How to Make Collaboration Work: Powerful Ways to Build Consensus, Solve Problems, and Make Decisions - Softcover

Straus, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1576751287 ISBN 13: 9781576751282

Verlag: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2002

Inhaltsangabe

Every day we work with others to solve problems and make decisions, but the experience is often stressful, frustrating, and inefficient. In How to Make Collaboration Work, David Straus, a pioneer in the field of group problem solving, introduces five principles of collaboration that have been proven successful time and again in nearly every conceivable setting.
Straus draws on his thirty years of personal and professional experience to show how these principles have been applied by organizations as diverse as Ford Motor Company, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston Public Schools, Kaiser Permanente, the city of Denver, and many others.
How to Make Collaboration Work shows how collaboration can become a joy rather than a chore-a kind of chemical reaction that releases far more energy than it consumes.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

David Straus founded Interaction Associates in 1969. Over the years, he has served in every major leadership position in the company, including president, CEO, and chairman of the board. Under his guidance, Interaction Associates has become a recognized leader in organizational development, group process facilitation, training, and consulting.
Mr. Straus guided the development of Interaction Associates’ consulting practice and training programs. He was also responsible for major change efforts in a variety of organizations, including the health care and service industries. He has worked with social action partnerships in Newark, New Jersey, and Palm Beach County, Florida, as well.
Mr. Straus earned a Bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a Master’s degree in architecture from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. With grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and the Carnegie Corporation, he conducted re- search in creativity and developed training programs in problem solving. Mr. Straus also coauthored the bestseller How to Make Meetings Work (Jove Books, 1976).
David Straus lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with his wife, Patricia. They have two daughters, Sara Landis and Rebecca Straus.

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The Power of Collaborative Action

People in nearly every occupation and every walk of life have to work and make decisions collaboratively. Collaboration is required at every level of every organization—be it a corporation, small business, nonprofit organization, educational institution, government agency, or legislative body. And collaboration takes place not only within these organizations, but also between and among them. Collaborative action is required, for example, when:


a senior management team needs to figure out how to cut expenses by 15 percent;
an organization wants to define its purpose and vision, or develop a strategic plan;
a team in an advertising agency needs to design a new ad campaign;
administrative staffers have to make logistical arrangements for an important company retreat;
a group of teachers must jointly develop a new curriculum;
nonprofit advocacy groups want to form a coalition to lobby for a particular issue;2
a number of social service agencies must determine how to coordinate their services;
a government agency needs to update its policy for regulating a toxic pollutant;
or a couple decides they want to build a new house.
The list could go on and on. These and so many other activities require collaboration. They require people to work together to plan, solve problems, and/or make decisions before action can be taken.

You undoubtedly collaborate all the time—primarily at work, but also at home, in your volunteer activities, at your child’s school. You may not think of what you are doing as collaboration, but if you have to get the support and agreement of others before you can take action of some kind, then you are collaborating.

Even in those cases in which you supposedly have the power to act unilaterally—in which you can simply make a decision and then act on it—you probably know that you still have to work collaboratively. Perhaps you need to collaborate because, for example, too many people have the power to block the implementation of your decision or solution. Perhaps power has become spread out (or lateralized). Or, the potential costs of acting unilaterally may be too high. You could force a decision, but you would meet with so much resistance and create so much ill will that you would erode your base of support. Perhaps your colleagues, employees, or constituents simply expect or demand that you act more inclusively and collaboratively. Or, maybe you don’t have the skills or knowledge to make the decision or solve the problem by yourself. You may need to include and cooperate with others in order to make the best decision possible.

Whatever the situation, it’s quite clear that we all have to work collaboratively with others.

But let’s face it, our experience in trying to reach agreement with others is often unpleasant. We don’t enjoy it at all. It’s hard. Our 3 efforts often seem ineffective. Collaboration typically involves meetings, and no one likes meetings. We make jokes about how “a camel is a horse designed by a committee.” We are cynical when we hear that a politician has appointed a fifty-person “blue-ribbon panel” to develop consensus recommendations, because we assume either that it’s a stalling tactic or that the panel is stacked with people who share the politician’s point of view. After all, how could fifty people with diverging opinions possibly reach consensus?

The problems that can arise in a meeting in which collaboration is supposed to take place are numerous and familiar. People may talk over each other or interrupt each other. Certain individuals—by virtue of their positions or their personalities—may dominate or manipulate the conversation. Participants may be unable to stay focused on one topic at a time. The conversation may veer all over the place, causing people to become exasperated. Perhaps there’s no clear picture of what the group’s goal is, or how the group is going to get there. Or participants may realize, midway through a discussion, that some key people are missing—that whatever they decide could be “shot down” by someone outside the process. These examples of meeting problems are magnified when a collaborative effort involves large numbers of people and multiple meetings over time.

The fact is, however, there’s nothing inherently unpleasant about collaboration. Working together to solve a problem, envision a future, or make a decision can actually be an enjoyable and even energizing experience.

I don’t make that statement lightly. I base it on thirty years of trial-and-error experience in the field of collaborative problem solving.

My colleagues and clients and I have proven, time and time again, that collaborative action can be a powerful experience. A well-managed collaborative effort is like a chemical reaction that creates far more energy than it consumes. It makes you feel energized, not drained. We call this phenomenon the Interaction Effect. When a group is in alignment about its direction (where it is 4 trying to go), its commitment (the will it possesses to get there), and its capability (the skills and knowledge it has to complete its journey), there is a release of energy. Not only are team members energized by the process, but so is the surrounding organization or community. It’s this energy that fuels an extended collaborative effort and keeps it going during rough times.

Even more important, collaboration works. If you understand how problem solving works and adhere to a few basic principles, it is possible to make decisions and develop solutions that everyone can support. Through collaborative action, you can produce higher-quality ideas and solutions than you can if you work by yourself. People who are affected by a potential decision, have relevant information and skills, or have the power to block a decision are more likely to support that decision if they have had a hand in making it.

Furthermore, I believe that stakeholder voice is a basic right of individuals in healthy workplaces and democratic societies. Collaborative action is a natural outgrowth of this right and a demonstration of respect for human dignity.

So, why is it that this potentially energizing experience is so unpleasant for so many people?

In short, because most people don’t know how to collaborate effectively. Collaboration needs to be learned. It’s an art, really, that is based on a few powerful principles. But most people aren’t familiar with those principles. They’ve never been taught them.

Think back to your early education. If it was anything like mine, you were taught in school to value and strive for individual success. You studied, took tests, gave presentations, and were graded and given awards individually. Group work was neither measured nor rewarded. Team sports may have provided some antidote to all of this “I” focus, but, even there, weren’t you mostly encouraged to develop individual prowess for the sake of the team? That’s not the same as solving problems or making decisions collaboratively, which is what’s demanded of us in today’s workplaces and communities. 5

Another reason we don’t know how to collaborate is that our schools focused (and still do focus) on teaching us content, not process. In school, we were taught what to learn—what facts and formulas to memorize—but we were rarely taught how to learn. Likewise, we were given problems to work out, and we were eventually given the answers to those problems, but we were seldom taught explicitly how to solve the problems—what mental or physical processes to use. And since we didn’t learn how to solve problems...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2002
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1576751287
• ISBN 13: 9781576751282
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 272
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: eucomply OÜ; hello@eucompliancepartner.com; ; Pärnu mnt 139b-14; Tallinn; 11317; Estland