Collaboration– Jury Style

I have been sitting on a jury this week (and will probably next as well) and it has my mind turning on collaboration (again). I have held the belief of collaborating being a mindset and then you apply the tools rather than the other way around. Something “inside” a person must want to collaborate, have a willingness to collaborate and then it happens. Jury duty is “force collaboration” in a way. AND something that I am not a proponent of typically-forcing collaboration that is. Usually for upper management to try to “make” a team collaborate is unsuccessful. BUT this week, here I sit with 11 other people that I have very little in common with. We don’t work in the same industry or at the same company, we are not of the same political or church beliefs, we do not have a neighborhood in common or friends or family in common. YET in a few days we will be asked to put all that aside and we will be “forced” to collaborate. The only thing we will have in common is an objective or an end result. I am curious to see how much negotiating takes place and how much “digging in of one’s heels” takes place. The only thing in common that we have that brings us to this place is that we all live in the same county and we all got the “luck of the draw” this week. With such a variety of values and experiences I am going to be watching, and experiencing the most basic form of collaboration there is. Our jury system has been doing this for decades on end. 12 of us, listening to facts and figures, not talking during this process, but in the end we will share and reach a conclusion in a collaborative fashion. I for one am curious as to how this will play out, what I will learn from this and what I can pass on here and in my work. Until then, happy collaborating!

Work yourself out of a job

Many of us have had the pleasure of working in an environment that has the “work yourself out of a job” mantra.  Years ago I had that experience and so have others I know.  We did not have blogs or wikis or even the internet then (I am dating myself). BUT what we did have was a spirit of collaboration and sharing.  Fear had not set in and we did not feel like the act of hoarding information made our job secured.  We did not want to hear that we could never leave because no one else would know what to do.  We wanted to prep the next person in behind us so that we could KEEP MOVING FORWARD also.  Hoarding information is a sure fire way to keep yourself stagnit in the workplace.  Collaborating, sharing, training is the way to be known as the “expert”, the ”go to person”,  the “team player” and the person most likely to keep moving on up!  Today we have blogs, wikis, and all kinds of tools that help us to collaborate.  BUT we first have to embrace the feeling of collaboration, the appreciation for what it can to for us and for others before we can ever tackle the tools that are out there.  What comes first the chicken or the egg?  What comes first a spirit of wanting to collaborate or the tool?  I say the spirit of collaboration makes the tool work; it is not the other way around.  Happy Collaborating!

The CIA is using Web 2.0– “what about security?!”

David Spark did a spectacular job covering the Web 2.0 conference last week via his blog.  One of the articles he wrote focused on the CIA implementing Web 2.0 tools.  Many out there fear that Web 2.0 is not secure, but I take the stance that neither is your c: drive or email or IM if left alone.  That is why implementation needs governance as well (that is another blog another day…) BUT the CIA, who needless to say, has highly sensitive data is using Web 2.0.  Click here to read the blog and do sit and watch the video interview (6 minutes).  Happy collaborating!

The Web in…. 1934???

In the NY Times there is a fascinating article about the vision of the web– not in the 21st century however– this is from 1934.  Paul Otlet from Belgium had incredible insight and dreamed of an electronic society.  A quote from the article states:

“Since there was no such thing as electronic data storage in the 1920s, Otlet had to invent it. He started writing at length about the possibility of electronic media storage, culminating in a 1934 book, “Monde,” where he laid out his vision of a “mechanical, collective brain” that would house all the world’s information, made readily accessible over a global telecommunications network.”

Amazing!  Read the entire article in the NY TImes.

Enterprise 2.0 Fearfulness vs. Freedom

If collaboration is about the sharing of information why are some businesses still hesitent to allow it to happen?   How many of us know people that have the reputation “if he/she leaves no one will know how to do xxxxx.”  That person has found “comfort” in the idea that he/she is secure in their job because of this.  BUT just the oposite is true.  The idea of sharing this information freely allows us in the corporate environment to then function seamlessly.  Creating wikis, blogs, etc where the “experts” can share their knowledge has quite the opposite effect than the effect that those who fear this assume.  Fearfulness leads us to believe that we are more valuable if we have the information, if we hoard it or if we know something that our coworker does not know.  Fearfulness leads us to wanting to be that person that “no one can live without” because no one else knows what you know.  BUT those that collaborate and share information visably are quickly counted as the experts in an area and become the “go to” person.  To be thought of as the authority you must be willing to share and demonostrate your willingness by using tools like blogs and wikis.  Check out Hinchliff’s blog “Enterprise 2.0: Lively conversations driving change” for more on Enterprise 2.0.

Remote Team Collaboration

Monday, in the Wall Street Journal, the CIO Interview was with Randall Spratt, CIO and Exec. VP of McKesson Corp.  McKesson has been a real leader in the remote workforce– I should know, my husband works remotely with McKesson and loves it.   But something that really jumped out to me in this interview was what he said about the remote worker– first he stated overall that they have great job satisfaction.  Yep working remote is fantastic on the stress level and satisfaction level.  Simply eliminating a commute in a city like Atlanta where we live, adds years to your life and adds quality to it!  BUT Spratt also talked about why these very satisfied workers leave and it has to do with social isolation.  Say what you will about office politics, but when removed from all the social aspects of work, people feel isolated and at times feel insecure about their own job security.  The answer to this seems to be the social networking collaboration solutions that are out there or that can be developed to meet the needs of individual companies.  Using IM solutions, chat rooms, online networking groups, teleconferencing, etc all helps to fill this void.  It is not the end all be all, BUT it is a very important piece of the puzzle.  Here are a few tips for keeping your remote team connected:

• Don’t forget the niceties! By this I mean the “good morning” the “how are you?” the “how was your weekend?”  This is not useless, time fill stuff.  This is the stuff that makes people feel a part of the team and loyal to each other.  Let’s face it, we as humans always reach out to those that reach out to us as well, right?
• Use pictures if you are on an IM tool.   Many of the chat and im tools allow for pictures.  I love to put a name with a face; that brings the personal touch to my conversation with you.
• Try out using a social networking tool at the office.  Yep, facebook, linkdin and others allow for work intermixed with some fun.  In the office, you get to know your team on a personal leve– why not see your team workers kids pictures on facebook if you can’t see them on their desk?
• Use video conferencing.  What is better?  Seeing someone’s face smiling while talking or seeing an emoticon?  Emoticons are cute and I use them, but I love to see the real, live person as well!
• At the beginning of remote meetings, don’t be afraid to use an ice breaker or an opener.  Ask Catchy about her vacation or Tom about his kid’s ball tournament.  Remember the folks in the office have done this already; bring the remote folks into the mix on this.
• Use tools like SharePoint, eRoom, Q-Task, Basecamp or SOMETHING so that everyone knows where to look fo the latest agenda, proposal, etc.  Use the calendar feature to keep everyone in the loop on schedules, locations and meetings.  A team member, especially a remote one, will feel better connected knowing that they have access to and knowledge of the same stuff as those in the office.

I know most of these tips hit  the humanistic side of the remote worker.  BUT going back to what Spratt said it is the social aspect that causes folks to leave– not the job satisfaction.  Others have seen this pattern as well.  Entrepreneurs have started groups to work outside their home and with other workers so they feel the “team” thing.  Just look at Jelly Groups for more on this.  I am grateful that technology has allowed us to make some choices about remote working,  BUT let’s not forget that we as humans are not machines and a human touch goes a long way towards getting your remote team to really feel like they are collaborating rather than living in a silo!  Happy TEAM collaborating!

Meeting consensus

Implementing any tool is impossible without consensus on the goals and objectives and the features needed on a product.  It doesn’t matter whether it is SharePoint, Q-Task, PBWiki, Basecamp, eRoom, Telligent or ABC Fantastic Collaboration tool–no buy in=unsuccessful implementation.  How many times have you sat in a meeting and walked out the same way you came in?  Not knowing what you were there for, not accomplishing anything and frustrated that another tool or process was going to be looked at and implemented but you had no idea why.  As a professional faciliator (CPF with the IAF) I have had the opportunity to work with groups and help them to gain consensus on goals and objectives on solutions.  Some tips:

• Have an agenda and make sure everyone knows what it is!
• Invite the right people to the meeting–not just the decision makers but the USERS of the product.
• Define the goals and objectives BEFORE deciding on a product.  Use a business analyst to assist with this.
• Use time limits and ground rules that everyone has agreed to.
• No dominators; everyone participates.

This is challenging to do.  We all know that if this was easy, we would never sit in another meeting that was torture!  A great thing to do is to bring in a Professional Facilitator.  As a facilitator and business analyst I love to be brought into these meetings!  When I am called into a situation, I have a methodology that I use to get participants to consensus.  People leave feeling accomplished and they know what is next.  They actually smile at the end!  For more information on how faciitation can help you and your business, let me know!  Happy Collaborating.