A Challenging Time for Organizations
Collaboration is one of the keys to high levels of productivity. The old rules about collaboration no longer apply. The only rules that exist are the ones you make up for the particular transaction. That’s why it’s so important to have a method that will take care of any collaborative transaction, which is every transaction. Clear agreements elegantly create joint vision and quiet the internal voices of dissonance and conflict (chatter,) that get in the way of real partnership. They are the path to relationships based on covenant. Unfortunately most of us never learned what goes into an effective agreement.
The Management Opportunity
Productivity and satisfaction depend on “clear” hearts and “clear” agreements. When the heart or the agreement is unclear, conflict and compromised productivity follow. Unfortunately, most managers (like most people) are conflict adverse – they don’t engage (most avoid) conflict until it becomes acute. By then the costs of conflict are staggering: paying professionals; lost productivity; opportunity cost; loss of the benefits of continuing relationships; and the emotional cost that eats at the fabric of every organization’s spirit.
When managers do engage with conflict they often only deal with symptoms. They resist getting near the real source of dissonance. To stop the staggering loss of resources managers would be well served to learn the skills needed to “manage by agreement.” The organizational benefits that flow from the competence to prevent and deal with conflict are huge. The ability to form effective working relationships impacts the core of every organizational function – teaming, managing, partnering, customer servicing, producing, innovating, learning, collaborating and diversity. Knowing how to develop effective working agreements is a fundamental competence for managing anything.
How MBA Works
Managing by Agreement (MBA) creates covenantal relationships that are based on shared commitment to ideas, issues, values, goals and management process. Covenant is the true source of real teams, and is a key ingredient for having a “Work Family” which provides a source of the richness and fulfillment we seek. With covenants in place results beyond expectation follow. When you start a new project you will have the tools to put in place a road map that reminds you of your mission, and the route to get you there.
Agreements provide a dynamic context that advances change in organizational cultures. Agreements provide the context that promotes collaboration, teaming, learning, change, and continuous improvement. Agreements provide standard practices through which desired changes can be identified, clarified and implemented. Individuals and groups are legitimized as they learn how to address their unique needs and concerns. The result is empowerment, teamwork, increased productivity and self-management. Let me explain:
Productivity and collaboration are a function of effective explicit agreements! All productivity, and all satisfying professional and personal relationships result from collaborative action. We collaborate with others in language by forming agreements. These agreements are express (spoken or written) or implied (assumed.) We often have conflict because we did not take the time, and we never learned how, to craft effective, explicit agreements. This is a skill we were never taught, even though it is fundamental and a foundational life skill.
The cause of wasteful, expensive conflicts are implicit, inartful, incomplete or non-existent agreements that do not express a joint vision, and do not solidify relationship in the process of crafting the agreement. This often happens because the process of negotiating an agreement is seen as an adversarial process you try to win, as compared to a joint visioning process that expresses an inclusive vision of desired outcomes, and the road map to those desired results.
You can learn how to craft elegant agreements using a 10 element Agreement Template. They can be used with yourself as goal setting tools. They can be used to foster covenantal partnerships with colleagues, bosses, support staff, suppliers, joint venture partners, clients and any collaborators. The key is articulating joint vision, how you will produce desired outcomes, standards to evaluate your results, and who you need to reach your objectives. MBA is a simple way of planning and implementation that generates a high level of buy in because it is empowering, inclusive and highly participatory.
The Ten Elements are:
INTENT AND SPECIFIC VISION –The big picture of what you intend to accomplish together must be specified. The first step of any effective collaboration is sharing a big picture of what you are doing together. This provides a framework to hang the details on. A joint enterprise works best when everyone is working toward the same specific goals. The clearer the detail of desired outcomes, the more likely you will attain them as visualized.
ROLES & NECESSARY PARTIES –The duties, responsibilities, and commitment of everyone must be clearly defined. Everyone necessary to achieve the desired results must be part of the agreement.
PROMISES / COMMITMENTS TO ACTION–The agreement contains clear promises so everyone knows who will do what. When commitments to take action are specific, you can determine if the actions are sufficient to obtain the desired results and what actions are missing.
TIME / VALUE OF EXCHANGE V–All promises must have specific time deadlines for task completion. These are “by whens”–by when will you do this, and by when will you do that. In addition, the time period of the agreement needs to be specified. Who gets what for what must be detailed.Is the exchange satisfactory? Is it fair? Does it provide adequate incentive? If incentive is not present and understood people will stop keeping promises.
MEASUREMENTS OF SATISFACTION –The evidence that everyone has achieved his or her objectives must be clear, direct, and measurable so there can be no disagreement. This element is critical because it eliminates conflict about the ultimate question–Did you accomplish what you set out to do?
CONCERNS AND FEARS –Bringing unspoken difficulties to the surface provides the opportunity to anticipate and minimize the disagreements you know will happen during the collaboration. The discussion will deepen the partnership being created or let you know this is not a partnership you want to be part of.
RENEGOTIATION & DISSOLUTION –No matter how optimistic and clear you are it will become necessary to renegotiate promises and conditions of satisfaction. Circumstances change, and you must put in place a mechanism to address the new conditions. Being realistic about this at the beginning enables the relationship to evolve and prosper. It is imperative to provide everyone with a way out–an exit strategy everyone can follow with dignity. Anyone who feels imprisoned in a transaction, partnership, or relationship will not make his or her maximum contribution to the enterprise.
CONSEQUENCES –Although you may not want to police the agreement, it is important to agree on consequences for anyone who breaks a promise. More important what is at stake for individuals, the team, the organization or society if the vision is not achieved.
DISPUTE RESOLUTION –Acknowledge that conflicts and disagreements arise as a matter of course as people work together. If you know that and establish the attitude of resolution and a process that leads to a new agreement, resolving conflicts will be easier.
AGREEMENT?– Everyone is satisfied and ready to take action. Work on the agreement until you are satisfied that you have an agreement or do not have one. Unless and until you are satisfied, do not move into action. You will not have a shared vision to work toward. Also ask yourself whether the outcome will be worth it.
The nature of organizational life will not revert back to a state of hierarchy and order. Managing by Agreement is an effective alternative to chaos. It provides tools that serve, enhance, clarify and provide a structure within which you can “make it up as you go along” while fully allowing principles of self-organization to operate. I believe that the balance of “self-made” structure and self-organization can provide the context in which individuals and organizations will flourish. MBA produces clarity about where you are going, and the route you will take, before you move into action.
ResolutionWorks is a consulting and training organization dedicated to providing skills and ways of thinking needed to build strong organizational cultures in all types of working environments.
It is also a public resource for individuals and organizations who wish to create powerful, sustainable collaborations and partnerships. This website provides a variety of instructional methods in a wide variety of media formats. Become part of a growing and thriving community!
