A New Era of Collaboration

A powerful social and political movement sweeps a new administration into office. A global of wave of rising consciousness about environmental degradation and climate change launches thousands of organizations to engage communities and nations in behavioral change. An increasing number of international summits convene to address the many crises and high-profile conflicts within and between nations in regions all over the world. Is that sufficient evidence that change is the new world order?

If there is a common theme in all these domains of challenge and change, it is that collaboration between and among organizations, governments and communities is essential for progress in addressing the compelling problems we face at home and around the world.

In a perfectly timed and insightful article, Linda Dunkel, president and CEO of Interaction Associates asks: is collaboration at a tipping point?

(please see:)
Collaboration: At a Tipping Point?
By Linda Dunkel, President and CEO, Interaction Associates
http://www.interactionassociates.com/ideas/2009/03/collaboration_at_a_tipping_poi_1.php

Ms. Dunkel, head of a 40-year-old consulting firm that describes itself as “the leading innovator of collaboration methods that help clients achieve critical business results,” puts it this way, “We’re watching how collaboration is reaching a critical tipping point. A rapidly growing cadre of leaders across the world — in business and elsewhere, including government — now view collaboration as vital for empowering individuals and for driving change. And, they're speaking up about it in clear and powerful terms.”

She cites President Obama’s landmark Memorandum For Transparency and Open Government as she makes the case for collaboration reaching a tipping point. “More evidence of that comes from none other than The White House itself — and a recent executive memo from President Obama directing cabinet secretaries and agency heads to focus on collaboration to make government work better, smarter, and more effectively,” she said.

The President’s memorandum is a directive to his administration, a statement of his philosophy of governing, and an expression of the times in which we live:

“Government should be collaborative. Collaboration actively engages Americans in the work of their Government. Executive departments and agencies should use innovative tools, methods, and systems to cooperate among themselves, across all levels of Government, and with nonprofit organizations, businesses, and individuals in the private sector. Executive departments and agencies should solicit public feedback to assess and improve their level of collaboration and to identify new opportunities for cooperation.”

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/TransparencyandOpenGovernment/

Applying the same philosophy directly to the world of business, Linda Dunkel says, “...collaboration is an essential tool for the new kind of business leader — the facilitative leader — one who engages relevant stakeholders in solving problems collaboratively and works to build a more collaborative culture in his or her organization or community.”

A” tipping point” – a descriptor made a household word by author Malcolm Gladwell in his book of the same name, defines that critical time when “conventional wisdom” or one set of expectations visibly begins to give way to a new order or paradigm. The Tipping Point presents “a new way of understanding why change so often happens as quickly and as unexpectedly as it does.” The book is an examination of the social epidemics that surround us. “As human beings, we always expect everyday change to happen slowly and steadily, and for there to be some relationship between cause and effect,” says Gladwell. “And when there isn't -- we're surprised. I'm saying, don't be surprised. This is the way social epidemics work.”

http://www.gladwell.com/tippingpoint/

If concepts such as “go-it-alone,” ”us-versus-them,” and “super power,” have failed to heal the rifts between people, alleviate hunger and poverty, prevent dangerous buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, or keep communities safe from oppression, then let's hope that there is a new social epidemic starting to spread and that we are, in fact, at a tipping point for collaboration, partnerships and change.

(Posted by David Swardlick with thanks to Linda Dunkel and Interaction Associates)

Interaction Associates describes itself as specialists at “developing collaborative work cultures, cultivating great teams, developing successful leaders, coaching individual performance, navigating change, and helping clients pursue profitable corporate responsibility strategies.”
http://www.interactionassociates.com