FROM DIALOGUE TO SYNERGY: BUILDING COLLABORATIVE RELATIONSHIPS Janet Salmons, Ph.D.

Agenda 1 What is collaboration…online? 2 Some models to help us plan & organize collaborative projects 3 Trust and relationships: Role in successful collaborations 4 Questions and answers

What is collaboration? Collaboration is: "an interactive process that engages two or more participants who work together to achieve outcomes they could not accomplish independently."

Inter-Organizational & Intra-Organizational Collaboration Intra-Organizational Inter- Organizational May involve different disciplines and cultures, outside familiar norms and practices May involve different disciplines but occurs within familiar culture, norms and practices

Collaborating to Learn Knowledge creation Knowledge exchange Knowledge acquisition Share our thinking Think togethe r

Finding the right balance… OutcomesProcessRelationship

Taxonomy of Collaborative E-learning: Levels of Collaboration

Level of Collaboration 1: Dialogue  Participants exchange ideas to find shared purpose and coherence in the plans and/or tactics needed to coordinate their efforts.

Level of Collaboration 2: Peer Review  Participants exchange work for mutual critique through peer review and incorporate others' comments.

Level of Collaboration 3: Parallel  Participants each complete a component of the project. Elements are combined into a collective final product, or the process moves to another level of collaboration.

Level of Collaboration 4: Sequential  Participants build on each other's contributions through a series of progressive steps. Elements are combined into a collective final product, or the process moves to another level of collaboration.

Level of Collaboration 5: Synergistic  Participants think together to collaborate fully in creation of a product that meshes each one’s contributions into a whole.

Trust Continuum As collaboration increases, so does the need for trust. In collaborative efforts, trust is: "the confidence that a person is competent to reach a goal and is committed to reaching it." (Handy, 1995)

Building Trust and Respect Personal trust: trust collaborative partners; Strategic trust: trust leaders to set appropriate goals and make the right decisions about the collaboration; Organizational trust: trust that policies and processes are fair.

Trust-Building Loop Strategic or Organizational: Form expectations about collaboration based on reputation, past behavior or agreements Personal: Have enough trust to take the risk needed to initiate or move to next level of collaboration (Adapted from Huxham & Vangen, 2005)

Building Trust & Respect Through Dialogue  Listening and responding to each other;  Providing affirmative comments;  Including everyone;  Making decisions  Summarizing key points.  Listening and responding to each other;  Providing affirmative comments;  Including everyone;  Making decisions  Summarizing key points. Getting acquainted. Committing to common purpose. Organizing the project, establishing roles, norms and procedures. Speaking with a common language.

 Exchange work for mutual critique. Learning to Give and Receive Feedback through Online Peer Review Assess which elements to include in collaborative project– or which elements need revisions. Provide respectful, constructive criticism. Work within mutually acceptable boundaries and set criteria. Assess which elements to include in collaborative project– or which elements need revisions. Provide respectful, constructive criticism. Work within mutually acceptable boundaries and set criteria.

 Understand elements of the project.  Divide and allocate tasks.  Set timelines and standards.  Coordinate, communicate progress.  Develop mutual accountability; deal with underperforming team members and/or resolve conflicts  Edit, compile, assemble outcomes. Organizing the Project: Parallel or Sequential Collaboration

Connecting Arrows & Stars

 All steps described previously.  Practice participatory decision-making.  Balance individual interests with group purpose. Thinking & Creating Knowledge Together: Synergistic Collaboration

Organizing for Successful Collaboration Inter- or Intra- Organizational participants? 1 Learning goals? 2 Priorities for process, relationships or outcomes? 3

Organizing for Successful Collaboration What trust- building is needed? 4 How best to organize the collaboration? 5 How can we work toward synergy? 6

Next steps? How can you apply these ideas to improve the collaborative process, build respectful relationships and accomplish your desired outcomes?