Avanti Top Team Partnership
Two banks, one span: the partnership at the top, built and kept in repair together.
The Bridge
Two banks, one span: each side stands on its own bank with its own role, and the partnership is the bridge they build and keep in good repair together.
- Each pier is one partnership element and rises to the whole partnership's reading, out of 10; the deck is a fully sound partnership, and the dotted gap is room to build
- A red pier is a signature strength
- An ink pier is established
- A sand pier is a growing edge
- Political and governance side
- Executive side
- The sample participant's own view
Drawn with made-up sample data.
The figures in this picture
| Partnership element | Whole partnership | Band | Political and governance side | Executive side | Between the sides | Your view |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One Agenda | 8.1 | Signature strength | 9.0 | 7.3 | A notable gap | 9.0 |
| Clear Roles | 6.2 | Established | 6.1 | 6.2 | Closely aligned | 5.7 |
| Mutual Trust | 6.1 | Established | 7.2 | 5.2 | A notable gap | 7.2 |
| Candid Advice | 6.3 | Established | 7.3 | 5.4 | A notable gap | 7.7 |
| Good Decisions | 4.7 | Growing edge | 5.3 | 4.2 | A gap worth naming | 5.7 |
| Under Pressure | 5.3 | Established | 5.4 | 5.2 | Closely aligned | 5.2 |
| One Face Outward | 5.9 | Established | 5.3 | 6.4 | A gap worth naming | 5.8 |
| Learning Together | 4.3 | Growing edge | 4.4 | 4.3 | Closely aligned | 4.7 |
What It Explores
A strengths-based partnership survey in which both the political or governance side and the executive side read how well their partnership works, so they can see the bridge between them clearly and strengthen it together.
At the top of every public body there is a partnership. In a council it is the leader and cabinet working with the chief executive and corporate directors. In a health board, housing association or charity it is the chair and board working with the executive team. In government it is ministers working with senior civil servants. Each side has a different role and a different accountability, and neither can succeed without the other. When the partnership works, the organisation has direction, energy and confidence. When it strains, everyone below feels it.
Avanti Top Team Partnership is a structured development tool that helps both sides of that partnership look at how well it works, together. Everyone on both sides rates 48 short statements about eight partnership elements: One Agenda, Clear Roles, Mutual Trust, Candid Advice, Good Decisions, Under Pressure, One Face Outward and Learning Together. The results show the whole partnership's reading, each side's reading and the gap between them, so both banks can see the bridge as the other sees it and agree how to strengthen it.
Why It Matters
- The relationship between the political or governance side and the executive side shapes everything, yet it is rarely looked at directly or together.
- Manifestos and corporate plans can drift apart, leaving staff unsure which priorities really count.
- Unwelcome advice can be softened or go unheard, and problems surface late and in public.
- Under pressure, partnerships can fracture just when the public most needs them to hold.
What You Receive
- A 48-item questionnaire completed confidentially by everyone on both sides of the partnership.
- An individual report for each person, setting their reading alongside the whole partnership's.
- A partnership report showing the whole partnership's reading, each side's reading and the gap between sides for every element.
- A shared partnership commitment with two or three elements to strengthen and practical changes on both sides.
- An optional repeat reading to see how the bridge has changed.
Feedback. A facilitated session to work through the results together is arranged with you. Talk to us
What People Take Away
- 1Name the eight elements of a strong top team partnership and what each looks like in practice.
- 2Recognise how your own reading compares with the whole partnership's and with each side's.
- 3Identify the elements of the partnership that already hold and can be built on.
- 4Explain why the two sides can see the same partnership differently, and what each gap reveals.
- 5Describe how the partnership at the top affects staff, partners and the communities you serve.
- 6Agree a shared partnership commitment for the year ahead.
- 7Choose practical actions you can take from your own bank to strengthen the bridge.
Who It Is For
- Council leaders, cabinets, chief executives and corporate directors
- Chairs, boards and executive teams in health, housing and the voluntary sector
- Ministers, ministerial teams and senior civil servants
- Police and crime commissioners, mayors and their senior officers
- New administrations and newly formed leadership partnerships
- Organisations undertaking governance review or improvement
When to Use It
After an election or a change of leadership
When a new administration, leader, chair, minister or chief executive arrives, reading the partnership early helps both sides agree the bridge they want to build.
During governance redesign
When structures, constitutions or ways of working are being reviewed, the instrument shows how the partnership actually works in practice, not only on paper.
After a difficult period
Following a crisis, critical inspection or period of strain, it offers a constructive, non-blaming way for both sides to look at what held and what needs repair.
Alongside improvement or intervention work
Where an organisation is working to improve its governance, it gives both sides a shared picture and a practical focus for development.
Checking progress
Repeated after a year, or after a significant change of people, it shows how the bridge has changed and whether the partnership's commitments are taking hold.
Our Approach in This Instrument
Top Team Partnership reads the bridge without judging either bank: every element starts from what already holds, a lower reading is a place to build together, and the gap between sides is treated as one of the most valuable contributions in the report. It keeps integrity, the public interest and the people and places the partnership serves at the centre.
Proper Use
This is a development instrument. It is not a clinical assessment and it is not designed or validated for selection, recruitment, promotion or performance management decisions. Scores describe perceptions at a point in time and are a starting point for conversation, not a verdict.