Colorado Conversations 2002: May 9

With a diverse group of Denver regional leaders in attendance, Colorado Conversations continued to provide engaging dialogues around Denver's most critical issues. At the fifth and final Colorado Conversations program on Thursday, May 9th, David D. Chrislip, author and Principal of Skillful Means, offered a skill building workshop and dialogue titled, "Redefining Community Leadership: New Ways to Get Things Done".

Chrislip proposed the definition of collaboration is 'the shared responsibility or accountability for achieving results'. He focused primarily on detailing policy collaboration, or how we as citizens make decisions about what needs to be done in our communities while taking into account the perspectives of multiple stakeholders. Mr. Chrislip proposed that most failures in collaboration are the result of incorrect execution and thus he discussed the particular problem type most appropriately addressed by collaboration, what one may expect to see in a real collaboration, a the framework and critical roles required for a collaboration to be successful.

Chrislip began by detailing the particular problem type that is most appropriately addressed by collaboration. A problem that is unclear and that people may not know how to address, or may have opposing views about how to address, requires a collaborative approach. Complex problems tend to be value laden, ongoing, adversarial, and volatile. Addressing these types of problems requires engagement and the quality of the engagement directly effects the outcomes. In these types of problems the locus of work is on everyone to define and to solve the problem. If not addressed in the appropriate way these problems tend to divide participants, produce unstable decisions, alienate people from public life and destroy social capital.

If complex problems are addressed in a collaborative way, Chrislip continued, one may expect to see diverse stakeholders, inclusion in a broad sense, an open process, the exploration of conflict, unlikely partnerships, progress on an issue, consensus based decision making, and measurable outcomes.

Mr. Chrislip then offered a framework for successful collaborations:

• The first aspect to any successful collaboration must be the inclusion of both usual and unusual voices that represent many perspectives, who can break down the usual dynamic or mode of operation, and who have the potential to be a constituency for change.
• The second aspect to any successful collaboration is the constructive process that focuses on defining the problem rather than focusing on the solution to a problem.
• And the third aspect is good information that will provide stakeholders with the information that they need to make an informed decisions.

He then offered the four critical roles required for successful collaborations:

• The Stakeholders who have the potential to be a constituency for change.
• The Content Expertise
• The Process Expertise that provides an open process that cannot be dominated or manipulated.
• Strong Facilitative Leadership in the Stakeholder group from leaders who are willing to convene a credible inclusive group of people in a constructive process that is well informed and who will live with the outcomes created in the process.
• And credible conveners who reflect the diversity of the community.

If these things are done, Chrislip stated, the group will create authentic visions, strategies, and solutions to problems.

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