Preconditions for success ("must-haves")

Shared objectives; Need for more than one person to be involved; Understanding of who needs to do what by when

Shared objectives; Need for more than one person to be involved; Mutual trust and respect; Acknowledgment of mutual benefit of working together

Shared objectives; Sense of urgency and commitment; Dynamic process; Sense of belonging; Open communication; Mutual trust and respect; Complementary, diverse skills and knowledge; Intellectual agility

Enablers (additional "nice to haves")

Appropriate tools (see below); Problem resolution mechanism

Frequent consultation and knowledge-sharing between participants; Clear role definitions; Appropriate tools (see below)

Right mix of people; Collaboration skills and practice collaborating; Good facilitator(s); Collaborative 'Four Practices' mindset and other appropriate tools (see below)

Purpose of using this approach

Avoid gaps & overlap in individuals' assigned work

Obtain mutual benefit by sharing or partitioning work

Achieve collective results that the participants would be incapable of accomplishing working alone

Desired outcome

Efficiently-achieved results meeting objectives

Same as for Coordination, plus savings in time and cost

Same as for Cooperation, plus innovative, extraordinary, breakthrough results, and collective 'we did that!' accomplishment

Optimal application

Harmonizing tasks, roles and schedules in simple environments and systems

Solving problems in complicated environments and systems

Enabling the emergence of understanding and realization of shared visions in complex environments and systems

Examples

Project to implement off-the-shelf IT application; Traffic flow regulation

Marriage; Operating a local community-owned utility or grain elevator; Coping with an epidemic or catastrophe

Brainstorming to discover a dramatically better way to do something; Jazz or theatrical improvisation; Co-creation

Appropriate tools

Project management tools with schedules, roles, critical path (CPM), PERT and GANTT charts; "who will do what by when" action lists

Systems thinking; Analytical tools (root cause analysis etc.)

Appreciative inquiry; Open Space meeting protocols; Four Practices; Conversations; Stories

Degree of interdependence in designing the effort's work-products (need for physical co-location of participants)

Minimal

Considerable

Substantial

Degree of individual latitude in carrying out the agreed-upon design

Minimal

Considerable

Substantial

One way to think of differentiating definitions

The organization of efforts of different parties to reach a common goal. High-stakes issues are not often involved, and parties need not carry a relationship beyond the accomplishment of the task at hand. The goal is static.

A means to an end that involves gains and losses on the part of each participant. This can sometimes foster a competitive environment, and parties need not carry a relationship beyond the accomplishment of the task at hand. The goal is static.

All parties work together and build consensus to reach a decision or create a product, the result of which benefits all parties. Competition is a nearly-insurmountable roadblock to collaboration, and the relationship among parties must continue beyond the accomplishment of the task in order to assure its viability. The goal is dynamic.