The Collaboration Engine

We are convinced that the only way we are going to enjoy the just, thriving, and regenerative world we all want to see is through effective and elegant collaboration.

In fact, open-hearted and concretely impactful collaborations offer us perhaps the most contemporary way to truly experience interdependence, interbeing, and even interbecoming.

Yet few things are harder, for most of us, than authentic collaboration. We may like to think we are ripe and ready for powerful collaborations—whether more towards co-operation or more towards co-creation—but often our “protective patterns” unconsciously get in the way. More practical matters can also become major blockers for great collaboration.

After many years of guiding, coaching, and training people to collaborate and be collaborative leaders, we have developed a toolkit for collaboration. One element of it is The Collaboration Engine.

Below we share an abridged version with you as a gift: to help you develop powerful collaborations to increase the regeneration of our world for the common good.

Fill out the survey – and ask your fellow collaborators to do so too. You will be emailed all of your responses. You can then use these as prompts to: 1) develop your own collaborative leadership development plan; 2) preempt collaborative meltdowns and impasses through to facilitate conscious and wise conversations and 3) contract and agree concrete collaborations designed to work with, not against, the motivators, relational “imprints”, and needs each collaborator has.

Together everything is possible. Let’s thrive through diversity in unity.

  • (so if we are running events we can let you know)
  • The reason you get out of bed and go to work or get involved in projects like this one
  • Does it feel inevitable? Exciting? Scary? Effortless?
  • How do or would you measure success for this project?
  • What would a fail look like? How would that feel?
  • None are better or worse than any other. However potential risks and returns can increase as we move down the list. By being clear on kind of collaboration we want, we can prevent a lot of wasted time, effort and goodwill.
  • Think ideas, investment, time, sweat, energy, contacts, advice
  • Think reputation, money, fun, learning etc
  • Think reputation, money, fun, learning etc
  • Think other commitments, financial imperatives, triggers, habits / patterns, enjoyment of solo working, over-commitment, lack of focus, lack of time, new family etc
  • This is to guage how much the project overlaps with your core mission / ambitions for the world
  • What will you put on the line / risk to make it work? Are there any ethical no goes or imperatives?There is no right / wrong - clarity helps everyone make informed and empowered choices how to be involved.
  • Consider what you have you learnt from previous collaborative successes or failures about the kinds of collaborators that work for you.
  • What can people do in collaboration that can cause you to lose your internal stability / equilibrium and move into a state of upset? 
  • What do people know you for? What can you be relied upon to contribute / be like / do?
  • What would people say about you who you have worked with before?
  • Think... no eye contact, get angry, stop caring, get hot etc.
  • What is your language of appreciation and collaborative love?
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.