Collaboration Power Point

Discuss Power Point or ask questions about additional activities for the presentation here.

Collaboration in tough economic times.

We now live in tough economic times which could get significantly worse before they get better. In-spite of this, we are rich in resources and assets. We may be restricted from accessing some of these resources and assets; however, they are there plus there are many assets and resources that are not restricted or blocked. These are times when we need to work together to find and create solutions and improve the lives for everyone. These times provide opportunity for growth and success. Part of our challenge is to change the paradigm through which we look at our community and the world around us, and empower individuals, families and communities to change challenges to opportunities and opportunities to realized potential for everyone.

Cooperation/Coordination, an example

A good example of Cooperation/Coordination < http://www.collaboration.me.uk/WHAT_DOES_IT_ LOOK_LIKE.html> that I have experienced has been parenting classes. Many years ago, when I lived in Madison County , a number of community organizations where holding parenting classes. None were well attended and this, of course, did not help discussion and the important piece of learning from each other through participation. Each organization felt it important and each organization spent a lot of resources to make it happen. Through cooperation and coordination we were able to bring them all together and have as many as 50+ people participate, per class. The same thing happened here in Lewiston , the Community Alliance for Young Children was able to bring a number of different parenting classes under one umbrella in order to provide a much larger and better attended class and for some years, a much better resourced offering.

Common Ground

If it is important enough and people try hard enough, it is usually possible to put aside differences and find common ground. It does not matter if the differences are political, religious, racial gender or almost any other issue that can divide people, with enough motivation, some skill and sufficient effort, people from very different backgrounds, ideologies or points of view people can come together to get things done which are important to everyone. Almost anyone CAN collaborate.

A lifetime of good can be accomplished in areas where people agree, in spite of many significant differences.

For additional information visit Common Ground at the Collaboration website.

What is a community organizer and what makes him or her effective?

Most of the most effective community organizers over time and across the world have gone unnoticed and without acclaim. One exception was Gandhi; however even though we all know who Gandhi was, he absolutely understood his responsibilities and place in the process, as well as the importance of those around him and those he was serving.
Great community organizers are more often in the back ground and out of the limelight. They encourage and help others to step forward. They understand that concept of taking responsibility and giving credit, as Gahndi always did.
Community organizing is a team effort, without the team, there is nothing to organize. As with any great team, if something goes well, there are many people who deserve the accolades. I have seen fabulous things accomplished and while I may have played a small part, I have always appreciated and emphasized the efforts of others.
I remember being interviewed one time about the success of a community organization I was involved with. I was asked when the organization had come to belong to the community. The question astonished me because it had always belonged to the community. When ever I hear about a collaboration where one organization is "in charge" I know full well that while they may accomplish a few things and some may even be spectacular, they will accomplish little of significance that is lasting. A great community organizer makes a significant difference in the community and in the lives of the people of that community but is almost always in the quiet background. S/he will help the community and individuals to find strengths and common ground; while promoting others and helping to strengthen the community and her people in the process.

Short thought on famlies and communities

Any group of people, living or working together, as a family or
community, in order to maintain a reasonably healthy and efficient
relationship and achieve success, needs to share responsibility and be
accountable to one another. Independence is truly an illusion.
Interdependence is reality and to achieve a healthy balance without
co-dependence should be our goal.

A CLUE FROM GANDHI

A CLUE FROM GANDHI
by Keshavin Nair

We live in a society that emphasizes rights; the majority, minorities, employers, employees, victims, and criminals all remind us of their rights. Indeed, central to the social, political, and legal fabric of the United States is the Bill of Rights. The codification into law of fundamental human rights is an essential safeguard against the corrupting influences of power and human weakness as manifested in bigotry and prejudice. However, focusing on rights as the basis of conduct and policy is to create a society that is driven by advocacy, leading to a loss of community and reducing the motivation to work for the common good.

Perhaps we can learn from the philosophy of one of the world's greatest teachers of all time. Gandhi's life and teachings represent a different point of view - a focus on responsibilities, not rights. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is best known for leading hundreds of millions of his countrymen in India to independence from one of the greatest empires in history without the use of violence. A new generation of people around the world learned about his life of service, founded on truth and nonviolence, from the Academy Award winning movie bearing his name.

Gandhi spent more than 50 years in active public service and understood the need for legal safeguards to protect fundamental rights. However, he believed that a commitment to personal responsibility, not insistence on rights, should govern conduct and social policy.

H.G. Wells once asked for Gandhi's views on a document Wells had co-authored entitled ARights of Man. Gandhi did not agree with the documents emphasis on rights. He responded with a cable that said, I suggest the right way. “Begin with a charter of Duties of Man and I promise the rights will follow as spring follows winter.”

Gandhi asked us to remember that if our rights are inalienable, our responsibility is indisputable - given to us by every religion and culture - to treat others as ourselves. He focused on this most fundamental of human responsibilities. If we keep it as our ideal and try to move toward it, we reduce the emphasis on rights and bring personal responsibility to a higher level in guiding our thoughts and actions. In both the political and business arenas, commitment to responsibilities impacts individuals and groups to look for ways to produce benefits for all.


Leadership by Example

We are moving toward a knowledge-based society. In business, the importance of hierarchy is diminishing and there is interaction among all levels in a corporation. In this environment, leadership by example will have to become the dominant mode. It is based on the premise that the leader recognizes and meets his or her responsibilities.

Gandhi always led by example - everything he asked others to do, he did himself. Gandhi did not ask others to give up the practice of discrimination until he himself had lived among those that were discriminated against.

His commitment was to serve the poor and downtrodden - they were his customers. He walked among them, talked with them, understood their needs, lived among them, and ministered to them. His personal commitment was an example to others.

For a business to demonstrate a personal commitment to the customer. Interacting with clients, listening to their concerns, and making decisions based on their desires are some of the manifestations of leadership by example in a customer-focused company. Whether the goal is customer focus, cost reduction, or operational excellence, and regardless of your position - CEO, department head, or first-level supervisor - the principle remains the same: Meet your responsibilities before you ask others to meet theirs.

When leaders set an example, they inspire all of us to live up to our individual duties. The need for supervision is lessened, and there is greater efficiency and productivity.


Changing Roles

The central relationship between the corporation and the employee is employment. Historically, it was the obligation to the employer to offer long-term employment, and in return, the employee demonstrated loyalty. Recently this symmetry has been destroyed. The rates of change in technology, markets, consumer preferences, and geopolitical forces make it almost impossible for the corporation to meet long-term employment commitments. This can result in employee alienation, diminished loyalty and commitment, and lack of performance. Both the corporation and the employee should look toward creating a new set of responsibilities that fit the new environment. Insisting on old rights will only lead to increased alienation.

Corporate leaders have the responsibility to provide, based on their best judgement, truthful information about the future and the range of employment opportunities that are likely to exist. Employees should be given the chance to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to prepare for these opportunities. It is their responsibility to offer value to their employer by learning new skills and taking advantage of new opportunities.

We observe this happening in a variety of businesses. Global companies like GE and Coca-Cola provide opportunities for cross-functional and rotational assignments, giving employees the chance to move to where the work might be in the future. In a technology-driven company like Intel, the CEO has stated his responsibility, offering employees the training and education to be prepared for future job openings.

For the corporation to say to the employees, Amanage your own career, without providing training, or for the employee to demand long-term employment without taking the trouble to acquire knowledge, is to insist on rights without meeting responsibilities. Both the individual and the corporation benefit if there is a focus on responsibilities. There is cooperation and a sense of being in the same boat, resulting in increased motivation and heightened productivity.


The Broader Social Context

There are pragmatic reasons for all of us to focus on our responsibilities rather than our rights. A society driven by the former promotes service, tolerance, compromise, and progress, whereas a society driven by the latter is preoccupied with acquisition, confrontation, and advocacy. When we fail to meet our responsibilities to others, they are forced to insist on their rights.

The founders of the Unites States were not accountable to women by denying them the right to vote, nor did they meet their duties to African Americans by allowing slavery. Until recently, we did not meet our obligations to those with physical disabilities. Each of these groups had to struggle for its rights and get them made into law, and these struggles strained the fabric of society. If we meet our responsibility to treat others as ourselves, the fabric of society need not be damaged in the effort to achieve rights.

Gandhi took the concept one step further. He insisted that those being denied their rights also had to meet their responsibilities. Opponents were entitled to be treated as he would like to be treated - with courtesy and respect.

Even in the most intense phases of the struggles against the British, Gandhi was always respectful and courteous to the British as individuals. He sent then-Princess Elizabeth a wedding present - a tablecloth fashioned from yarn he had personally spun. He never forgot the human relationship in the political struggle. In today’s political environment, we see an escalation of personal attacks at all levels, creating a climate of animosity and distrust and making it difficult to work for the common good.

In the formation of social policy, debate often takes place on the basis of the rights of individuals and groups. This creates a climate of confrontation. Gandhi always believed in helping the less fortunate. This was a responsibility based on his fundamental belief that one should treat others as oneself. However, he insisted that those who needed assistance were obligated to help themselves.

This is illustrated in his approach to helping poor tenant farmers. He encouraged families to spin and weave cloth when they were not working in the fields. Doing work was their duty. He asked the rest of Indian society to live up to its end by giving up the more refined mill-made cloth and wearing the coarser hand-woven, hand-spun cloth made by the farmers as a way of helping them raise their economic status. Both parties were fulfilling their responsibilities; none were insisting on their rights.

Focusing on responsibilities removes the mind-set of giving something without return and of taking something without making a contribution. Both these attitudes are detrimental to the human spirit and create a society that is neither productive nor caring. The concept of meeting obligations because it is the right thing to do seems to be declining. We need to reverse this trend. When we direct our attention to our responsibilities, we are forced to look inward and ask what contribution can we make to create something better.

When Gandhi was asked about his message, he responded, my life is my message. This is true for each one of us - whether we like it or not - our life is our message. Meeting our responsibilities should be a way of life, not of gaining rewards. It should have its foundation in the family, where parents and elders are an example for their children, the leaders of the future.

Looking at the world through the lens of personal responsibility creates a landscape of hard work, high standards, commitment to service, and compassion. These values are as applicable to business and the public sector as they are to our personal lives.






Dr. Keshavin Nair is a management consultant, public speaker, and author of "A Higher Standard of Leadership: Lessons from the Life of Gandhi" and "Beyond Winning: The Handbook for the Leadership Revolution."

Be careful, sometimes a little authority can lead to a lot of arrogance.

When collaboration fails and it's just time for advocacy

As much as possible, be careful not to burn bridges. Hopefully you will want to try again for some level of collaboration in the future.
When nothing else works, then it may simply be time for education. The question then becomes, who do we need to educate and how.
There are many venues for education.
Community meetings, the internet, letter writing campaigns, mass media and various forms of public protest are all ways that can be used to educate.
Please tell us what you have found to be productive.

Be Careful What You Ask For

Years ago, decades actually, I was very interested in empowerment and was doing a great deal of research on the subject. During my research I came across a very interesting article on an empowerment program that had been instituted in an inner city housing complex.
Someone or a committee in a government agency had determined that it would be a good idea to encourage and empower the people living there to take more responsibility for the complex and make more of the decisions. This worked very well for a while until the people living in the complex started making decisions that the agency did not agree with and started advocating for things that did not “fit” the agenda of the agency. The whole program came tumbling apart. In a short time, the people living there were feeling more helpless and hopeless, less empowered and more disenfranchised than ever.
There are a few lessons from this experience.
1. As I have mentioned many times in the past, be clear about the level of authority and limit of choices when you are trying to empower or build consensus. If you are trying to build full collaboration there should be few if any limits imposed by you. There are always limits, but you may not know all the options or have all the information. Solutions may arise that you would have never dreamt of on your own.
2. Expect the unexpected. If you go into this with the idea that you know what the other individual or group will want, then you may be hit with a big surprise. Do not have the idea that because it is “this” individual or group, they will have a particular agenda or concerns. Be open to what they will have to share, their concerns and issues. Listen and avoid prejudgments. Perhaps if you understood them as well as you think you do, there wouldn’t be any void or a need for a special program, committee or meeting.
3. Be careful what you ask for. If you want someone to speak up, be prepared that they just might do that and even say something that you are uncomfortable with. If you ask someone to take more responsibility, they may take actions they believe are in their own best interests but out of your control.

Independence, empowerment and free-agency can be funny things. You may lose some control over someone else, while they may be strengthened, become more self-efficacious, independent, productive, and a greater contributor to the world around them. You may even find that as a collaborator with this other group or individual your own capacity has actually increased, like theirs, rather than having been diminished. Additional information about self-efficacy can be found at Emory University.
My experience has often been that those who need to control the lives of others, have little control over their own. If empowerment of others is uncomfortable for you, perhaps you need to look inward. Is part of the issue driven from your own fears? There is a great book well worth the reading, over and over again. I would recommend it to anyone whether you believe this to be a personal issue or not. The book is Love Is Letting Go Of Fear.

Remember that more real good can be accomplished from real collaboration. Yes, it can be a scary thing but well worth the effort if the goal is the benefit of all.

However;

Sometimes, and unfortunately, after the very best efforts that you are able to muster at the time, you may have to walk away with hopes of a better dialogue another day.

Making a Mountain out of a Molehill: OR: How to turn a simple chat into a high risk divisive argument.

Sometimes an invitation to get together to discuss or chat about some problematic issues is really just what it purports to be, just an invitation to create mutual understanding and increase dialogue. Too often paranoia and suspicion creep in and tensions begin to raise. Ulterior motives are suspected, unnecessary restrictions are imposed and a good opportunity may be lost.
When this happens, practice some deep breathing and keep your cool. You may have to practice your most diplomatic and gracious behaviors in order to create a safe environment where everyone feels comfortable to express their thoughts and feelings about the issue. Treat it like a chat with friends and a welcoming family. Create a safe place and atmosphere for you and one for your guest(s). This doesn’t mean that you have to give up anything. It actually means that you are more likely to make progress. Consider that it may not be the progress that you want at this time, but if you have created a safer environment for future discussions then you have made substantial progress.
If on the other hand, you get caught up in the tension and paranoia, you will have made your own contribution in Making a Mountain out of a Molehill.

Please see VitalSmarts for more information on Crucial Conversations and creating safety.