I’ve spent all week being inspired by what my interviewees achieve. But this post is devoted to the dark moments that seem to go with collaboration. I’ve been asking some of my interviewees to draw rich picture diagrams about what it’s like working in collaboration. I’ve also been asking alm
ost everyone the question, ‘When has working in collaboration kept you awake at night?’. Only one person has said that emphatically that it hasn’t.
(These are my recollections of what these 6 separate interviewees said, pulled together from my notes):
Interviewee 1: “I spent 18 months trying to work with City Government over them commissioning our service. They wouldn’t be clear about what they wanted, they were hard to reach, they wouldn’t call back. I couldn’t put a face on them. That kept me awake. It was the uncertainty of not knowing.”
Interviewee 2: “I feel a bit like Sisyphus: pushing the boulder up the hill. There are a lot of seething people. We’re trying to work with them, and there’s a lot of noise. Collaboration is hard.”
Interviewee 3: “With my original 3 collaborators, they get it, they’re the real leadership group. But others can be begrudging. Sometimes I ask myself, why don’t I just forget those partners? We could just do it ourselves. It’s only because it’s in my organisation’s DNA that strong civic infrastructure in local communities is important, so I keep at it.”
Interviewee 4: (Artist of the rich picture with the hearts) “Here are the government agencies, and the hearts represent the providers. I’m in the middle. There are all these crazy paths - the green ones represent tension, as do the lightening bolts. My role,
as the collaborator, is to engage with all this craziness with open arms and a smile on my face. Our goal is to weave a yellow brick road. But I need a forcefield protecting myself from the tension. Now I know why I get so tired by 2pm!”
Me: “Was it stressful?” Interviewee 5: “Oh my God! The resistance! It’s personality driven. Oh man! I was going to kill someone! They were giving you a hundred reasons why it can’t be done. But [the key instigator of the collaboration] persisted. And eventually those government departments got bought in. But taking on these discussions requires effort. That’s why leadership really helps.”
Interviewee 6: “I called all 3 and said, ‘What the f**k?’ Why didn’t they share what they knew with me? I felt at a disadvantage. I said, ‘I’m going to continue to share. I’m really disappointed, given what I’ve done for you in the past year.’
[And on the rich picture:] "I’m in the picture, trying to reach out to people on the edge, and trying to push the people in the middle further along. It’s hard. It’s lonely. The emotions I feel are hope and frustration all at the same time.”
3 comments:
Thinking about how you can make sense of all the rich material you are getting from these interviews I imagine you will develop a framework for reporting your findings with examples of Strategist action-logic in practice. Thus:
Creating and maintaining a shared vision
Dealing with conflict
Engaging with people in an iterative, developmental process
Personal and/or organisational transformations
Adapting and changing organisational constraints and perceptions
As you would expect, these heading provide an "action orientated" perspective. But some of your interviewees are willing to give you an insight on the personal and inward dimension too. What nurtures their own commitment to the cause? In particular what is out there in the system that sustains them, especially in times of adversity? Each person will have their own story, but you may be able to see some patterns.
In terms of nurturing your commitment to the cause... *One thing I've noticed is that those who have retired (I've talked to at least 3 people who have retired in the last year or so) seem to have found the experience of working in collaboration much less stressful than the others. They've said things like they were working with people they'd known for 15-20 years, that they were beyond the point where they minded about what their boss thought of them, that they were more convinced in their own approach. And that this all made it easier.
* Secondly, at least 2 or 3 people have said that collaboration gets harder as it goes along. There's an initial burst of enthusiasm and hope, and then as it gets deeper, and you start grinding out more of the difference and conflict, it wears you down. And, people leave so it needs to be reinvented. Some have then said, well, collaborations don't have to be sustained. That's not the point. Others just say that it needs new energy and vision to be reinvigorated.
So knowing when and how to quit can be a strategic decision, as well as a personal decision? I'm thinking about how it was for you and also a recent example with Friends(GA).
Perhaps those who have retired look back on their successes and relax. Do they forget about or play down the tough, stressful parts? And with hindsight maybe they can be confident that the approach they took was right because they were successful?
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