Keys to Working Together Productively and Harmoniously

In this Journal of Staff Development article, Robert Garmston (Center for Cognitive Coaching and Center for Adaptive Schools) and Diane Zimmerman (Fusion Resolution) say that school leaders need to develop collaborative compacts – “a set of accords about how a group will function.” Here are their suggestions:

• Working together:

• Group members are “present” and eliminate personal distractions. 
• If someone is silent, group members check in with him or her.
• Group members discuss only one topic at a time and use only one process at a time.
• Participation in the meeting is balanced.
• Members listen well, seeking first to understand, then to be understood, paraphrasing to communicate understanding, and inquiring before advocating.
• Conflict about ideas is encouraged, but affective conflict is eliminated; members show mutual respect, being “hard on ideas and soft on people.”
• Group members understand and agree on roles – for example, facilitator, recorder, group member, and person with authority (based on role or knowledge).

• Thinking together:

• The group focuses on students, curriculum, and assessments, setting aside administrivia.
• Group members monitor their mental state and change it when they lose focus by using a clarifying paraphrase or question, observing processes, or suggesting a transition.
• The group seeks at least 75 percent consensus by working to understand all views, distinguishing between dialogue and discussion, and giving each person equal voice.

• Dealing with conflicts:

• Group members know how they feel about conflict and are in touch with ways they might contribute to or escalate a conflict (by internalizing it, joining the argument, or seeking creative tension). 
• State the conflict. The group might give a hot-button issue a name, which allows people to be tough on ideas but not people.
• Summarize viewpoints. “Groups tend to overwork a conflict,” say Garmston and Zimmerman. “Ask a few of the more silent participants to summarize viewpoints to allow the entire group to gain clarity and know what next steps might be.”
• Agree to disagree. Explicit agreements on areas of disagreement help people communicate and sometimes find common ground.

• Managing our own behavior:

• Group members care enough to stay focused and committed to the group’s work.
• Members speak up honestly rather than discussing gripes in the parking lot. Examples:

• “I notice that out of the group of 15, only three people are carrying on the conversation.”
• “I think this might be because some of us do not want to get into a conflict.”
• “I am concerned that we are wasting time and will leave here with a false sense of agreement.”
• “I suggest we stop the debate and summarize the various viewpoints, and then figure out what the group needs next.”

“The Collaborative Compact” by Robert Garmston and Diane Zimmerman in Journal of Staff Development, April 2013 (Vol. 34, 32, p. 10-16), www.learningforward.org; the authors can be reached at fabob@aol.com and dpzimmer@gmail.com. 

From the Marshall Memo #485