More and
more often we work in the online environment, because those we work with are in
distant locations. It might be easy to think that online is another tool, just
as the telephone or cellphone. It could be when you want to connect and talk to
someone, but if you want to really collaborate and work together in a creative
and productive way, online becomes the new office or conference room in your
business building.
Whenever
you move into a new office space, there are things to be considered. What kind
of furniture is needed and how should it be arranged so it supports your work
in the best possible way? How will you lead that work so it is focused,
efficient and successful? How can people find the ones they need to collaborate
with and where can they store things? Where is the coffee-mashine and what
about creativity?
These
questions belong to the online environment as well. How can it be designed so
people can be creative, efficient and use their whole knowledge to achieve the
best solutions possible? How can you lead the work so everyone is inspired,
stays focused and the results are successful? And what about coffee breaks?
Whatever
solutions you choose for the online work, the office space online and in your
usual office building have something in common. What does not work in your
usual office does not work in the online office room. If you can´t get people
energized and enthusiastic about certain topics in your usual conference room,
the same goes for the online conference.
Leading
online collaboration requires designing rooms and using methods that inspires
people and give them the freedom to explore, experiment and play with different
ideas and solutions in order to find the best one. Actually the same that is
needed when you want to get the best out of people gathered in usual office
spaces too.
Real online
collaboration goes beyond webinars and other information meetings when one
person presents something and the others are required to listen. It goes beyond
the usual thinking that the leader or chairman should present the solution.
Real collaboration in any room, taps into the wisdom of all the people gathered
and allows them to work with joy and creativity and self-organize around the
topics that are most important at that time.
As leaders
of collaboration, online or in usual conference rooms, we use Open Space
Technology or Whole Person Process Facilitation as the best methods for real
collaboration. These methods give an appropriate structure for the meeting and
maximum freedom and maximum choice for the participants to work in their own
best way with all their wisdom and energy. We find these methods function in
many different spaces, even when the conditions are somewhat problematic, as
when participants are not used to online work, the meeting room lacks daylight
or there is a traffic jam so people come in late. The structure of these
methods makes it easy for people to jump in, to find their way to where their
energy is and to create incredible results.
Want to learn more? Take a look at www.collaborativeways.com and register for our upcoming workshop on Open Space Technology.
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