The Rise of the New Groupthink – NYTimes.com.

Collaboration, really, is best done when it is impelled by a real need; our meetings should be the same way!

I have been interested in collaboration for a long time, in parallel with my passion around sustainability.  What I have noticed is this: as people become empassioned about the “big” topics, and become empowered internally to make change, they naturally reach out to others.  Visionaries have realized that the only way they can really make a difference on these urgent, important issues (health; climate change; sustainability; the financial system; I could go on…), is that they must work together to make their vision happen.

This struck me so forcibly that last year (2010), I led a workshop called “Leadership Skills for the Visionary Collaborator.”  That day, along with 25 people who were leading change all over Sonoma County, we explored what leadership skills were specifically needed to lead effective collaborations – both within organizations, as well as between organizations.

For me, 2012 will be a year of exploring “what it takes” to be a visionary collaborator.  Many of my ideas are based on the leadership development training we already do at Global Genesis.  I am delighted by this topic; I feel that with a greater attention to the personal strengths and skills these visionaries bring, the more effective they can be.

And these days, the human race needs us to be effective.  Desperately.

So, what is a visionary collaborator?  How are they different from other types of leaders?

The visionary collaborator may be a CEO working with his suppliers and distributors  to set industry standards, like Jeff Mendelsohn at New Leaf Paper has done in the Paper Industry; they could be a set of non-profit leaders working together on enormous topics like Health, or Climate Change, like my colleagues at the Sonoma Valley Health Roundtable or the North Bay Climate Adaptation Initiative.  Or they could be  green champions in organizations, progressing change amongst various departments or throughout the organizational hieararchy.

Their task is made challenging, unique, rewarding and powerful because they are visionary, they are leaders, and because they know they must collaborate to be able to create their vision.  And they are both influencing change as well bringing their own original thoughts to the table, while navigating a group that must answer to multiple loyalties.

There is a classic diagram that we use in teambuilding, of many arrows pointing in opposite directions.  The task for the visionary collaborator is to help align those arrows in generally the same direction.    To state it simply, s/he is a person with original ideas about the future who is working with a group of unaffiliated people to achieve a common goal.  To do that they must use leadership, or  what I define as “the process of influencing others towards a specific goal(s). “

In essence, the visionary collaborator is honing her/himself to be an effective partner – one that others will flock to because they are trustworthy and able to create results.

I have been noticing that in this world, which is in crisis in so many ways – economically, environmentally, and socially – that collaboration has been an avenue for robust and extremely creative solutions to form.  Check out this interesting coalition as a start -

I have a belief that these skills can be taught, developed, and improved on over time – that leaders aren’t born, but are created.  That doesn’t mean they don’t have their own innate styles and strengths that can be brought to bear in these situations.  In fact, I would argue that given the complexity of collaboration, it is important to have a variety of styles and strengths for a collaboration to produce real, long-lasting results.

Here are some of the qualities that must be developed by the visionary collaborator:

1)      Self and organizational awareness.  One must be very aware of one’s own strengths, weaknesses, assets and liabilities; this awareness essentially allows one to partner fully with others.

2)      Ability to Achieve Results: These collaborators must be courageous, credible, urgent and tenacious.

3)      Ability to Cultivate  Relationship: These leaders must bring their own brand of patience, diplomacy, and consideration.

4)      Attention to Collaboration:  Finally, these unique people must be open, aware, empowerd, and discerning for their collaboration to succeed.

Over the next year, I will be exploring both qualities and skills that the visionary collaborator needs to succeed.  I will also look to many of my contemporaries in thinking about what makes a collaboration work, how to structure to succeed, and how to use the strengths that the individuals in the group bring to bear.  May it be a year of fruitful collaboration!

I will be facilitating Day 2 of this Summit.  NBCAI will be bringing together scientists, land managers, and policy makers from a multiplicity of disciplines – from health, to forestry, to emergency services.  They are keenly interested in the question, how WILL Sonoma County adapt and thrive in the face of Climate Change? The event is free – please join us! Register at the link above.

Formula for Change – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

This is a great illustration for change that is applicable across a wide range of situations – whether you want to lose weight, or you want to change an organization.  Carrie Hays from the Halle Group first introduced it to me; thanks, Carrie!

This is a chapter on Real Time Strategic change, a change method to use when

1. Multiple Stakeholders have competing needs,
2. Aligned action is required
3. Results need to be achieved in radically reduced time frames.

(p. 275, The change handbook, “Real Time Strategic Change.”)

This is a really important methodology, and highly useful whether you are working in sustainability or other change efforts in your organization.

This article summarizes some insights first discussed in the book “Influencer: the power to change anything.”  They say that the following principles will help habits change in a workplace.  It is a nice list to read in comparison with the Oprah’s article on neuroscience and habit change.

Here are the principles they identify:

1. Linking to mission and values
2. Overinvesting in skill building
3. Harnessing peer pressure
4. Creating social support
5. Aligning rewards and ensuring accountability
6. Changing the environment

This is a fantastic article on how to “rewire” your brain to change your habits – like exercising, etc.

In the workplace, we talk a lot about “merit-based pay”, “reward and recognition systems,” etc.  But the best rewards for rewiring your brain,  says the author, is to reward often, don’t be stingy, and stick with it every day for 3 weeks. She has great examples of rewards, too: things as silly as goofy characters, etc.

If we were to apply this to our sustainability change efforts, we might think more about how to make “feedback” for change instantaneous – whether it is merely recording our progress, or sending a joke out to those who participate, or other fun things.  What “instant feedback” ideas can you think of?

In preparation for our upcoming CircadiaOne workshop at the Sustainable Enterprise Conference, I am doing a little reading on “Habit Change,” and this is a nice summary of some good pointers. I think it could be a little simpler, but it is still very useful.

Think of your green team like a plant.

It all starts with the seed.  The “seed” of the green team begins ideally with a vision around sustainability, one that eventually (and ideally) is  shared throughout the organization.  This vision may be about the impact that the company can make for the planet and the community; it may be about the business opportunity available to the organization.  Ideally, it includes both.  This vision should be strategic;  inspiring;  practical and personal.  As my colleague Susan Briski says, if it isn’t integrated into the core business strategy, it won’t really serve the organization; likewise without it being personally inspiring and practical.

However, a green team thrives because of the soil. Green teams thrive when they are in the fertile soil of an organization that 1) has a robust shared vision and set of values, 2) clearly articulated goals, and 3) practices and processes of strong interpersonal and interdepartment communication.  The green team can still do a lot without these; but those fundamentals will are essential to any change effort.

Once the “seed” has poked its head out of the ground, it is time to fertilize and water it with a few excited team members.   Here there is a fundamental question that many change agents ask: who do we ask to be a part of our green team?  How do we be strategic about this process?  There are a few ways to answer those questions.

1. Form the green team with those who already “get it”.  The pros: you have people who are excited about sustainability, and want to make changes.  The cons: if everyone is from one place in the organization, the effort will likely be limited to that one place as well.
2. Make the green team cross-representational: The pros: If you focus on finding diverse perspectives moving up and down the hieararchy as well as “across” the functional departments, you could create enormous impact – and a voice – throughout the organization.  This can also be a meaningful way to create new networks and connections throughout your organization.  The cons: You may spend more time creating a shared understanding as people bring a diversity of perspectives, even “language” and sub-cultures together.  It may be awhile before you are “organized” enough to feel like you can put a united front forward.

My recommendation? Do a hybrid.  Start with the people who are interested; then recruit partners and/or new members.  At some point, ask for volunteers.  The system won’t change without all parts of the system present: and, it is also important to “go where the energy is.”  A multi-part strategy is effective here.

These teams also need fundamental structure and support.  Beginning with the “Charge” – or what they have been asked to do by their superiors, green teams are most effective when they have clear expectations around scope, decision-making, report outs, and other results. It might also answer such questions as what is the budget, time, and materials available for the use of this team.   Many teams (and employees!) have found themselves struggling without answering – and perhaps negotiating – those critical factors.

In tandem with clarifying the Charge is creating a Charter.  The Charter includes such agreements as the team mission, vision, goals, guidelines for conduct, and roles and responsibilities of the team.  An excellent resource on creating a “Charge” and a “Charter” is the book Managers as Facilitators, which I reviewed in 2009.

Skills and competencies for the Dream Green Team:

With these critical pieces in place, the change agents on the team will quickly find themselves in need of a variety of leadership skills, including: public speaking, listening,  facilitation, financial analysis, cheerleading, graphics, change management, coaching, and more.  They will have to be very clever about understanding others needs and how to frame sustainability in those terms; about helping people see their progress and impact; about using and understanding change management.  They may have to take risks, advocating and negotiating for these priorities.  They may need to help build business cases, represent data, create “ads” for change.  I have heard stories from green teams about their successes and shortcomings in all of those areas, and their surprise in experiencing the need for these skills.

Ultimately, I believe the Dream Green Team has the greatest impact when they dance the dance of being both a facilitator and leader -  helping the organization understand what sustainability means to them as individuals, as teams, as departments, and as an organization.

By relying on those skills, the Green Team can create a bountiful and diverse harvest throughout the organization.

Workplace solutions | PressDemocrat.com.