Where to Now?

The first element of collaboration is commitment. That is aligning and obligating one's self to achieving a common objective, goal, or vision. The greatest challenge to western-oriented people is the fact that we are dominantly individually-oriented. We believe that a group is made up of a collection of individuals. Whereas, eastern-oriented people believe that there is no such thing as an individual separate and apart form the group.

We can immediately see how these two different interpretations of "who we are" can set us off in totally different directions--particularly where collaboration is concerned. What makes this situation even more challenging is that both groups believe their point-of-view is "truth," not a belief! The perfect condition for ethnocentric conflict!

I facilitated a workshop in diversity in Hong Kong about fifteen years ago. I separated the workshop group into four teams with different instructions (western style) and a time-frame for completion. After five minutes into the exercise the four teams spontaneouly formed one big team--the entire group! The one team proceeded to address the four parts of the exercise until they felt they were complete. That was lesson I have never forgotten. When I had conducted the same exercise in the U.S., my instrucrtions were followed perfectly.

On the surface individualism and group appear to be incompatible. But when we adopt a holistic view, we begin to see that the two are mutually compatible. There is a time for individualism, group, and both. I am most creative as an individual experience. I am most innovative (to manifest a creative idea) when working with others. The combination of our knowledge bases creates a product none of us could have done alone.

So the first, and most challenging, step is adopting a holistic, integrative mind-set that transcends one point-of-view and compatibly embraces both. Particularly, since the the Earth's population is less than 10% individualistic in their thinking; as a natural propensity. So commitment to collaboration is the process of working with others in such a way that there is a unity of one. The process of forming the United States and the resulting binding document--The Constitution--in 1776 is an example of commitment to collaboration.

On the other hand, the execution of that document in an equitable way, since its inception, is another question!