Monday, February 20, 2012

Collaboration: Explaining what we mean

One of the projects on which I'm working is assisting in starting collaborations.  To many people, this sounds very vague, and I don't blame someone for dismissing the term.  Many people talk about partnerships and collaborations, but significantly fewer are actually part of partnerships and collaborations that embody the true sense of those words.

To have a partnership or collaboration, all involved parties must see the value.  They must be invested.  They must share leadership, be held accountable and they must have a stake in decision-making.  This means that all parties must come to the table and dialogue about what's needed and what will be meaningful for their organization.

This is quite difficult from both the standpoint of those initiating the partnerships and those being asked to participate.  For those trying to establish collaborations, the intent must be clear.  Those being asked must be able to see, understand and question the idea of the partnership because without full buy-in by both parties, the collaboration won't be as meaningful for either.

I'm still learning how to do this - and thoughts are welcome on how to empower partners being asked to buy-in.  It seems difficult when one party sees "exactly" how this collaboration could work, when the other is somewhat clueless.  My current thoughts are that asking the question of "what would you like to get out of this?" could be a good starting point.  What are some other ways to get started?

Hopefully I can follow up on this post later, and share a story that discusses best practices from my own experiences, and the experiences of others.

P.S. Blog will be off-line next week.  Enjoy your break :)

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Lessons learned: Professionalism, ethics, and self

It's been a tumultous couple of days. But my experiences related to these incidents have helped me see things more clearly - professionally, ethically and personally.

Between yesterday and today I've had to make some professional, ethical and personal decisions.  And I learned some valuable life-long lessons in the process.

What I learned over the past two days is that honesty is the best policy.  I learned that needing to take care of myself is important and is valued by those who understand that taking on too much can be taxing and dehibilitating to not only self but others.  I've reaffirmed that people are good, and understand when things don't go as planned.  I've learned people understand that right now I'm a student first and an "everything else" second, and that sometimes academics and health (mental or physical) need to come first.  I've learned that when you do the right thing - continously - people recognize that.

This incident may be the culmination of this busy semester, where I've committed to too much and a lot has suffered.  But I really believe that what has happened over the past two days has been a great learning experience and is one that I will always remember as I move forward professionally, ethically, and personally.

So here's to a clearer head, a re-focus on what's important, and a better second half of the final semester of my first Master's degree.

And here's a huge thank you to those who've helped me learn these lessons.

Monday, February 6, 2012

This blog post is about blogging

It's that time of the semester - that time that may vary individually, but inevitably hits students at least once.  It's that time where you feel like no matter what you do, it's not enough.  It's that time where you feel like there is no end in sight.  It's that time when you work non-stop, only to still have more to do.  It's that time when you... blog, instead of working on something else.

So yes, it's that time, and you may question why blogging takes precedence over that "something else," or why I would blog when I've got so much else to do.

Answers to these questions are, of course, personal, but I've got some that I'd like to share.  First, blogging is a chance to reflect, and take, say, 20 minutes to escape from the pressing pressure of homework.  Second, blogging is something that I hope will benefit both me and others in the long-term.  To me, blogging is professional development; I'm trying to blog to grow my professional profile and connect with others who have similar interests.  Additionally, blogging gives me a chance to step back and think: what was important in the last week that others might find interesting too?

Some weeks the answer is obvious.  Writing about the Story Collider or a conference I attended seems natural.  It's weeks like this, when there's so much else to do, that the idea of thinking about something else (blogging) is overwhelming.  So, my readers end up reading a blog about blogging.