristic of organisations seeking to protect the vulnerable in 3. It was considered to have an society. Having a cohort of people with this in their profile did, therefore, ethical and sincere purpose mean that there was a lot of peer support and encouragement especially that would develop long-term at times when things felt tough. From a community engagement relationships of trust – the strengths of Retrievers. However, and social capital perspective, it is important to have coach dogs in the Retrievers are often challenged team, as one of their strengths is to encourage and empower people by change and can find it difficult – a key feature of facilitating increased social capital. They can be to let go. Letting go is essential in sensitive to the moods of others and are patient by nature – a good taking forward new techniques, quality to display when working with communities who have never which support more effective engaged before and who might be discovering how they want to engage community engagement and in their community. However, they can be stubborn in defense of therefore, sometimes resulted in their views. the group wanting to be sure that they were doing things properly prior to experimentation, play and letting go.
3 Both teams had participants with In a position of power over other We have seen in the programme strong Coachdog tendencies, and team members this proved that playful reflection can lead to both profiles had second dominant challenging for Coachdogs at effective action. feature as a Retriever, which meant times, who felt strongly that the the individuals, had a strong, team should be empowered. The MutualGain programme and principled element to the team to Sensitive to the mood of others, Packtyping philosophy together do the right thing and wanted to the Coachdogs were concerned encourage constructive play, empower others to do the same. that shared decisions had been and enable the growling of the overruled and they picked up on packs to be de-personalised so In one area the team had a the feelings of frustration in the that communities become the senior manager profiled as a group. But Coachdogs don’t pack leaders! Hound/Terrier. The Hound is deal with conflict easily and find characterised by its ability to sniff confrontation difficult, which led to out opportunities and develop new a conflict between the need to talk ideas, and the Terrier likes to solve about issues, and a concern that it practical problems through hard may come out in a noncaring way. work and tenacity – good strengths to have in any team. Whilst there were moments of conflict and disappointment within In their enthusiasm and optimism the team, the Coachdog prevalence the Hound can often forget to meant that the team retained a communicate effectively and strong, supportive approach to ignore things they aren’t interested each other. As with any large team, in. This, coupled with the Terrier the dynamic fluctuates and the tendency to feel like the world is ‘storming’ element can be more against them, and the tendency obvious through the sheer numbers to resist imposed change to their of people expressing their feelings. routine can prove problematic Having Coachdogs in a team of when they are under pressure to people working on community deliver on a range of programmes, empowerment is an essential and as a result, can’t always be ingredient for success – they are part of the ongoing dialogue and patient, supportive and caring as decision making. they and their peers experience and respond to new feelings.
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