Collaboration can be defined as working together to achieve a common purpose. Examining that definition, we see that collaboration involves (a) two or more people, (b) one or more shared goals, and (c) co-ordination of activity. Let’s consider an example:
I and three other people are sitting around a heavy table. The table is in a small, uncomfortable room, and I wish it were in a different room. After thinking this for a while, I say aloud “I wish this table were in a different room,” and then the other three people say in turn “So do I,” “Me too,” and “Me as well.” After some discussion, we agree we should move the table from room A to room B — and since it’s a heavy table, we agree we should do it together. However, getting from room A to room B requires going through a complex series of passages and only one person is familiar with the layout of the building we’re in, so we decide that person should lead us when we move the table. After further discussion, two of us stand on one side of the table and two on the opposite side. Our leader asks if everyone is ready, and everyone nods. When she says “OK” and begins to lift, the rest of us lift as well. We pick up the table and begin to walk, following the directions of our leader. When we get to a certain point in room B, our leader says”How about here?” and each person nods. Together we lower the table until it stands on the floor, and we congratulate each other on a job well done.
This simple example illustrates several things:
A goal becomes a shared goal when people believe it to be so. We might have four people sitting around a table, each wanting that table to be in room B rather than in room A, but that is not enough to make it a shared goal. We each may have reasons to suppose that everyone else would rather have the table in room B, but that still is not enough to make it a shared goal. What’s needed is some way for each person to know or have some reason to suppose that everyone else knows or supposes that everyone wants the table to be in room B rather than in room A.
Achieving a shared goal usually requires a plan. The process of planning may require translating an abstract goal into something more concrete and breaking a high-level goal down into a set of sub-goals that can be achieved by a specific set of actions. In our example, the group moves from the abstract goal of having the table in a different room to the more concrete goal of moving the table from room A to room B. The group also identifies a sub-goal of finding a path from room A to room B and assigns responsibility for this to one group member.
It’s not necessary for everyone involved to have the same knowledge of a plan. In the example above, one person knows how the group will get from room A to room B, while the other three only need to know that they will do as directed by the one who knows how to navigate. People involved in a collaboration often have differing knowledge and differing abilities. Identifying roles and assigning responsibilities is part of the planning process, and that process may include assigning someone the role of leader and the responsibility for further identifying roles and assigning responsibilities.
The actions required to execute a collaborative plan can be co-ordinated through a combination of communication and awareness of what others are doing. While walking together, group members co-ordinated their pace by watching each other. In addition, a combination of verbal and non-verbal communication helped them to lift the table together, move in the right direction, and then put the table down together.
In summary, a successful collaboration typically involves (1) the identification of shared goals, (2) the formulation of action plans, (3) the assignment of roles and responsibilities, and (4) the co-ordination of activities through communication and mutual awareness.