VOCAB for Collaboration: How “Work Language” Can Help You Win at Teamwork
1. VOCAB for collaboration:
How “work language” can help you win at teamwork
Bianca Biesinger
Library Assistant Sr., Resource Sharing and Document Delivery
Andrea Payant
Metadata Librarian
Darcy Pumphrey
Digital Library Coordinator
Sara Skindelien
Library Assistant, Special Collections and Archives
Randy Williams
Fife Folklore Archives Curator
Rachel Wishkoski
Reference and Instruction Librarian
Liz Woolcott
Head of Cataloging and Metadata Services
2. Clair Canfield’s VOCAB Model
V = vulnerability
O = ownership
C = communication
A = acceptance
B = boundaries
Clair Canfield: 2016 TEDxUSU
http://tedx.usu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/clair.jpg
4. Vulnerability
• Check ego at door
• Time to get to know one another
• Trust foundational to vulnerability
• Vulnerability allowed us to be powerful
• United in face of challenges
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Peacock_Plumage.jpg
Willingness to Let Myself Be Seen
5. Vulnerability TIPS
Willingness to Let Myself Be Seen
• Recognize there will be many unknowns
• Sense of humor a must
• Build in time for group processing: get to know
before you get to go!
• Safety bonds are applied to other work
7. Boundaries
Ground Rules for Acceptable Behavior
Create group agreements
1. Discussion:
• How do I do creative
thinking?
• How do I best express my
thoughts?
• How do I deal with
disagreement?
• How do I like
communicate?
• What skills could I
contribute?
• What ground rules are
important to me?
9. Boundaries TIPS
Ground Rules for Acceptable Behavior
• Take time for reflection at the beginning of a
project
• Use group agreements to be explicit about
how you will work together
11. Communication
Ask, Listen, and Express
• Openness
• Sharing ideas and thoughts
• Openminded -Listening and hearing
• Recognizing our goal
• Canfield's definition
• Multiple communication tools
• Everyone's voice should be heard
• Communicating together as a group
• Internally and externally
• Debrief and process
• Stay on the same page
• Sharing responsibilities
• Kept people from getting stuck
• Not necessarily equal
• No one had more power
12. Communication TIPS
Ask, Listen, and Express
• Try to tone down authoritative communication
and make things more discussion based
• Use a variety of communication tools and
technologies
• Keep documentation throughout
14. Ownership
Taking Accountability for My Own Needs, Emotions, and Choices
• Accountability for self in the context of the
team
• Practicing ownership early on
• Investment in a common goal
• Avoiding competing agendas
• Being deliberately hierarchy-less
• Reflection as a tool for accountability
• Making time
• Not conflating accountability with
perfection
• Trust as enabler of agility
• Arriving at consensus
• Not second-guessing others’ work
• Stepping up
15. • Take ownership of your contributions to the
team
• Keep an eye on the big picture to keep group
investment in common goal
• Use reflection as a tool for accountability and
trust
Ownership TIPS
Taking Accountability for My Own Needs, Emotions, and Choices
18. Acceptance
Embracing Reality and Letting Go of What We Can't Control
• Accept yourself and others as part of the team
• Utilize individual strengths and skillsets
• Team “role” requirements
19. Acceptance
Embracing Reality and Letting Go of What We Can't Control
• Accept that the process should be fluid and
adapt with change
• Learn together
• Take advice
• Trial and error – change methods
• Prioritize – it’s ok to let go
20. Acceptance
Embracing Reality and Letting Go of What We Can't Control
• Accept that you can’t please everyone
• Re-evaluate, discuss, reach agreement, and
move on
21. Acceptance TIPS
Embracing Reality and Letting Go of What We Can't Control
• Bridge the Gap
• All parties should use the same model = VOCAB
• Ask for help but be aware of agreements made
with consultants and mentors
22. Breakout Discussion
Vulnerability / Ownership / Communication/ Acceptance / Boundaries
• Select element from Canfield’s model
• Join group
• Introductions
• Discuss why your selected concept
resonates with each of you
• How might it help address challenges in
collaboration you’ve encountered in the
workplace?
• How might it help you approach new group
work contexts?
• What questions or ideas does the VOCAB
model spark for you?
Karen Franco, Alex Pineda, Flor Pacheco, Hector Hernandez, Luis Madrigal, Yasmeen Pineda and Maria
R. focus group interview on November 7,
2012. http://digital.lib.usu.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/Latino/id/739/rec/22
We’ll use this model to frame our talk. A model for conflict resolution and communication.
Helpful for teamwork and collaboration in general
About Canfield: https://tedx.usu.edu/portfolio-items/clair-canfield/
TED Talk and forthcoming book
We’ll use this model to frame our talk. A model for conflict resolution and communication.
Helpful for teamwork and collaboration in general
About Canfield: https://tedx.usu.edu/portfolio-items/clair-canfield/
TED Talk and forthcoming book
Check ego at door
Common goal—work as a team
Time to get to know one another
Skillsets, working styles, comfort levels, limitations, etc.
Bonding & cohesion
Trust foundational to vulnerability
Permeate team
Felt safe to make mistakes
Admitting lack of experience: figure it out together
Accountability and high follow-through
Vulnerability allowed us to be powerful
Decreased anxiety
No peacocking
United in face of challenges
Safety to share when overwhelmed
Emotional intelligence skills
Recognize there will be many unknowns
How project will turn out, what will happen, etc.
Vulnerability with group buffers sense of the unknown
Sense of humor a must!
We came up with silly nicknames, jokes – serious work but need to laugh
Build in time for group processing
This takes time but is really important and allows tea to get to a shared understanding
Establish a shared vision
Boundaries – Canfield defined Boundaries as setting ground rules for acceptable behavior. While it may seem like professional communication should be a skill everyone has in the workplace, even the most skilled communicators benefit from setting up ground rules when working with a group. Setting boundaries basically means we discuss how we will communicate with one another, including basic exchanges of information but also stating our intent and methodology for expressing our feelings and individual needs as the project progressed. This conversation helps avoid ambiguity and misinterpretation. When embarking on our group work, we set aside a time during our first meeting to discuss how our group would work together. That conversation proved to be foundational to our project and saved us a lot of time over the course of our work.
We began by discussing our ourselves- such as how we liked to communicate – whether via email, in person, over the phone, texting, etc. And what our work backgrounds were. We then answered several thought questions like “How do I best express my thoughts? How do I deal with disagreement? What skills or strengths do I bring to this group?’ We learned about strengths and weaknesses, communication preferences, and we began a system of building trust by being open about the vulnerabilities that Randy just discussed. We ended up with a matrix like the one you see above. This wasn’t a codified document that we followed, it was simply a way of discussing and visualizing what we all brought to the group. Simply seeing this written down helped to formulate in our heads how to utilize the skills of the group assembled and strategically assign tasks and responsibilities that fit each individual. This saved time and more than anything created a sense of trust that group members knew and valued the skills that each person brought to the group. Boundaries, in this case, were foundational to our efforts.
From that discussion, we developed some ground rules for everyone to follow. Even though most of them seem simple, they made a big impact on our group. When we all agree that we will ask for help, it becomes ”Okay” to ask for help. When we write that we will stick to the agenda, we keep to an agenda. Simply writing down rules as a group is impactful.
Rules and boundaries establish trust in a group. When all expectations are clearly laid there is no worry that you missed anything or that there are unknown standards that you will be held to. Continually practicing and abiding by the group rules reinforces that trust and helps to build cohesion in your team.
Outlining these group agreements naturally lead to designing our communication expectations, which Bianca will tell you more about
So our top tips regarding boundaries are to:
Take time for reflection at the beginning of the project
And
Use group agreements to be explicit about how you will work together to reach your goals
Recognize there will be many unknowns
How project will turn out, what will happen, etc.
Vulnerability with group buffers sense of the unknown
Sense of humor a must!
We came up with silly nicknames, jokes – serious work but need to laugh
Build in time for group processing
This takes time but is really important and allows tea to get to a shared understanding
Establish a shared vision
Recognize there will be many unknowns
How project will turn out, what will happen, etc.
Vulnerability with group buffers sense of the unknown
Sense of humor a must!
We came up with silly nicknames, jokes – serious work but need to laugh
Build in time for group processing
This takes time but is really important and allows tea to get to a shared understanding
Establish a shared vision
Canfield defines Acceptance as: embracing reality and letting go of what we can’t control
In our group’s recent experience together, we learned a few key lessons about acceptance
First – Accept yourself and others as part of the team
As mentioned before, we worked together early on to identify, embrace, and employ our individual strengths and skillsets to reach our goals as a group. This helped us build a framework for going forward and to achieve balance within the group.
We also realized and accepted responsibilities as part of a team included being objective – there was a time and place set aside for us to make the transition from our role as part of the committee to a role as part of the library and then we were free to add own views and opinions (Staff Day with a moderator)
Second – Accept that the process will be fluid and adapt to change
Our group came into this project with little to no experience with our given task of strategic planning. So, admittedly we really didn’t know what we were doing. It was necessary for us to learn and progress as a group throughout the entire process. Together, we built foundational knowledge, conducted researched, and took advantage of opportunities to get outside help. Even though we were lucky enough to have outside help, we did not get as much as we would have liked – So, when we did not have experts to weigh in or answer questions, we had to sort of become the experts ourselves.
We were always open to suggestions from anyone to help guide our work and would implement suggestions along the way. For example, feedback was gathered various times, like during our Staff Day exercises and with an accompanying google document where everyone was free to analyze, make suggestions, and ask questions about our library-wide goals.
We tried different methods to achieve our goals within the group – like with our focus groups – we had two rounds. For the first round, people were invited to one specific group to participate and for the second round, people had the opportunity to attend any and all groups they felt inclined to join.
The team also dealt with time constraints around our work or personal schedules also timelines and deadlines which specified parameters for us to deliver a final product. We worked to identify our priorities.
Third – Accept that you can’t please everyone
Whenever any decision-making involves large groups of people, there is the very likely possibility that there won’t be complete consensus. This was the case in our experience. And we had to continually remind ourselves of this fact. Our suggestion to you whenever you meet with difficulties of this nature in your work, would be to really take feedback seriously. Use it to re-evaluate yourselves and your process, have thoughtful discussions, then reach agreement, and moved on. Trying to make everyone happy can really bog down your progress.
In hindsight, we have recognized the importance of developing a means to bridge the gap between what your own group knows and what is understood by the audience or community that you are serving. Having any disconnect like this will hinder your progress.
We also recommend that all parties involved in the process strive to work from the same model and take on similar VOCAB – the model should not be isolated to one group if many other people or groups are involved in the outcomes of your decision-making
It will also be hugely beneficial to you if you take advantage of outside expertise, but be sure that you are aware of limitations that may be part of any agreement reached with consultants or mentors. Having this information will help identify the most opportune ways to utilize them