When working with other teams, groups, or partners there are five elements that are important to manage:
- TIME — You need to consider the amount of time that you are willing to invest in relationships. Whether internal or external, working with multiple stakeholders requires time so it must be prioritized in order to happen.
- TIME HORIZON — The closer you are to your desired action, the more resistance you will face. If you are able to think long-term to cultivate mutual understanding and create shared solutions, you’ll have more success than trying to compress the process. Think marriage, not speed dating.
- TRUST — Time invested often builds trust, but not automatically. In order for partnerships to prosper, you must earn the trust of the other parties and commit to trusting them as well.
- POWER — When groups gather, the aim is to disburse the power and have the players operate from an equal footing. However; you also need to take care that those with the power are either in the room or involved in the process. Nothing will waste time and erode trust faster than a group making a decision, only to have it negated later when the power holder disagrees.
- CLARITY — Strive for clarity on the macro-level — a succinct purpose for working together — and clarity on the micro-level — a granular plan for what you are trying to do. Groups often get lost in lofty ambitions (e.g. fix health care in the community) but would achieve more by agreeing on a clear understanding of the problem (e.g. is it access, mental health, affordability, hours, location of clinics, trauma-level care, etc.) which helps more actionable solutions to emerge.
Most people would agree that collaboration is a good thing and allows you to achieve more than working on your own. Follow the five steps above to ensure that the maxim is true and your partnerships produce more fruit than frustration.
