Many of us have come to understand that we need to reach out to new allies and partners if we’re going to make progress on the challenges we face. But real collaboration is often much more difficult than we expect. Maybe these new partners think differently from us. There could be a history of distrust. We suspect there are hidden agendas. There is no visible common ground.
This workshop will be a deep dive into the challenges and practices of “stretch collaboration.” We will examine common misunderstandings and look at real life examples. We will learn how to create just enough structure for both agreement and disagreement while finding our way forward together. We will apply what we learn to our own projects.
This course is based on Adam Kahane’s recently published book, “Collaborating with the Enemy: how to work with people you don’t agree with or like or trust” and the work of Reos Partners. It will be a hands-on workshop for people who are actively engaged in collaboration projects. We recommend teams of 2-4 people from the same organisation, project, or partnership attend in order to maximize the opportunity to build this capacity (though individuals are also are also welcome to register).
What does it take for us to stretch into difficult collaboration?
In this hands-on course you will learn how to:
- Recognise when (and why) it makes sense to enter a “stretch collaboration”;
- Create a productive, safe space for dialoguing and fighting work with multiple answers and problems;
- Use experimentation as strategy;
- Step fully into the situation as a co-creator with those you don’t agree with or like or trust.