Finding the right partners in building and running your business is an important process. Whether you are co-designing and co-facilitating programs, getting support from interns or virtual assistants, or partnering with other service providers, collaboration that works is critical for coaches.
How do you create great collaboration? What are some questions to consider when looking to create partnerships or collaborations that work?
Here are a few I include in a bonus chapter on Co-Facilitation to my book, Effective Group Coaching, (available when you purchase a copy of the book from my site):
1. What are your strengths? Passions weaknesses?
2. How are you complimentary? Where do your skills match? What gaps still exist? What other skills might you still requir?
3. Clearly define your roles - What roles are required to complete the task? Who will take care of what?
4. What are your expectations for your partnership?
(Adapted from Effective Group Coaching Addendum - Co-Facilitation, Britton, 2010. All Rights Reserved, pp. 4-5)
Another couple of questions I would also add are:
1. What does collaboration mean to me? To us?
2. What can we do to support each other? What will be valuable (and seen as support)?
3. How do we define success and quality?
4. What's the most amazing thing that could come out of this partnership?
5. What are we willing to commit to?
A great book to look at collaboration and the impact of it from a business and leadership standpoint is Collaboration by Morten T. Hansen (HBR Press, 2009). As Morten states:
"Bad collaboration is worse than no collaboration at all" .
What steps will you take to ensure you create the best collaboration possible? You may also want to check out some of the past posts I've written on co-facilitation here at the blog (click to your right).
Have a great week!
Jennifer
Jennifer Britton, MES, PCC, CPT
Author of Effective Group Coaching
Group Coaching Essentials - our Summer accelerated teleseminar program starts on Thurs June 9th (Tues/Thurs 8-9:15 pm ET). Ready to start designing and running your own group coaching programs? 6.75 CCEs
Phone: 416.996.TEAM (8326)
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