Recommended Group Objectives for Collaboration
Group Objectives for an Effective Meeting[1] All participants prepare for, and fully participate, in the meeting. Participants know that they are responsible for their decisions and the outcome of the meeting. Participants maintain flexibility, consider multiple options in making decisions, and, for the purposes of this discussion, ‘suspend’ their prior assumptions. Participants regard [...] Full Article »
Curles’s Four Stages of Conflict
Use this schematic to see how cases and matters move through conflict; the desired is to move effectively from 1 through 4. But some matters only make it to Stage 2 and never move beyond Stage 2. How can we effectively move from Stage 1 to Stage Four? Full Article »
9 signs of effective collaboration
Collaboration is understood by members as a perspective and way of relating, not merely a tactic or set of skills or tools. The motivation to collaborate is shared and high. There is a clear and elevating goal for the joint work. Trust has overcome initial hesitance or suspicions. The members work to satisfy, not just [...] Full Article »
Ensuring that Collaborative Processes Work
Why large group processes go badly in environmental and public policy facilitations
This is a list of causes/triggers for large group failure or problems was developed in a web survey of group facilitators in April-May 2008. To get the input, experienced facilitators across the country were asked to fill out a web survey about “why things go badly in large group” processes. These facilitators specialized in environmental [...] Full Article »
What is the heart of collaboration?
It occurred to me that identifying what is at the heart of collaboration could be helpful. So I undertook a very unscientific and unscholarly project to see what a GoogleTM search would reveal. The results of a search in September 2008 are shown below. “Trust” is highlighted as the most common answer. Full Article »
Rules/guidance for mediators and facilitators
Suggested Rules – email me your comments and corrections Rule 0: We (mediators and facilitators) don’t know what is happening. (so we should not over estimate our knowledge) Rule 1. This is the parties’ process and they are in control. 1.1. So don’t try to control or manipulate them (but you can coach or warn [...] Full Article »
Drafting ADR clauses
Draft an ADR Clause That Is Specific to the Client’s Needs by Joe McMahon For the lawyer practicing in the field of alternative dispute resolution, a common request is for assistance in drafting an ADR clause in a business agreement. Often, such a request is very brief; such as, “Give me a copy of a good [...] Full Article »
