How to get the most from your collaborations
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The document provides a comprehensive guide on maximizing collaboration, emphasizing the importance of meaningful partnerships that involve complementary strengths, trust, and shared goals. It outlines key elements for successful collaboration, including stakeholder involvement, consensus-building, and effective facilitation, while distinguishing between in-person and online collaboration dynamics. The document also shares examples of successful collaborative initiatives, highlighting effective practices and common challenges faced in maintaining engagement and sustainability.
How to get the most from your collaborations
- 1. 1How to get the most from your collaborations!!Collaboration on CollaborationApril 21 , 20101
- 2. 2Agenda2
- 3. 3Making collaboration workCollaborative approaches offer an array of choices and complex trade-offsHow do you get started?What and where do you begin?3
- 4. 4Collaboration—it’s partnershipIf it’s easy To connectOpen up People become comfortable sharing knowledge. Frequent interaction builds community, trust and self-policing norms4
- 5. 5Collaboration? Good IngredientsMeaningful partnerships (aka collaborations) include the following factorsComplementary Strengths Common Mission ReciprocityFairness, Trust, Acceptance, Communicating, Unselfishness, and Forgiveness.--The Power of 2 by Rodd Wagner and Gale Muller (2009)AND each partner felt the significance of these factors “very strongly”5
- 6. 6Consider your goalsGoals Foster Expectations
- 7. Fuel individuals’ incentives to participate.6
- 8. 7Objectives, objectives and objectivesOBJECTIVESWhy are you looking to collaborate? What you are trying to do? (Choice of tool and platform always 2nd) With WHOM are you planning to collaborate? WHAT is your objective? How focused a task?WHEN is there an expected or anticipated deliverable? WHY are you collaborating? If there's no Trust, mutual intersection of interests, common purpose, mission , complement of strengths…think through your proposition again. HOW--this is where roles and timing matterWHERE--should obviously afford convenient access and be compatible with users’ platforms (Mobile or desktop? Do you need voice capability, text or both?)7
- 9. 8Your turn“If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.” George Bernard ShawTell us Who you are? What about Collaboration brought you here tonight?AND What collaboration(s) are you presently engaged in, or would like to create?8
- 11. 10Individual skills for collaborationTeams/ multipleKnow and enforce team basicsHave a shared goalA common way of working and a commitment to check on how it’s workingThe right number of people (7-12)The right mix of skillsAttitudeValue the other people’s contributionsAn interest in the others’ success, beyond the team goalSkillsFacilitating discussionProject managementBilateral Know and have prerequisitesHave a shared goalAttitudesValue the other person’s contributionAn interest in the other person’s successSkillsListeningCommunicating, frequently, clearly, openly and conciselyGive reasons behind your thinkingBe patient and persistentAcknowledge upcoming problemsProject management (mini)
- 12. 11Key rules for successful collaborationInvolve the relevant stakeholdersBuild consensus phase by phase Have a facilitator focused on the problem-solving processHave a process mapHarness the power of group memoryFrom: How to Make Collaboration Work (by David Straus)
- 13. 12Invite the relevant stakeholdersBetter solutions due to cognitive diversityMore commitment to the results, because we were part of creating themDiverse perspectives and expertise
- 14. 13Build consensus phase by phaseWhole group has to stay focused and in the same phase of problem solvingSource: How to Make Collaboration Work, David Straus
- 15. 14Have a facilitatorFacilitator is:A process guideA tool giverA neutral third (or nth) partyA process educatorPhoto by MikeBlogs, flickrSource: How to Make Collaboration Work, David Straus
- 16. 15Planning a detailed (but flexible) agendaExampleFacilitator may need to deviate from this !!
- 17. 16A sample process map for a problem-solving processFrom: How to Make Collaboration Work (by David Straus)
- 18. 17Good bilateral relationships make collaborations stronger
- 20. 19What makes online different?Synchronicity NOT required. You can cast your net for collaborators widelySuccessful application of In-person Principles will yield success when adapted to the environment19
- 21. 20Understanding comes from explorationToday’s integrated solutions – can greatly enhance online collaboration.Avoid issues –select your goal and then decide on your tools. Pick the functionality that best meets your sharing needs.Checklist of considerations to simplify tool selection, which do you need?Document management
- 23. Email capabilities--tracking/sending of automatic notification
- 25. Outlook synchronization to tasks and/or calendar, desktop and/or mobile
- 26. Online Databases
- 28. Asynchronous Collaboration: Possibilities and Choices21Relationship BuildingOPEN, Eco-System RecombinantProblem-SolvingOpportunityFindingDemocratizedCrowd SourcingPersonal ExpressionAdapted from Amy Shuen Web2.0 Strategy Guide
- 29. 2222Successful online communities have people playing multiple roles.FocusIn addition, Decision Maker acts across all times and fociAdapted from Susan Fournier and Lara Lee,
- 30. 23Community owners can use tactics that drive participationTalk to influentials more, others less. Increase the number of interactions. Solicit opinions people with vested interests create a challenge to overcome, Create a poll, allow people to vote. Remove unused features. Mention names more often. Arrange time-specific activities. Advertise for a volunteer helper.Ideas quoted directly from FeverBee – by Richard Millington
- 31. 24Good topics to drive participation focus on the members as peopleAsk them generically about themselves. Ask about likes/dislikes. Get people to agree/re-affirmation their beliefs. Discuss seasonal stories.Anxieties. Ask for advice. Breaking news/gossip. Reminisce. Aspirations. Treat members like people !!!Suggested in FeverBee by Richard Millington24
- 32. 25Some successful examples of collaborations25
- 33. 26Success online: SIKM Leaders CommunityThe benefits of being more inclusive have been many, including a wider range of presenters on the monthly calls, participants in the online discussions, experiences and perspectives. Stan Garfield SIKM Leaders Community launched by in July 2005, Key Objective: Knowledge sharing among KM leaders at consulting and systems integration firms, hence the title of SIKM. Organizing Principles: Anyone who is part of KM initiative can join.Threaded discussion hosted on Yahoo groups, Stan serves as founder, administrator. He coordinates the monthly topic/speaker and posts reminders for the upcoming call or any event.Collaboration occurs both through threaded discussion, and a scheduled monthly conference call (posted on the group calendar with dial-in info); and attempt to meet in person annually.
- 34. 27Systems Integration and Consulting KM Leaders--SIKMShared Tools and ResourceThreaded Discussion PlatformTotal Cumulative Messages: 2269Average. Posts/Month:2005: 32009: 49 427 MembersFounded: July 2005Stan: creator, coordinator, administrator, Collaborator27
- 35. 28SIKM –Why it worksLong sharing of common interests has evolved to create collective user value.Personalities emerge over time and familiarity is created beyond the posted reference name through monthly conference calls, Annual face-to-face fosters community building through extended sharing and interaction. The industry arc allows people to reach beyond their internal organization boundaries to tap best practices, vetted resources and contacts and fosters professional development growth and reputation. Materials readily available for those to review at their convenience. People can stay abreast of changes in the discussion or listen to missed calls and review slides from missed presentations. 28
- 36. 29SIKM—ongoing challengesAs with any “led” initiative, the assumption of responsibility and ongoing presence of the founder, organizer in the role of administrator places some doubt for its ongoing sustaining power if he were to step back or away. Fresh material and presenters given the growing archive. Keep it interesting not redundant. The actual alteration in the KM discipline and its rise and fall as a presence in corporate and consulting life…people take on different tasks unrelated to KM and fall away. 29
- 37. 30Polymath is an online math problem solving network
- 40. 33SAP’s business and vision drives community efforts
- 41. 34SAP sponsors multiple communities
- 42. 35SAP gets strong results from simple technology
- 43. 36Some collaborations with challenges36
- 44. 37Civic Connect is project of Civic Consulting Alliance
- 45. 38CCA wanted to capitalize on its alumni and friendsNetwork of alumni and friendsConsultants and other professionals energized about the organizationHave full-time jobs with intermittent opportunities (e.g., week between projects)Extremely well-connectedPart of large offices with other professionals in ChicagoMembers of large multi-national firmsExisting mechanisms5th Thursday cocktail parties (2-4 x per year)E-newsletter (about 800)LinkedIn group (about 150)
- 46. 39Solution advancing and conversation process
- 47. 40The pilot had some challenges, which we are fixing
- 49. 42Online discussions challengesStrategic Management Practices Issues GroupMeets monthly face to face in a facilitated discussion on articles selected and posted in advance.Online Discussion capability added to Linked-IN to extend and promote the F2F discussionsNo conversation emerging online42
- 50. Presenter informationRachel Kaberon847-687-8480rkaberon@arkaysolutionsllc.comDavid Friedman312-863-3489David.friedman@bridgewellpartners.com
Editor's Notes
- #22: Open, Eco-systemEngagement dependent on preservation of the common distribution—LINUX, WikipediaSharing is deliberative, individual knowledge and skills transferredRecombinantBridges distinct worlds –Value generated is collective---cross fertilization to create new ideas impossible without othersCrowd SourcingFocal point for problem solvingKnowledge production or idea sharing accelerated at low or no costDemocratizedSharing among “friends”—users afforded personal expression total autonomyIndividuals free to express their own vision , no response required
- #29: Threaded discussion really began to take off when the basis of the bond was deeply tapped…in their case a participant called for suggestions as they were proposing an internal KM resource bank.