"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

The opportunity to spend a couple days with some wonderful colleagues last  week has me thinking about the great benefits we receive when we work together. I’ve written about the value of volunteering and that is certainly a rewarding experience. Today, I am thinking more about working together in our professional roles.

I’ve been very fortunate in my career to work in environments where most of the people were genuinely motivated to work together in pursuit of the vision, mission and goals of the organization. My colleagues have generally been eager to share their knowledge, experience and perspectives, and to listen openly to what others had to share, to help ensure our success. Most of the leaders I have served under fostered this kind of cooperation and served as role models in their own engagement with colleagues.

Across a wide range of situations, from cooperation within work groups and teams, to collaboration within and across departments and organizations, I’ve experienced the power of people coming together in service of shared objectives. I’ve seen this dynamic at work in campus-wide committees and initiatives, and in system-wide groups like the Information Technology Advisory Committee (ITAC) that I spent time with last week.

As ITAC gathered, with CIOs from across a large multi-campus system representing their universities, I watched with real admiration the way these colleagues choose to work together. I’ve been fortunate to work with this group for a number of years and I was struck again with the diversity of their knowledge and experience, the respectful way they work together, and the commitment and energy they bring to this work. The needs and cultures of their campuses differ and the best solution for one will not always be suitable for another. Still, they come together with mutual respect to search for answers.

I admire the way the members of this group seek opportunities for common action and benefit from understanding how the different organizations they represent are unique. Their work together provides an excellent example of how it is possible to share the effort, and benefits, of seeking standard system-wide solutions, forming smaller communities of interest where appropriate, and sharing experiences and knowledge that can benefit us even when we choose unique answers for our campuses. Often the pioneering work of one, or a few, will ultimately benefit all and I appreciate the spirit of generosity and collaboration they exhibit.

Although this recent experience was another positive example of how we can work together, I admit it’s not always easy. Some problems are perennial and even with all the best intentions and great good will, we can find ourselves struggling with them for years. Cynicism is a real danger at times like these and it can take real creativity, and patience, to find a way forward.

Even when we are paid to do a job for an organization, we don’t necessarily work effectively with all our colleagues. While we may all be “riding for the same brand” there are times when we find ourselves failing to connect to do good work together. There can even be personal, or personality, conflicts that can threaten to undermine the work we are engaged in together and I have faced a few situations where I wasn’t sure I could find a way past these. To be clear, none of those was at ITAC. 

There are many issues that can get in the way of effective collaboration. Our goals may be, or appear to be at odds. We may find ourselves in competition for resources or in championing different approaches to a shared objective. We may disagree about priorities and, sometimes, we may need to find a way to disagree respectfully. With luck, we may find ways to move ahead separately to a point where we can rejoin our efforts.  One answer has been to recognize when I needed to set aside my preference and support a solution that would not have been my first choice. Not every group will represent the power of working together and I’m sure we have all experienced those times when it seems a committee is the worst possible way to find a real solution.

It takes real leadership to bring people together, or through the hard times, to carry on good work. I don't believe that you can compel people to come together in this way. We must inspire them to do so for good reasons of their own by appealing to common interests and to their desire to improve things through their shared effort. We must meet them with respect and listen with open minds for the wisdom they have to share. We must help them meet one another with respect, openness, creativity, and patience. When we work around, or rise above, the challenges inherent in working with others toward a common goal, it almost always makes us stronger.

For my part, I am deeply grateful for the opportunities I have had to work with groups of colleagues. I’ve built a network of peers, and friends, and I’ve learned more from our work together then I ever have working alone. The perspective I’ve gained, and the growth I’ve experienced, as we faced challenges and celebrated accomplishments are invaluable. The opportunity to contribute, and the good times we’ve shared, have been among the highlights of my career.

With the end of our meetings last week, my work at ITAC has come to an end. Endings are part of this phase of my career that I am exploring as I write. I find that they afford me the opportunity to look back and reflect on what I’ve shared with others, what we’ve accomplished and how I’ve grown and changed. I find they also give me the chance to look forward with happy anticipation to what comes next. I know from past experiences, like the one I had in my volunteer work at SHARE, that the best times may well be ahead of me.

(The photo at the head to this weeks article is from Sulphur Mountain in Banff; one of the many great team-building experiences I enjoyed with the SHARE Board of Directors.)