Stark County like most other initiatives and organizations has two major and often opposing forces which keep it going. These are structure and soul. In structure the diagram looks like Figure 1. In this diagram, which illustrates the traditional hierarchies which house most social service efforts, one experiences a central command and control approach. People who exist within this structure get several things out of it. These include internal stability and external reliability. Without this type of structure, employees often experience extreme chaos and confusion. This type of structure provides those associated with it a sense of safety and survival. Feeling safe allows individuals to continue to put energy into a collaborative effort. Figure 2 illustrates what happens when these formal systems build connections with each other.
Over the years the Family Council has recognized the
need to institutionalize this buy-in process. As a result,
the Council has instituted a formal transfer of corporate memory when administrative personnel are changed.
This consists of members of the Board of Trustees visiting newly appointed Executives to inform them of the vision
of the Family Council as well as commitments made by their predecessor. A set of written products describing
the corporate history of the Family Council are also made available to new participants. (Appendix Y) Initially, the Family Council provided a central forum for collaboration to occur which is depicted in Figure 3. In this diagram, each system stakeholder is able to participate within a central collaborative structure, creating a cross-system area in which agendas are shared.
In addition, Stark County also experiences soul through personal relationships and interconnectedness. This image is represented in the diagram labeled Figure 4. This is where the heart of the Stark County efforts lies and focuses around values and mission. Those attached to the soul side of the house get a strong sense of belonging and purpose. Energy and vision also fall out of this sense of mission and vision. It is because of soul that so many collaborative efforts continue despite how hard it is. It is also because of the interconnectedness that people will continue to try to build collaborative structures despite the amount of energy it takes. In the soul diagram, communication often happens in a more chaotic and random manner than in the collaborative efforts of formal systems. Figure 4 represents the ways that individuals experience a sense of community. Relationships become most important in this diagram.
In the past two years, Stark County has taken on more of a community centered approach (Figure 5). Stark County has realized that there is a role for both structure and soul in their efforts. The best intentioned guiding principles will do no good without an efficient way to operationalize those intentions. By the same token, an efficiency model which doesn't build on guiding principles is likely to delivery services which are not helpful, only cost effective. Building this type of blended balance takes place at all levels from executives to citizens. It represents a new type diagram pictured at the right which integrates the notion of guiding principles based on relationships with a business oriented structure. Participants in the Family Council structure anticipate that the additional emphasis on community will serve to change even more the way business gets done.