Remember fire drills in grade school? The principal would come to the front of the auditorium and explain the escape method, goals and how to help each other. You were 10, so about half of what she said sunk in. The day of the test would've been a Wednesday (seemed like they always were). The bell would ring, everyone would line up single file, you would've been cracking jokes and laughing while the rest of the students would walk slowly outside to the playground. Safely away from the "fire" the principal gave the drill results. This usually involved a time-to-completion score. Under five minutes, at my school, meant great work. Over five minutes, well, let's just say those at the end of the line would have other things to worry about if this had been a real emergency. In thinking back, I'm wondering, was this my first collaborative experience???
I've been exploring the internet, reading books by collaboration experts and practicing deep meditation to come up with a way to measure if my fire drill experience passes the collaboration snuff test. I came up with the following "must have" criteria for my little experiment:
1. Must Have - Environment: has a long-term, well-defined relationship entered into by two or more partners to achieve common goals. It involves genuine sharing of authority, accountability, resources and rewards. There is a need, a crisis, or an opportunity.
2. Must Have - Membership: each member must clearly understand how the collaboration is going to benefit them and help them to accomplish their goals. This sense of self-interest must be strong enough to offset the costs of collaboration, such as extra time and effort and some loss of autonomy.
3. Must Have - Structure and Process: all partners understand and “buy into” the process and structure that the group will use. The coordinator will also need to remain somewhat flexible and open, able to adjust methods or structures to meet the demands of a project.
4. Must Have - Communication: successful collaborative groups communicate often and well. They keep each other up to date, discuss issues openly, and consistently convey an appropriate level of information to people outside the group.
5. Must Have - Purpose: sets realistic goals that lead in the right and an identified direction. Some of those goals can be big and long-term, but some should also be immediate and doable.
6. Must Have - Resources: partners must be prepared to contribute, according to its means: hours, skills, financial, etc.
Now that we have the standards, let's score the fire drill. A "1" equals "yes, meets the snuff test". "2" equals, "almost hits the mark" and a "3" equals, "no way, not even close".
1. Environment = 1. From my reading, educational institutions are highly collaborative. Now, a grade school may not be so much so when compared to university, but still learning is a group effort. What's more, kids are naturally collaborative.
2. Membership = 2. I ranked the fire drill in the almost category here. Let's face it, one cannot "opt out" during the drill. So they aren't really free to not join. However, most kids understand that an organized exit is better than chaos. Think about that... I really think they do understand this.
3. Structure and Process = 1. Need I say more...
4. Communication = 2. The coordinator, or principal, is doing most of the communicating while the kids are doing all the joking around. I almost ranked this a "3".
5. Purpose = 1. Pretty obvious: GET OUT OF THE BUILDING IN AN ORGANIZED FASHION!!!
6. Resources = 1. If you are able to line up, leave the building and assemble on a playground, then you have resources to contribute.
Well, I guess I owe a lot to my principal. Fire drills pass the collaboration test!
I've been exploring the internet, reading books by collaboration experts and practicing deep meditation to come up with a way to measure if my fire drill experience passes the collaboration snuff test. I came up with the following "must have" criteria for my little experiment:
1. Must Have - Environment: has a long-term, well-defined relationship entered into by two or more partners to achieve common goals. It involves genuine sharing of authority, accountability, resources and rewards. There is a need, a crisis, or an opportunity.
2. Must Have - Membership: each member must clearly understand how the collaboration is going to benefit them and help them to accomplish their goals. This sense of self-interest must be strong enough to offset the costs of collaboration, such as extra time and effort and some loss of autonomy.
3. Must Have - Structure and Process: all partners understand and “buy into” the process and structure that the group will use. The coordinator will also need to remain somewhat flexible and open, able to adjust methods or structures to meet the demands of a project.
4. Must Have - Communication: successful collaborative groups communicate often and well. They keep each other up to date, discuss issues openly, and consistently convey an appropriate level of information to people outside the group.
5. Must Have - Purpose: sets realistic goals that lead in the right and an identified direction. Some of those goals can be big and long-term, but some should also be immediate and doable.
6. Must Have - Resources: partners must be prepared to contribute, according to its means: hours, skills, financial, etc.
Now that we have the standards, let's score the fire drill. A "1" equals "yes, meets the snuff test". "2" equals, "almost hits the mark" and a "3" equals, "no way, not even close".
1. Environment = 1. From my reading, educational institutions are highly collaborative. Now, a grade school may not be so much so when compared to university, but still learning is a group effort. What's more, kids are naturally collaborative.
2. Membership = 2. I ranked the fire drill in the almost category here. Let's face it, one cannot "opt out" during the drill. So they aren't really free to not join. However, most kids understand that an organized exit is better than chaos. Think about that... I really think they do understand this.
3. Structure and Process = 1. Need I say more...
4. Communication = 2. The coordinator, or principal, is doing most of the communicating while the kids are doing all the joking around. I almost ranked this a "3".
5. Purpose = 1. Pretty obvious: GET OUT OF THE BUILDING IN AN ORGANIZED FASHION!!!
6. Resources = 1. If you are able to line up, leave the building and assemble on a playground, then you have resources to contribute.
Well, I guess I owe a lot to my principal. Fire drills pass the collaboration test!
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