The idea to collectively grow our talents in the realm of teaching and learning came about in the spring of 2021, when, as IDs, we were asked to design and teach a course in the Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership (MAOL) program. John was fairly new to The Center for Learning with Technology department, and Naomi had several years of experience. After mastering the initial quality metrics training, we explored ways to get him to the next level as a Peer reviewer or online teaching facilitator. Needless to say, the opportunity to teach on the topic of Learning and Development was an answered prayer to increase our department's productivity and to grow our talents to better assist the Harding faculty. This collaborative effort allowed us to accomplish personal and organizational goals, and we vowed to do it well. Over the next year of researching and brainstorming how to best design the course, we tried several approaches to determine which would be best suited to our circumstances. The journey was remarkable, and along the way, even in the valleys, we were able to harness trust, support, talent maximization, strong interpersonal relationships, and communication – our Power Tools.
What is Collaboration?
Before defining collaboration, we decided to investigate what people in various capacities thought about collaboration without reciting a formal definition. Yes…you guessed it, we collaborated. During this quest, we asked a number of people to complete the phrase, “Collaboration is…”. Out of this fun activity birthed the beautiful word cloud depicted here. Collaboration is fun, hard, transparent, necessary, trust, and power, which are some of the keywords used by many to describe what collaboration means to them. Collaboration occurs when people work together to intentionally brainstorm in an effort to create something. For us and the instructors we worked with, we were creating online and blended college courses at Harding. The team had a common goal, and we put measures in place to implement it effectively. What are the power tools of a healthy, intentional, collaborative environment? What foundational elements must be included to encourage people to work together towards a meaningful goal while balancing an alliance? Those elements include trust, feedback, support, talent maximization, and strong interpersonal relationships.
Trust
Trust is built organically over time on a foundation of behaviors all team members exhibit that empower everyone on the team to do their best work (Friedman, 2024). When we collaborated, trust was formed because we got to know each other’s strengths, weaknesses, character, and pain points. After working together for several years, we trusted one another, knowing each was dependable and would find ways to make a project better, even in those difficult times. Speaking of dependability and trust, we recall the planning of the Faculty Technology Showcase. This was an intense but fun two days of faculty development, compact with technological illustrations, breakout sessions, and guest speakers. We spent several months planning and organizing it. Naomi's son was born the day before the Showcase, and she could not attend at the last moment. John and others in the department needed to run the Showcase without Naomi’s help. Everyone chipped in and worked hard, and the Showcase was a success. Naomi had to trust that others would ensure the work was done. Trust (one of our top Power tools) was realized when it was used to execute a remarkable Faculty Showcase.
Feedback
By both seeking and appreciating the opinions of others, people are able to develop new ideas and solutions to existing problems and future ones. When collaborating as a team, feedback was encouraged and accepted throughout the process. As a team, we decided what medium worked best. We utilized tools such as Google Docs, Zoom, and Chat but met in person during set times to clarify misunderstandings surrounding our project. Feedback and communication were constant; silent moments were often paused with questions and thoughts.
Support
Working in a supportive environment is foundational. Our team was supported at multiple levels. During our time with Harding online, there were lots of changes; some of them we embraced, while others were accepted with some reluctance. The CIO of Harding, who was also the Director of Harding online, along with our immediate supervisor, were champion listeners. They would often check in to make sure we had what we needed to make certain transitions better and were often encouraging, to say the least. We were given a chance to voice frustrations without judgment and the opportunity to embrace them within the given timeframe.
Girded with the power tool of a supportive environment, we were able to collaborate and work with minimal distractions to successfully fulfill the tasks entrusted to us.
Talent Maximization
Our team varied by age, background, and work styles. Given our diverse backgrounds, this power tool required a high level of intentionality from us. Naomi enjoyed telling stories through creativity, while John enjoyed learning about how others felt through reflections and summaries. We knew each other's talents and were able to incorporate them throughout the many projects time and time again. Designing a Learning and Development course allowed us to nurture those talents and allowed students to retain the content through storytelling and creative work. Knowing the talents of our team and incorporating them throughout the project showed us that we valued each other and have developed a stronger working relationship. When talent is maximized and encouraged, people can create something that is more intrinsically authentic than when it is forced and downplayed.
Strong Interpersonal Relationships
Creating an online class together was fun but also fostered a unique sense of community because it allowed us to get to know each other better, which helped enhance the courses we were working on. That strong relationship develops even further as the team members seamlessly balance each other's strengths and weaknesses. A collaborative relationship shows a strong alliance while working towards a common goal. An authentic, collaborative relationship is one where each person uses their skills to contribute, implying trust, transparency, active communication, support, and respect for varying perspectives.
By working together and sharing the burdens and benefits of the effort, a team can create something that would not be possible with one person alone. H.E. Luccock said it well when he said, “No one can whistle a symphony. It takes an orchestra to play it.” When instructional designers collaborate with other professionals, the completed task can be more well-rounded and robust – a beautiful harmony like that of an orchestra. Throughout the development of Harding’s Organizational Leadership program, the instructional design team encouraged and communicated with the director and subject matter experts to balance the content knowledge with effective, data-driven design elements.
Collaboration is essential to the workplace. Without collaboration, there is a lack of growth and progress. Research shows collaboration improves motivation and work performance (Gaskell, 2017). Collaboration snowballs the trust and relational aspect of working together with a team. As team members move towards a common goal, they are more likely to feel connected and accomplished. We witnessed the importance of collaboration throughout the development of multiple online programs at Harding, and we are thankful for the power tools we had at our disposal.
Encouraging Challenges of Collaboration
Collaboration not only has benefits but also some burdens. There is a burden in being vulnerable to others by allowing one’s work to be evaluated. There is a burden in finding ways to communicate feedback to others on the strengths and weaknesses observed in their contributions. There is a burden in being open to other perspectives and worldviews that can be uncomfortable. There is also a burden in having to trust the collaboration process, much like there is trust that the car will start when the key is turned. The final burden is being overly collaborated when someone at an organization is overburdened with expectations to collaborate with others. This is when feedback and respecting the boundaries of our team members were found to be critical. We gave each other a chance to reflect and then regroup. This approach helps minimize the burden of collaboration, making the potential results much more well-balanced and allowing the team to produce something much more than any team member could have produced alone.
Trust, feedback, support, talent maximization, and interpersonal relationships – these are the power tools we used to ignite effective collaboration. Try them in your collaborative efforts today. Just remember, when you come to an uncomfortable place with collaboration, lean into it. Lean into that feeling, push through, and allow the process of that symphony to create something beautiful for the team that one person could not whistle on their own. We did it, and it was worth it. Above all, enjoy the collaborative journey. Who knows what power tools your team will be able to harness along the way.
Naomi Valentine and John Mimms were instrumental in helping the Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership program launch in 2021. At that time, they were both employed in the Center for Learning with Technology at Harding, and they managed to bring 18 unique, entirely new and fully online classes to fruition in about a year. It was a remarkable feat.
Now Naomi is the Senior Instructional Designer for Harding’s Information Systems and Technology, and John is employed at Restore Life Behavioral Health as a mental heath counselor. However, they both continue to collaboratively teach a wonderful training and development course in our MAOL program.
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