I recently co-facilitated an online cross-sector collaboration event, which included Local Government, Property Development, Planning, and Water Companies working together to explore how they can strengthen their cross-sector collaboration for sustainable, resilient, and liveable outcomes.
The event was funded by @Clearwater Melbourne and co-facilitate by Ross Allen (www.threeseeds.agency)
Firstly, we collected the main challenges of cross-sector collaboration, and I think it shows a very good picture of the challenges of any collaboration.
Challenges:
- Collaboration needs time
- Time can be wasted by being not sure about what needs time
- Collective purpose is missing
- Decision-Making models are unclear, which results in no decisions being made
- Positions change over time
Secondly, we collected learnings:
- When we trust the process of collaboration, then we are making better decisions together.
- A collective purpose is crucial.
- Having a neutral facilitator helps with the process of creating trust between the collaborators.
- Make collaboration independent from the people and plan ahead to handover when people change.
Nevertheless, collaboration is still a skill that needs to be learned and developed over time. Having taught effective collaboration and facilitation skills for over seven years now as part of my trainer role with @CollectiveInsight, I am convinced that with the right skills, understanding, and processes of the foundation of effective collaboration, we can create collaboration that speeds up time.
We can become more effective as a team.
We can make better decisions as a group.
We can become more resourceful than we are as individuals.
We can access Collective Intelligence.
Finally, here is a model that was published in “The Art of Facilitation, the Essentials for Leading Great Meetings and Creating Group Synergy” by Dale Hunter and colleagues that describes a powerful framework for sustainable collaboration in organisations:
The FACTS Model – Collaborative Processes in Organisations
FREEDOM
Definition: I have the freedom to participate in decisions that affect me within this team. Relevant information is present so that I can make informed choices. I feel committed to and accountable for my role in the team.
ALIGNMENT
Definition: ‘For the collaboration to be effective, all those involved need to be aligned with the intention of the collaborative process and how it fits within the organisation or multi-organisational setting.’
CONGRUENCE
Definition: Every team member behaves and is committed to behaving in accordance with the aligned purpose, values/culture, and beliefs. If that is not possible, a new alignment will be made that all group members can be congruent with.
TRUTH
Definition: The culture supports truthfulness, compassion, self-responsibility, acceptance of self and others and the ability to deal with conflict.
SYNERGY
Definition: There is a sense of thriving, energy, presence and flow rather than a sense of striving, inertia, absence, lumpy resentment and fear
The model is a spiral, which suggests that a team might have to go through each of the stages several times to remain productive and thrive as a collaborative team.
Leading Great Meetings and Creating Group Synergy, by Dale Hunter and colleagues, includes several group processes that help with each of these stages.