The Collaboration Cycle

In a previous instalment entitled “The Collaboration Curve”, I discussed the basic premise that over a period of time and as the use of collaboration methods increase, a user’s knowledge, engagement, network and ultimately their performance would increase. The various increases, however, occur one after the other, and is somewhat dependent on both the use of collaboration methods and the speed at which each stage occurs.

There is a question that remains. How should one actually collaborate?

Enter “The Collaboration Cycle”.

To fully embrace a collaborative life and work-style, one must first adopt the CARE Principle. (Continuous, Authentic, Receptive and Enrich)

• Continuous
  • Collaboration does not occur infrequently, nor is it a one-time instance. Collaboration must be continuous; it must occur with relative frequency such that knowledge continues to be given and gained, networks steadily increase, our personal engagement stays on an upward trajectory, and lastly our performance ability prospers. On the flipside, if collaboration is too intermittent, the cycle doesn’t really have a chance to be successful.
• Authentic
  • Without authenticity, you’re a fake. If you’re a fake, you are a collaboration hypocrite. Collaboration requires users to be genuine, real and honest. What you write, how you participate, who you attribute, and why you’re collaborating are all questions one must ask to in fact be authentic. Be true to yourself, your abilities, your knowledge, your network and collaborate as someone who is unpretentious and indisputably sincere.
• Receptive
  • Collaboration is not about one-sided opinion. Collaboration is about being receptive to the ideas, knowledge, input and thoughts of others. It’s having the willingness to listen, the aptitude to synthesize, and a capability to reflect before opining. As much as collaboration is about giving, it is about taking – but not unless you are naturally receptive to diverging sentiments.
• Enrich
  • We each have strengths, and it is foolish to believe we can be all things to all bodies. To be truly collaborative, however, we must demonstrate with conviction that we in fact can improve ourselves by believing we can enrich a body of knowledge, a network, our level of engagement and ultimately our performance. If you have personal belief in yourself that you can inspire, elevate, educate, improve or enhance any given collaboration scenario, then you are in fact enriching the cycle.

Once we agree to act with CARE throughout The Collaboration Cycle, we can now pinpoint who we are collaborating with. I’ve previously written on how I believe “My Network is my Net Worth”. Although Andrew McAfee describes 4 rings of network ties in his Enterprise 2.0 Bullseye, I believe there are simply two sets of people we collaborate with: Strong and Weak ties.

• Strong Ties (Permanent and Temporary)
  • Over the course of The Collaboration Curve, Strong Ties may be permanent or temporary. APermanent Strong Tie is an individual or group of individuals, through past relationships, projects, etc. where your level of collaboration depth is at its peak. The people associated in Permanent Strong Ties are where, arguably, more than 50% of your collaboration occurs. A Temporary Strong Tie is when you are employing The Collaboration Cycle for a dedicated purpose within a pre-existing period of time. (eg. 6-month project or a stage in life) People may graduate from this stage to become Permanent Strong Ties or they either drift back to becoming a Weak Tie, or not a tie at all.
• Weak Ties (Permanent and Random)
  • Weak Ties exist to complement The Collaboration Curve. Without Weak Ties, as collaborators, we become myopic in our thinking. Without Weak Ties, the CARE Principle ceases to be useful. Without Weak Ties, our own contributions back to the ecosystem of knowledge are null and void. Permanent Weak Ties are those in The Collaboration Cycle that infrequently contribute and consume, yet they can harmonize the contributions of the Strong Ties. They are a very important relationship building component of The Collaboration Curve, somewhat unbeknownst to them, acting in a capacity that solidifies the end state. (eg. arms-length participation in discussion forums, online polling, etc.) Random Weak Tiesexist, in my opinion, through chance. Whether internal to an organization or on the Web itself, think of Temporary Weak Ties as those who leave a digital footprint on an issue (to potentially be contacted at a further date) but who have landed on said contribution (or consumption) haphazardly. (ie. not necessarily on purpose) They are important, but not critical.

The final component to The Collaboration Cycle is how we ingest and convey knowledge. True collaboration can occur only when we consume and when we contribute back to the network of Strong and Weak Ties. I liken this concept to a term Stephen Downes uses called Connective Intelligence. Quid pro quo. As Robert Cialdini writes in his book The Psychology of Persuasion:

“to engage in this sort of arrangement with another is not to be exploited …but to participate fairly in the ‘honored network of obligation’ that has served us so well from the dawn of humanity”

• Contribution
  • Whether you are a Strong or Weak Tie, and dependent on the situation, it is imperative one follows The CARE Principle and contributes back their knowledge to their network if one truly wants to achieve The Collaboration Cycle. The level of depth and breadth will obviously depend on the scenario, but it’s not collaboration if you’re not contributing your knowledge, your opinion, your insight or your ideas to the ties.
• Consumption
  • In The Collaboration Cycle, you have a responsibility to consume the knowledge and ideas of others, thus assisting you to become more engaged, increasing your network and ultimately your performance as per The Collaboration Curve. Think of it this way; if collaborators are only contributing and not consuming, how does that demonstrate the CARE principle? Consuming the ideas, concepts and thoughts from those in your Strong and Weak ties network permits you the opportunity to increase your own knowledge base first and foremost. One can’t really collaborate (or contribute) unless we are equally consuming.

In summary, The Collaboration Cycle is a unifying framework that defines the behaviours, methods and audience that helps to enact The Collaboration Curve.

Does it work for you?