Successful Collaborations Alignment, Intentionality, and Results Hank Rubin, Ph.D., President and Founder Institute for Collaborative Leadership Jolie Bain Pillsbury, Ph.D., and Victoria Goddard-Truitt, Ph.D., Senior Research Fellows University of Maryland School of Public Policy’s Results Based Leadership Collaborative Successful Collaborations Alignment, Intentionality, and Results The Communities in Schools National Forum Philadelphia, PA April 7, 2010

Collaborative Leadership: Complimentary Approaches Collaborative Leadership: What is Collaborative Leadership? & Who is a Collaborative Leader? Purposeful, voluntary relationship Cooperation to achieve shared objectives Capacity to build and maintain relationships Collaborative Leadership for Results Focus on common, shared result Partners taking aligned action Use of collaborative leadership skills and tools Talking Points: Collaboration: “A collaboration is a purposeful relationship in which all parties strategically choose to cooperate in order to achieve shared or overlapping objectives. Because of its voluntary nature, the success of a collaboration depends on one or more collaborative leader's ability to build and maintain these relationships.” [Take special note of footnote in handout!]  Collaborative leader: “You are a collaborative leader once you have accepted responsibility for building - or helping to ensure the success of - a heterogeneous team to accomplish a shared purpose. Your tools are (1) the purposeful exercise of your behavior, communication, and organizational resources in order to affect the perspective, beliefs, and behaviors of another person (generally a collaborative partner) to influence that person's relationship with you and your collaborative enterprise and (2) the structure and climate of an environment that supports the collaborative relationship.”

Story of the Little Red Wagon Pin Educators as Collaborative Leaders: getting grownups to pile into the wagon and pulling everyone along in aligned support of children's learning and well-being. tboc See explanation on website: www.Collaborative-Leaders.org

Workshop Results How can the Collaboration’s Life Cycle be used to improve community-school partnerships? Where are you in the Life Cycle? What are your collaborative leadership opportunities and challenges? How can you use results-based leadership tools to explore your partnership’s opportunities and address its challenges? What next steps will you take to strengthen your partnership?

Introductions Name Agency or organization Coalition/collaboration/team that is your focus for workshop Notes: Introductions will be at tables if group is large or if group is small stated out in the room.

Collaboration’s Life Cycle: Where is Your Team? Handouts of the Collaboration’s Life Cycle

Reflection: Opportunities and Challenges What are the results you want to achieve from your collaboration? Who is involved in your collaboration’s work at this phase? What is your role? What is working and what is not working in your collaborative? What are the opportunities/challenges you face as a collaborative leader?

Collaboration’s Life Cycle Clusters and RBL Tools Cluster I (Phase 1) Launch Reason to undertake initiative Person responsible for work Proposal Based Decision Making Cluster II (Phases 2-5) Human resources/knowledge base Accountability Pathway Cluster III (Phases 6-7) Administrative structures/systems High Alignment/ High Action Cluster IV (Phases 8-11) Collaborative culture Connecting partners to/within collaboration Circle of Conflict Cluster V (Phases 12-14) Accountability/sustainability/renewal Results, Relationships and Resources Handout of the Comparison between the two approaches On screen icons from Apps

Results-Based Leadership (RBL) Tools Using results-based leadership tools can help you move quickly from talk to action. Identify the need to address issue at hand Assess where your collaboration is now Identify appropriate results-based leadership tool Learn how to apply the tool through review, reflection Practice applying the tool until it becomes second nature

RBL Tool: Proposal Based Decision Making Consensus is finding a proposal everyone can support/no one opposes. Use proposals to make decisions/seek reactions by using rule of thumb.  Agree (thumbs up)  Not sure (thumbs sideways)  Disagree (thumbs down)

RBL Tool: Accountability Pathway The ability to make action commitments and keep those commitments or to acknowledge you haven’t and do what you need to do to move to action.

RBL Tool: High Action/High Alignment Low Alignment High Alignment High Action High action that contributes to results Does not work to be in alignment with others High action that contributes to results Works to be in alignment with others Low Action Low action that does not contribute to results Does not work to be in alignment with others

RBL Tool: Circle of Conflict

RBL Tools-Results, Relationships and Resources (3 R’s) The 3R’s help focus meetings and conversations to produce effective collaboration. Relations + Resources = Results MEETING PURPOSE- EXPLORE THE TOPIC OF YOUTH SUCCEEDING IN SCHOOL Effective Questions for Result “Listen For” for Results If the meeting were successful, what would we see? Ideas for low-cost, no cost programs or neighborhood activities that support youth’s academic success and/or positive social connections Actions taken to implement or connect to programs Effective Question for Relationship Example “Listen For” for Relationship Who needs to be involved to get the meeting results? Names, affiliations Who has relationships or access to people and programs Effective Question for Resources Example “Listen For” for Resources What can those invited do to help? What resources do people have or have access to—i.e., time, knowledge, relationships, experience, passion, data, etc.

Resources Institute for Collaborative Leadership www.collaborative-leaders.org Collaborative Leadership: Developing Effective Partnerships for Communities and Schools Results Based Leadership Collaborative www.publicpolicy.umd.edu/rblc www.rbl-apps.com Results Based Facilitation: How To Move from Talk To Action Theory of Aligned Contributions: An Emerging Theory of Change Primer