The following is a synopsis of the Open House Discussion hosted on June 3rd, 2022 with facilitators Anne Peterson and Suzanne Frindt. These discussions are part of a series that will culminate at the Imagining in Action Summit being hosted this Fall in Cancun,MX.
At the heart of the Imagining in Action work is the “WeFactor” and true collaboration. This conversation dives deep into this subject of collaboration. It’s a huge topic that doesn’t lend itself to a simple definition. Accomplishing the big visions we have for our community and for the world requires us to tap into the power of true collaboration and the “WeFactor''
What is the “WeFactor''?
The “WeFactor'' is more than simply a group of people who have come together with common aims or values. Instead, it describes the phenomenon that happens when a group of people come together and the group's thoughts, ideas and life force is more than any one individual. There is a factor, a magic that is present when a group of people come together to explore an idea. There is an intelligence and an energy that exists making the whole more than the sum of its parts.
Often, our definition of “we” is actually a collection of individuals or “I’s”. We think of a group of people who look like us or who are like us in most ways. This can lead to a more binary view of an “us” and “them” instead of WE. The “WeFactor'' includes those we may consider to be “the other”. The difference between a collection of individuals (I’s) and the “WeFactor'' is that it is made up of people who are willing to forget themselves, and tune into what the “We” are building together and commit themselves to building something that can only be done by the “We” that emerges.
When I think of the “WeFactor'', I am reminded of “The Edge effect” - an ecological term which has made its way into mainstream use. It is defined as “the point in which 2 ecosystems meet - like the forest and the savanna - and … in ecology the edge effect is where the most new life forms are created.” Along the edge of the two ecosystems where they merge, an entirely new species is created that is not the same as any of the species that make it up, and yet could not exist without either of them.
The "WeFactor" is the space in which new ideas, new actions and new things can come to life as a product or those who are collaborating. Because "We" all bring different perspectives, "We" create something that could not exist without the participation of ALL the collaborators.
Collaboration is often used to mean the same as cooperation. But there are a number of nuanced differences between them, and this is well demonstrated by John Spencer in the following video.
Sometimes when people or groups come together, it can simply be additive in nature rather than collaborative, and in some instances, it might even be competitive.
To work together as true collaborators requires intention. However one of the other factors that seems to be critical for true collaboration to take place is that “WeFactor''. Cooperation limits the outcome of what is possible, while collaboration can amplify efforts and pooled resources can stretch much further than cooperation alone, and definitely further than competition.
However, practicing collaboration may sound easier than it is.
What is required for true collaboration?
One of the realities that anyone choosing to collaborate must face is that it will most likely require all parties involved to give something up. It may be resources, but it could also be a position or opinion that we hold dear. It could mean giving up our position as a leader in the group, even as we deepen our leadership. It could mean giving up our individuality or the group we identify with in order for the purpose of the larger community to shine through. It can amount to giving up what we see as ourselves, in order for the collective’s intelligence to triumph.
True collaboration requires a level of interdependence within a group, and that can feel difficult for those who place a high value on independence and individualism. While there are benefits to individualism, and even competition to a certain extent, collaboration can produce outcomes that aren’t available to individuals or even a collection of individuals.
In addition, collaboration begins as a skill that we practice, something you build like a muscle nurtured together as a group. The group fails as a group and learns from that failure, and conflict is a teacher, not something to run away from. Collaboration is a practice that we choose and choose to do with those we are collaborating with.
Is collaboration always with us?
Collaboration and the “WeFactor” is central to the Imagining in Action work. During the process of researching and discovering more about collaboration, there is one question we have been asking, and that we would like to leave with you.
What if collaboration is a natural state or phenomenon that already exists, and something that we participate in and tap into - as opposed to something that we create when we come together.
And what if individualism gets in the way of us participating that way?
What if the practice of collaboration is the practice of tapping into and participating in that phenomenon? Of unlearning the way we have learned to live and create over the past few centuries?
Of remembering what we always intrinsically knew - how to work together?
And what could be possible when we surrender ourselves to the “WeFactor'', and practice true collaboration to realize the BOLD Visions we have for the world?
BONUS: Read the synopsis of the follow up discussion we had exploring more about collaboration as a superpower.
Synopsis written by iLumn8 contributing author Safiya Robinson, in-house copy editor Susan Bouet and founder Anne Peterson.
Learn more about the Summit HERE