By Laura Peck, Claros Group June 24, 2008 Building the Capacity for Effective Collaboration

2 Who’s here: our useful diversity What you told me you wanted to know Depth/Breadth Self-care/ Misery is optional Can follow up over lunch/ Look for practical applications Welcome & Orientation

3 An overarching framework: Plan, Act, Reflect Get Clear: context, outcomes & intention Get Moving: Organizing for Success Get Results: Building Effective Collaborations Reflection Workshop Overview

4 Questions, we have questions... dealing with difficult personalities creating shared accountability for budget and reporting requirements. When organizations have different cultures Making progress with phone meetings How do we unify around a common goal Sustaining commitment over time and transitions in leadership and membership Does partnership mean equal contribution? What you Told me...

5 Planning Action ReflectionPlanning The work of an organization is always iterative. Planning sets the context for Action which is then the source of data for Reflection to guide further Planning.

6 One has more leverage for successful engagement prior to the first convening. Temporary groups need to invest in the hard work of formation: getting clear on goals and roles, resources and authority. Harnessing collective intelligence requires gathering and honoring and drawing on diverse perspectives. The perception of fair (and transparent) process is more important than a compromise that avoids conflict. Working Assumptions

7 Map the context Start with the end in mind! A useful model Clarify your own role Get Clear Before You Get Moving

8 Begin by developing your story why this, why now: what has led to this opportunity, what is at stake? what is possible if we are successful? Identify stakeholders: what concerns are central to them? what resources can they bring? (political, financial, human) Map their relationships: to the focal work of the collaboration to each other Where do you and your organization fit? What are your concerns? What resources can you bring? Who are your allies? Map the Context

9 Start with the end in mind Goals Roles Processes Interpersonal Dynamics

10 Get clear: who owns what decisions & how will you make them Tell/Sell: Leader decides and offers information about how decision was made and the need to implement it. Consult: Leader may propose a decision and invite feedback or solicit solutions and make the final call. Majority Vote Delegate: Leader may delegate authority to make decision to the group or an individual. Consensus: Leader set constraints; all develop solutions and decide by consensus.

11 Considering One’s Role: Domains of Being and Doing The Domain of BeingThe Domain of Doing Requires a conversation with Yourself: What is my intention (e.g. to look good, to contribute, to stay below the radar) How do I show up? (for me, for my organization, for the whole? What specific behaviors will I bring forward and what will I hold back to support these intentions? Requires a conversation with others: What are the needed outcomes? What are the resources & constraints? What organizing methods will serve the desired outcomes? What other roles are required? How will we communicate and coordinate our efforts?

12 Assess readiness and resistance Determine who needs to be at the table Extend the right invitation Get Moving

13 Assessing Readiness: D X V X F > R Dissatisfaction (D) with things as they are - the reasons we need a change* A Vision (V) of what is possible - a positive picture of the future* First Steps (F) toward reaching the vision-worthwhile actions to begin the change* Resistance (R) is natural and must be overcome to move toward the new *Each of the elements must be present. If any of the elements = zero, the resistance will not be overcome.

14 Inclusion Checklist ParticipantsInvitedParticipatingOther forms of input Who needs to make the final decision? Who needs to implement it? Whom will the decision affect? Who may have useful information or ideas? Who else might we ask for helpful perspectives?

15 Design an architecture for Effective Collaboration –Healthy Start(s): context, clarity & connection –Messy Middles: Navigating the Groan Zone: feedback loops –The work of endings Get Results

16  Create hospitable space  Visual orientation  Welcome people  Set context and orient to the flow of the session  Surface useful diversity  Use check-in question if appropriate  Offer useful practices  Provide clear instructions What if you thought of yourself as a “host”? Opening a Meeting

17 Useful Practices for Productive Deliberations Listen for understanding Share your line of reasoning & inquire into that of others Defer judgment; cultivate curiosity. When you disagree, get curious Be willing to shift perspectives When you speak, be concise and avoid repeating. Misery is optional

18 THE DYNAMICS OF GROUP DECISION MAKING Adapted from Sam Kaner √ Decision Point TIME CONVERGENT ZONE DIVERGENT ZONE NEW TOPIC CLOSURE ZONE Groan Zone

19 Discussions that result in sustainable agreements require time spent in each of the 3 zones Divergent thinking requires the group to suspend judgment, supporting multiple perspectives. In the Groan Zone members of the group experience a period of confusion and frustration - a natural part of group decision-making. Struggling to understand a wide range of foreign or opposing ideas is not a pleasant experience. Using the Groan Zone to create shared context (exploring others ’ perspectives, backing up from solutions to needs) and strengthen relationships (getting to know one another, giving and receiving feedback) allows a group to move to convergent thinking. In the Convergent Zone a facilitator works with the group to build inclusive alternatives and synthesize them into a solution which offers the opportunity for closure – a decision to which the group is committed.

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21 Learning from experience Meeting evaluations Progress updates Process check ins Staying connected to others Between meetings To sponsors To critical stakeholders Feedback loops

22 Celebration Acknowledgments Reflection Clean up The Work of Endings

23 Laura Peck 969 Kains Ave. Albany, CA Tel: Fax: Claros Group

24 Describe a time when you were part of a powerful and productive collaboration, a situation that brought out the best in all involved and made a difference in the world. What was going on? What made it so powerful? Who else was involved? Were there some “significant others”? Why were they significant? What was your unique contribution? What conditions supported your and others doing great work? Learning from Success

25 Set the context Create hospitable space Explore questions that matter Encourage everyone’s contribution Cross-pollinate & connect diverse perspectives Listen together for patterns, insights, and deeper questions Harvest and share collective discoveries Design Principles

26 After Action Review

27 AAR: Questions to Ask

28 Individual Practice: Being & Doing Curious, listening, inquiring Disciplined cultivation of inner stability & spaciousness Relational Field: Convening & Hosting Framing strategic questions Engaging diverse perspectives Creating and holding hospitable space Dimensions of Conversational Leadership

29 Organizational Context; connecting & sustaining inquiry & learning –Social architecture: how we meet, share information, make decisions –Methods, tools, technology –Space/place: the built environment World as Café: the living web of connections, conversations & relationships Dimensions of Conversational Leadership

30 Discussions that open new possibilities, build on new information, and result in sustainable agreements require time spent in each of the 3 zones – Divergent, Groan Zone and Convergent. Sometimes a group will go through all three zones in one meeting, and sometimes it takes several meetings to converge on a decision