How to Coach Yourself and Others Techniques For Coaching | Page 96

create a visual model of current networks so you can reinforce the
connections and help fill the gaps.
O. Insist on OPEN and transparent communication. In an organization,
the way information is handled determines whether it becomes an
obstacle to or an enabler of collaboration. Employees today need access
to information at any time from any place.
P. Collaboration is a PARTNERSHIP. As one savvy leader put it, “To
make collaboration work, you’ve got to treat people the way you want
to be treated. It’s pretty simple, really. Treat all employees as your
partners. Because they are.”
Q. Ask the right QUESTIONS. At the beginning of a project, ask: What
information/knowledge do we need? Who are the experts? Who in the
organization has done this before? Do we have this on a database? Who
else will need to know what we learn? How do we plan to share/hand
off what we learn?
R. The success of any organization or team – its creativity, productivity
and effectiveness – hinges on the strength of the RELATIONSHIPS of its
members. Collaboration is enhanced when employees get to know one
another as individuals. So, when you hold offsite retreats, organizationwide celebrations or workplace events with “social” time built in, be
sure to provide opportunities for personal relationships to develop.
Taking time to build this “social capital” at the beginning of a project
increases the effectiveness of a team later on.
S. Collaboration is communicated best through STORIES – of succ esses,
failures, opportunities, challenges, and knowledge accumulated
through experience. Find those stories throughout your organization.
Record them. Share them.
T. TRUST is the foundation for collaboration. It is the conduit through
which knowledge flows. Without trust, an organization loses its
emotional “glue.” In a culture of suspicion people withhold information,
hide behind psychological walls, withdraw from participation. If you

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