Here’s an example of what I believe is a key element in restoring functional problem-solving to governance: a coalition that crosses the too-common political and professional boundaries and pools their collective wisdom to co-create a sustainable integrated solution to a thorny challenge.
A diverse group has come together to pool their seemingly divergent perspectives to generate a solution to immigration reform that utilizes wisdom from across the political and social spectrum: Click here to view the San Diego Union Tribune article on this coalition.
I believe this kind of collaborative co-creation is the wave of the future, which in my opinion it needs to be. The challenge with this problem-solving strategy, of course, is that many well-intended individuals who authentically believe in collaborative co-creation haven’t yet become fluent in the skills and processes that enable this approach to succeed.
Since most people are programmed in the dysfunctional versions of competition (coercion and compromise), they can’t be expected to magically know how to engage effectively in collaborative co-creation. Mentorship and training enables those who believe in collaborative co-creation to become fluent in using it so their actions support their best intentions instead of undermine them. Helping this happen is part of why I love being a Collaboration Culture Architect (www.DrGruder.com/collaboration). Collaboration Culture Architecture works just as well in governance as it does in business.
Click here to view the San Diego Union Tribune article on this coalition.