It’s been said there is more learning in the question itself than the answer. If your organization emphasizes learning; then good questions represent an investment in learning. To better manage that investment, why not maintain a question bank. Last week I participated in a meeting with some mediator colleagues involved in the The Court Mediation […]
Question Bank: A place to invest your organization's important questions
March 16, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
The circle as a process
March 9, 2009 by · 2 Comments
I’m always impressed by the process and outcomes when we gather in a circle. As collaborators, leveraging the power of the circle seems something we can do more of. Our ancestors gathered around a fire in a circle. Families gather around the kitchen table in a circle. As a society we seem slow in learning […]
The underlying interests that motivate your business users
March 3, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
If I could help you get good at what you really want to do, how would that you make you feel? Maybe you would want to see more of me? How can you help the people you depend on, your clients, partners, collaborators; get really good at what they want to do, and become passionate […]
Bids for Connection: Learing from a relationship expert
February 23, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
What can we learn from relationship experts and apply to our collaborative efforts? Creating a successful collaborative requires us to be competent at building relationships and trust. Some of the underlying principles about human relationships, and building trust, are best understood by experts in the field of human relations. One of those experts is John […]
The power of a story told well
February 16, 2009 by · 2 Comments
I love a well-told story. And when the story itself has clout, even better. A good story, supported by creative storytelling, can move us from a place of compliance to a place of commitment. By-and-large, storytelling is a missed opportunity for organizations. Kiva is the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly […]
Questions are the engine that drive collaborative conversations
February 9, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
The collaborative facilitator knows that questions make things happen. Questions are the engine that drives healthy and productive group conversation. A few years ago, I took a workshop, on facilitation and asking questions, from Dorothy Strachan in Ottawa, Ontario. She has been a facilitator for a long time, and is an expert in asking questions […]
Moving from the "pain of a new idea" to collaboration and innovation
February 9, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
Collaboration involves people or organizations working together toward an intersection of common goals. Innovation is about a new way of doing something; about making changes in your thinking, processes, products, and/or organization. We know collaborative thought and action can lead to new ideas and innovation. Yet, still we are reluctant to use a collaborative approach […]
A metaphor for the collaborative leader
February 6, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
Recently, a colleague leading in a multi-party collaboration described her role to me as being a lubricant to the system. She told me her job was to facilitate, to connect people together who should be connected, to grease the wheels so to speak, and just generally remove obstacles so people could get their work done. […]
So many ways to have a conversation
February 4, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
Collaboration is as much about having conversations as anything. And today there are so many ways to have those conversations. In organizations, when people are in the same physical space, there are many ways to have those important face-to-face conversations that support collaborative initiative. Future Search , World Café, Open Space are all examples of […]
Food for a healthy organization
January 30, 2009 by · 2 Comments
Collaboration is about people working together. Margaret Wheatley knows all about getting people to work together. I’m a big fan of her, her world view, and her wisdom. She is a leader in the systems thinking approach to organization development. I’ve read and listened to her, and find her ideas inspiring. Her book Finding Our […]
