by Jim Woodell

Originally published Sunday, April 24, 2022 on LinkedIn
(other articles by Jim Woodell on LinkedIn)

My work focuses on how organizations work together effectively. In particular, I spend a lot of time helping universities and their partners in economic and community development improve their collaborations.

Effective collaboration takes a lot more than this brief list, but these elements are central, and attention to them from the outset can lead to better outcomes.

Time

Unfortunately, many partnerships arise because a grant is available. The deadline is very soon. Partners have to set aside time, and plan to use it to focus on working through the other elements here.

Trust

Trust is not taken care of when the MOU is signed. Partners need to know that other individuals and organizations are going to say what they mean, and mean what they say. Action has to follow promises. Build trust by highlighting points of interdependence and debriefing on how they went.

Knowing

Partnerships are about relationships, not transactions. Take time to get to know one another. Understand each organization's mission, but also work on understanding individuals' personal missions.

Sharing

Find the shared goals, created a shared vision. This doesn't mean that each organization and individual needs to have the same hopes and desires for the partnership, it just means that goals, and related actions, need to be aligned. Sharing is more about creating alignment than it is about adopting the same ideas.

Make time—to deepen trust, knowing, and sharing.