A headline like that gets your attention. Of course it’s not really news. Complaints like that have been abounding since before I wrote the Cross Group Collaboration workshop in 2006. I think it’s important to ask, what is causing “collaboration” to fail? There are probably several examples where it’s going well. The word collaboration is a convenient label. However, we can’t fix what’s broken if we can’t identify the specific failures.
Here’s some thoughts to ponder with your team to help you determine exactly what is failing. I recommend having the team rate each statement on a scale from 1 (extremely poor) to 10 (excellent) using an anonymous survey tool.
- Expectations across teams and individuals in different job disciplines are defined and met.
- Work received from dependencies (teams or individuals) meets agreed upon acceptance criteria.
- Tracking and reporting work items by milestones or checkpoints is timely and all affected individuals and teams are informed.
- Priorities across groups are clearly defined.
- Escalation procedures are defined early.
- Shared goals are specific, success criteria are measurable, and these items are published for all collaborators.
- Changes are clearly communicated to affected individual or team collaborators and notification occurs in a timely fashion to gather their input and determine impact.
- Customer priorities, requirements, and acceptance criteria are specifically defined.
- Collaboration risks, that are likely to occur, are identified for each milestone (or checkpoint) and contingency and mitigations plans are proposed.
- Individuals and decision makers accountable for specific work items are identified, along with their contact information, role, and responsibilities.
- Determination of how important information or status will be shared, and who needs to receive it is specified early in the collaboration.
Evaluate the results, particularly the statement(s) above rated 6 or less. Which one(s) cause you the most concern and why?
To read more about the full survey results conducted by Fierce Inc., see: http://www.fierceinc.com/press-releases&prID=11. Having read Fierce Conversations years ago, I believe their approach to effective communication and collaboration and our approach at Solutions View are complementary. Our approach is pragmatic, allowing participants to develop their own self-awareness of their contribution to collaboration success or failure through the simulation, and providing 10 practical tools (6 that are useful in the planning stage) to get collaborators on the same page.