Focused on assigning blame or taking credit
|
Focused on outcomes
|
Stakeholders participate to protect
|
Stakeholders participate to generate value
|
Opinions rule
|
Data is king
|
Talk exceeds action
|
Actions emerge from engagement
|
Informal process
|
Intentional, rigorous process
|
While "coblaboration" is a made up word, I've never had to explain it to anyone working in the civic sector. Everyone is all to familiar with the frustrations of coblabloration; even though they may not have had a word to describe it. As I've worked with more and more collaborations, I've begun to develop a set of multiple-choice questions that stakeholders can take to assess whether they're stuck in coblaboration-mode or whether they are moving to collaboration.
Leaders of collaborations should ask the participants to take and share such a self-assessment on a consistent basis to surface key issues that hinder a collaboration's progress.
1. I participate in this collaboration:
a.) To protect myself or my organization's interests
b.) I'm not sure why
c.) Because it creates value for me and/or my organization
2. When it comes to other participants in this collaboration:
a.) I am suspicious of their motives and priorities.
b.) I am unclear of their motives and priorities.
c.) I understand their motives and priorities.
3. My level of trust with other participants is:
a.) Non-existent
b.) Low
c.) Moderate
d.) Strong
4. My level of trust with other participants is:
a.) Declining
b.) Staying the same
c.) Growing
5. Our collaboration has a regular meeting schedule:
a.) Yes
b.) No
c.) I don't know
6. Our meetings are:
a.) Like Ground Hog Day, the same thing over and over
b.) Inconsistent
c.) Helpful
d.) Very Helpful
7. Our collaboration's communications are:
a.) Rare
b.) Sporadic
c.) Consistent
8. Our collaboration's communications are:
a.) Unclear and unhelpful
b.) Somewhat helpful
c.) Very helpful
9. Participants in our collaboration are focused on:
a.) Assigning blame
b.) Taking credit
c.) Achieving change
d.) Not sure yet
10. Data from our collaboration:
a.) Isn't available
b.) Is available, but irrelevant
c.) Is relevant but rarely used
d.) Is occasionally used
e.) Regularly informs are decision-making
Take the coblaboration test. What do your answers tell you about the health of your collaboration?
