What You Need To Know Before You Join A Community Problem Solving Effort
What You Need To Know Before You Join A Community Problem Solving Effort
This illustrates what it is like to be on a disorganized community project team composed of members belonging to different organizations with no formal bond other than a common goal. Without pre-established ground rules for resolving conflict or identifying common values and boundaries, holding the “lid” is no consolation when differences begin to pop.
Volunteer community problem solving groups are Strategic Alliances formed to cooperate. The power structure is shared, and instead of a top-down communication process decisions require collaboration. To build a solid foundation, it is best to begin any collaborative process by assembling the members, creating a vision, agreeing on desired results, and building trust.
Trust building must begin early on. It is nurtured by building one-on-one relationships that rely on the integrity, honesty and fairness of the people involved. Therefore, disclosure of self-interests in relation to the common goal is extremely important. Without this, suspicions and perceptions of undue advantage can surface,jeopardizing the process.
Other important ground rules to consider include the following:
1. Defining your common practices:
Identifying common practices builds unified procedures resulting in shared ownership.
2. Disclosing your power base:
In all relationships, it is important to realize that power is always present and never equal. Disclosing the power that exists and the power that is sought from other members ensures that power is used wisely and ethically.
3. Disclosing values:
By identifying each member’s values, group operative values develop resulting in a foundation for making decisions and solving problems. Identifying up front those behaviors that support the majority value structure and those behaviors that would disrupt your process create the boundaries that allow your group to function.
4. Identifying loyalties:
Foundational loyalties affect the decision process. It is important to know how loyalties will affect decisions.
5. Establishing a grievance process:
Identify a process, put it in writing, and appoint the necessary leaders to facilitate misunderstandings and conflict. Make sure each member has a copy and is committed to the peacekeeping process.
Clear-cut ground rules as well as objectives build a favorable social and political climate where members witness cost-effective and efficient progress in exchange for their efforts. Make sure these groundrules are known before your effort starts to minimize conflict and confusion.
What You Need To Know Before You Join A Community Problem Solving Effort - To learn more about this author, visit Dianne Crampton's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
Can you visualize this? You are settling in for the evening and put a movie into the DVD player. You decided to make some designer popcorn and have turned on the stove, added the oil and popcorn to the pan when the phone rings. You turn the heat down and inadvertently take the lid with you as you sprint into the adjoining room to answer the phone. It’s an important contact you have been waiting for all week. Little do you realize that turning down the heat did not stop the popcorn from reaching the popping point. The popcorn pops. You are holding the lid.
This illustrates what it is like to be on a disorganized community project team composed of members belonging to different organizations with no formal bond other than a common goal. Without pre-established ground rules for resolving conflict or identifying common values and boundaries, holding the “lid” is no consolation when differences begin to pop.
Volunteer community problem solving groups are Strategic Alliances formed to cooperate. The power structure is shared, and instead of a top-down communication process decisions require collaboration. To build a solid foundation, it is best to begin any collaborative process by assembling the members, creating a vision, agreeing on desired results, and building trust.
Trust building must begin early on. It is nurtured by building one-on-one relationships that rely on the integrity, honesty and fairness of the people involved. Therefore, disclosure of self-interests in relation to the common goal is extremely important. Without this, suspicions and perceptions of undue advantage can surface,jeopardizing the process.
Other important ground rules to consider include the following:
1. Defining your common practices:
Identifying common practices builds unified procedures resulting in shared ownership.
2. Disclosing your power base:
In all relationships, it is important to realize that power is always present and never equal. Disclosing the power that exists and the power that is sought from other members ensures that power is used wisely and ethically.
3. Disclosing values:
By identifying each member’s values, group operative values develop resulting in a foundation for making decisions and solving problems. Identifying up front those behaviors that support the majority value structure and those behaviors that would disrupt your process create the boundaries that allow your group to function.
4. Identifying loyalties:
Foundational loyalties affect the decision process. It is important to know how loyalties will affect decisions.
5. Establishing a grievance process:
Identify a process, put it in writing, and appoint the necessary leaders to facilitate misunderstandings and conflict. Make sure each member has a copy and is committed to the peacekeeping process.
Clear-cut ground rules as well as objectives build a favorable social and political climate where members witness cost-effective and efficient progress in exchange for their efforts. Make sure these groundrules are known before your effort starts to minimize conflict and confusion.
What You Need To Know Before You Join A Community Problem Solving Effort - To learn more about this author, visit Dianne Crampton's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to Dianne's articles
 | |
|
|  |
 |
|
Dianne Crampton Video - Dianne Crampton's Team building success relies on behaviors that build happiness. And, happy people are more productive. These behaviors anchor collaborative values that are necessary to build an ethical, quality focused, productive and highly successful team.
|
|
|
 | |||||||
|
 | ||
|
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 Challenges Of Change How Search Engines Work Federal Antitrust Laws Elevating Your Business Basic SEO Guide |
|
 | ||
 |
Top 50 Blogs For Startups
Top Blogs To Watch In 2008 | |
 |
Top 50 Diversion Blogs
Top Diversion Blogs of 2009 | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||