09-08-2011 - One Thing Leads To Another

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One Thing Leads To Another Sent Thursday, September 8, 2011 View as plaintext

Helping people make great things happen . . . together.

Facilitation and Collaboration Coaching

A Taste of Collaboration
Tips to Support and Inspire You

In this issue:

One Thing Leads to Another
An Invitation from Paula and Delia
Resources
Collaboration Soup Upcoming Events

One Thing Leads To Another

Have you ever been in a conversation or project that you think:

Is going in a certain direction and suddenly changes course?
Seems to be going nowhere?
Goes off on a tangent?
Takes too long?
Has multiple agendas being discussed at the same time?

We know there are different ways to address these challenges. In future newsletters we will cover this topic from different perspectives.

We use the phrase One Thing Leads to Another often and it makes us smile. It reminds us it's about the journey as well as the destination.

Here's a story from Paula: Driving on the back roads of France with my husband, we stopped briefly to take pictures of the idyllic France countryside. A moment later a man stopped and indicated if we were interested in taking photos we should follow him because he knew of some beautiful vistas on private land. Minutes later we were driving on roads not on our map. We unexpectedly spent a wonderful afternoon with him and his wife at his family's 400 year old olive and wine estate taking photos, learning about their family history and the region. Our willingness to take this detour made it one of the best days of our vacation. If we had stuck to our plan we would not have experienced that adventure and the difference between being a tourist and a local.

Successful collaboration is a lot like traveling. It's important to be prepared, do your background work, set up a firm foundation, and then let the journey take its course.

Tips:

Have a plan and plan for surprises. Great ideas can occur unexpectedly.
Be patient and slow down. If the group moves too fast, you might miss an important contribution.
Keep going--don't stop. Just around the bend might be what the group has been searching for.
Have the courage to speak up, especially when it seems different or contrary to the general flow. You may have the missing piece that will move the group forward.
Be willing to feel confused. New solutions often emerge when we are uncertain of what's next.
Trust the group's collective intelligence. There can be many possible outcomes that will accomplish the shared purpose.

We are reminded that what seems like a delay or a detour is an adventure waiting to happen. Remembering this can help replace frustration or impatience with confidence that a beneficial outcome can occur.

Our Invitation...

Welcome to the second "A Taste of Collaboration" -- occasional, short and free tips to support and inspire you in pursuing your goals and collaborative plans.

Since the release of our book COLLABORATION SOUP we have shared our RECIPE with people working together to make great things happen. Many have expressed a hunger for more.

Will you help us build a community of people sharing tidbits -- ideas, stories, resources for effective collaboration? This will be an evolving co-creative project, and we invite you to be part of it. You can:

Forward to a friend you think would be interested
Send us your ideas, stories or questions

All the best,

Paula Vigneault & Delia Horwitz

Share this via:

to send a message, inquire about personal coaching or facilitation, or to share a story, question or idea you have for a tip topic.

Forward To A friend

Click here to visit the COLLABORATION SOUP website, or call us at (805) 215-3717.

Did a friend forward this to you? Click here to receive A Taste of Collaboration Tips directly in the future.

Resource

We recommend the following:

List of extensive, mostly free, resources on public engagement from National Coalition on Dialogue and Deliberation.

A free nonprofit resource center made up of a community of people who exchange information.

Leadership Strategies, Inc has free webinars on how to facilitate.

Collaboration Soup News
Order COLLABORATION SOUP Paperback 25% discount code: G4VD9T43 E-Book (pdf) $7.00 Kindle version $9.99

UPCOMING EVENTS:

SANTA BARBARA
September 13, Tuesday - Book signing at Chaucers bookstore, 7 pm, 3321 State St.

SAN LUIS OBISPO
September 23, Friday - Noon to 1 PM, free Brown Bag Dialogue at Mission Community Services, 71 Zaca Lane Suite 130. "Successful Collaboration: Six Keys to Understanding What It Takes."

October 16, Sunday - 2-3:30 PM. Central Coast Bioneers at the Vets Hall, 801 Grand Ave. "Gourmet Collaboration-People Making Great Things Happen."

October 27 and Nov 17, Thursdays - 10 AM to Noon, Non Profit Support Center of SLO County, 997 Monterey St. Third Floor (805) 547-2244. "Collaboration Skills Training."

Join a Collaboration Soup Coaching & Support Group in San Luis Obispo or Santa Barbara. Bring your ideas or collaborative projects for specific coaching on applying the Collaboration Soup RECIPE and more. Delia at (805) 215-3717.

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