Collaboration and Partnering Questions to Explore

Aligned with this month’s theme of collaboration, I wanted to zoom into some practical tips for your next collaboration.

As I mentioned in last week’s post around the different ways we collaborate and partner, it’s likely that collaboration is a central theme for many coaches in their work, whether they are co-designing programs, partnering with their clients or supporting teams in boosting their collaboration.

In fact, collaboration in and of itself may be an earlier step in the process of building more resilient and adaptive organizations. Take a look at this article on the 2016 book – Beyond Teams: Building the Collaborative Organization. 

With many team coaches working with teams in a systems perspective, this is likely an important read.

As we step back to the collaborative relationships we are fostering, what is the intent you want to create? What are you looking to co-create together. As I have written before, many collaborative partnerships don’t just happen. They are planned.

As coaches we are great at using questions to co-create and guide us through the varying stages of relationships. With this in mind, I share several questions to explore at the different stages of a partnership or collaboration including:

Before you begin:

• What’s important about collaborating with this task or project?
• What value-add is there by collaborating?
• What are you bringing to the partnership?
• What are the skills and qualities you are looking for, from a partner?
• What are you hoping to have happen?

As you meet with your partner:

• What ‘s possible for you as you collaborate?
• What do you each bring to the partnership?
• What’s important for the two of you to explore together as you get started?
• What are the goals and roles of this partnership?
• What is your shared vision?
• Practically, and tactically, how will you work together?

As you roll out the work, be sure to build in time together as a checkpoint along the way:

• What’s working? What’s not working?
• What are you creating with each other?
• What do your clients value?
• What’s important to tweak and adjust?
• How is what you are doing, modelling collaboration for them?

These are by no means comprehensive, but will likely get the conversation flowing!
As we go to wrap up the month, what’s important to note about collaboration?

Enjoy!
​Jennifer
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Jennifer Britton - GroupCoachingEssentials | Potentials Realized 
Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder
Join us for an upcoming ICF-CCE approved program including Group Coaching Essentials (8.75 CCEs), Advanced Group and Team Coaching Practicum (10 CCEs), the one day Virtual Facilitation Essentials program (8.5 CCES) or the PlanDoTrack Facilitator Training (24 CCEs). 
Author of Effective Group Coaching (2010), Coaching Business Builder (2018), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013). Check out my author page on Amazon for all publications.
Email: [email protected]

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