Email signatures can give great insight into personalities and preferences. Quotes and titles in those last few lines may tell us what the sender values, while highlighting mobile numbers or social media handles invite us to keep in touch. Some of them can be bold marketing statements, while others are whispered inspirations, but in either case they are intentional, even if we do not pay them much attention. I once added a line to my email signature, “nimble is the new Black” - and while that may be taken a couple different ways (intentionally), for those who know me it is both personally relevant and something to which I subscribe. From a clothing perspective black is a staple, an essential for key pieces in every wardrobe. Other colors are dubbed “the new black” from time to time, but in the end Black is foundational (more intention). In management and leadership development we prepare learners for various real-world work scenarios, with topics ranging from self and situational-awareness, capacity assessment, and communication skills to market analysis and partnership development. And while these areas call for some mental agility, it is clear that this last foundational competency - partnership development - calls or more than just smarts, but nimbleness.

Nimble in the context of partnership development means being able to rapidly identify opportunities to create collaborations that impact a particular engagement. We are at an inflection point socio-politically in the United States, and some would say globally, where we need to take nimbleness a step further, particularly in the health and social impact sectors. In these spaces, being nimble in partnership development has to mean being deliberately diverse in the sectors from which choose our partners. This may not be intuitive to everyone, but with some practice, it is a skill that can be built, and there are three things we can cultivate in ourselves (and our institutions) to make us truly nimble as leaders; effective listening; learning from multiple diverse sources; and being patient.

To understand the power of effective listening it can help to consider how often you find yourself in a discussion where you are listening to respond with an add-on or counter-point, rather than listening to “play it back” to make sure you really processed what was being said. By doing this, not only will you iron-out misunderstandings, but you will demonstrate your desire to truly digest what is being said. Offering “playback” is not to simply repeat what was said, but to give your understanding of it, so your collaborator has the chance to help you grasp all they are saying. This is a very useful step to take before diving into your response as it gives you time to formulate better questions and feedback. Most of us think we are better listeners than we really are, so doing this can be a bit of a test, but definitely one worth trying.

The next thing we can do to be nimble in leadership is to embrace learning from different experiences and sources, and bringing those lessons with us into spaces where we might not usually deploy them. In health and other sectors like education, housing, and community development, there are often connections to other sectors. Unfortunately, silos in funding, credentialing, institutional-alignment, and historical practices perpetuate thinking and operating in ways that do not promote the acceptance of inputs from “outside”. We see this frequently in public health practice, and being at this post-2020 inflection point, we have a duty to deliberately do differently. The speed of our cross-sector alignment is proportional to our willingness to drop our fear of not knowing everything, also known as “fonke” (my term). “Fonke” is a paralysing phenomenon that prevents some of us from wanting to talk to anyone outside of our sector. It is often borne out of fear of not understanding what “those people” will be talking about. Having witnessed this in the technology and housing sectors, it is regrettably understandable. An exercise worth trying here is to think about a problem you are tasked with from the perspective of an activity you enjoy, for example, cooking. Creating a meal can be quite adventurous , using different spices, techniques, and devices for different dishes. What would it look like to think of your partners as complimenting each other just as certain herbs and culinary methods do? What new twist can you bring to the collaboration that makes it different, and adds value?

The last piece of this nimble leadership puzzle is the practice of patience, patience with both people and processes. Like listening, this can be a pain-point for many of us, and how we address it makes all the difference. Try thinking of patience as a mental muscle, one that needs to be exercised regularly in order for us to strengthen it. Mindfulness meditation is something that has become quite popular over the last few years. And while it is not all about patience, the cornerstone of the practice involves “connecting with your breath”, so in many ways it builds patience. But if this is not a process you want to incorporate into your daily routine (even though it is highly advisable), there are other ways to build patience. One of those is spending time talking to people in your network about things they set out to do that they were not successful in when they first tried it. Ask them how they felt, what made them go back to it, and how they got themselves through the process. For many of them (admittedly not all), you will hear them explain how they had to “slow down” or “let it breathe”. They did not stop their pursuit, they chilled the process, and in so doing they reduced the inflammation that was causing them anxiety and failure.

Becoming a nimble leader is a process, and much like the problems it helps us address, it is complicated, but it can be broken-down into components. These elements make us more capable, and less fearful at the junction of multiple sectors, a busy intersection where health and social impact operators have to harness the energy of traffic coming at them from many directions. Being a nimble leader is not to be one who rushes, but to be one who is capable of using their skills to quickly create collaborations capable of impactful change. At the end of the day, that’s why we are engaged in the work we do, to serve, grow, and facilitate change. Being nimble lets us do all of that, it looks good on everyone, which is why it truly is “the new Black”.