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How to Access Collective Intelligence in Your Teams: The CoDev Collaboration Method
http://People%20seated%20around%20a%20table,%20picture%20taken%20behind%20a%20glass%20wall.
15.1.2024
Pamela Spokes

For most organisations, whether public or private, there is barrier to accessing collective intelligence, sharing institutional knowledge, and developing professional practices through collaboration. This means that it can take longer for individuals to solve issues that come up when they lack the experience in doing so. Whether these be inter-personal, logistical, time management, product development, etc. Each organisation has myriad skills and knowledge that cannot be quickly identified and utilised in peer groups. Sharing Knowledge and Collective Intelligence People have a variety of past professional experiences both inside their current organisation and in previous work experiences. This means that there is a lot of uncatalogued and untapped knowledge present at any one time in any one space. It is the aim of CoDev to open this experience up and make it accessible to the peer team around them. CoDev Collaboration Requirements The CoDev collaboration method (short for co-development) is an innovative professional co-development model that is becoming increasingly popular to begin to create shared knowledge and problem-solving in organisations while also developing leadership skills. Developed in the 90s by two French-Canadians,this method is predicated on sharing between teams and within teams depending what the issues to be tackled are. It is ideal for smaller groups of between 5 and 8 participants. And can be a regular meet up or set up ad-hoc when an important problem requires this kind of approach. The method consists of 6 official steps and one additional unofficial pre-step (or a step 0). This method can take anywhere from 90 minutes if you want to deal with just one problem or longer if you want to tackle more than one. In this simple technique, there are many underlying elements that must be understood to get the most from it. 5 Foundational Pillars For the CoDev method to really work, it is essential that each person comes to the session from a place of empathy. This is because it requires: Active listening Kindness Commitment Confidentiality Truthfulness In order for all of these conditions to be met and accessible, the participants need to want to be there and be open to hearing what others have to say. And at appropriate times, each person will need to commit to being silent - no matter how much they wish to interrupt or to say something. Each participant must understand that their experience will be heard and it will be duly considered and valuable - whether it is used to move the issue forward or not. Holding Space and Withholding Judgement Another important aspect of this CoDev method is the space that is held for people to be vulnerable while asking for help. This encompasses kindness, active listening, and confidentiality. By doing this, holding the space and judgement, a participant feels able to be truthful and committed to the process. A Time-Based Framework The CoDev approach is time-based. This means that each step has a set time limit. This time-based approach allows the process to move forward and avoids conversations becoming unproductive or off-topic. A time limit helps to make sure participants keep their advice to the point. Respecting the time set aside for each part is essential even when it may be frustrating for the participants. Deterring Early Solutions Another reason to enforce the process as it stands is to deter any early suggestions of solutions. Humans are natural problem solvers and we love to help people in general. This is mostly a good quality but when it comes to exploring problems and hearing their context and needs, suggesting solutions too early in the process can stifle creativity and deeper understanding. By sticking to the process as it is laid out, you make sure that the problem is fully explained and understood as possible for any ideas, comments, or solutions begin to direct the discussion in a specific direction. CoDev Participant Roles In this collaboration process there are 2 roles available. There is the problem owner (sometimes called the “client”) and there are consultants. The problem owner is taking their problem to the consultants for a consultation. This consultation will consist of many things based on the consultants’ previous professional experience. This process is meant to prioritise actual professional experience rather than expertise or academic training. The 6-Step (+1) CoDev Process Step 0 - Choosing the Problem Although this is not an official first step, it is an important one. An individual participant’s problem must be chosen to discuss. Step 1 - Presenting (the Situation) The problem owner starts by providing as much detail as possible while being as clear as possible. At this time, all consultants are silent. Step 2 - Clarifying (the Problem) The problem owner is only answering the consultants’ questions as briefly as possible. At no point should a solution be put forward and the questions are only for clarifying and understanding the problem. There is no judgement about the problem. Step 3 - The Contract This is the time where the problem is fully defined and the problem owner states what they are looking for from the consultants. Step 4 - Consultation This step requires each consultant (going around the table one-by-one) to share their thoughts, impressions, opinions, comments, ideas, suggestions with the problem owner. The problem owner is expected to stay silent. Step 5 - Summary & Action Plan The problem owner recaps what they have heard and shares it back to the consultants and then creates an action plan for going forward which the consultants can also contribute to. Step 6 - Review In this last step, all participants take stock of the session and share how they felt about it. Each person can evaluate the CoDev session and determine what they key learnings were. Benefits of this Approach The benefits of this approach are many for each peer group. First, the ability to solve sometimes complex problems in the organisation through the group’s experience (collective intelligence). Second, building a collaboration mindset in the organisation. Third, developing skills such as active listening, feedback, perspective-taking, cooperation, and trust. This approach is best used as a recurring session with the same people. This allows them to build trust in the group and to dig deeper and be more honest about struggles. It is also important to make sure that there are no hierarchy (peer groups) issues and allows them to create a learning community amongst themselves. Many of these can exists at the same time within an organisation of course. This is encouraged. This is a simple approach with a multifaceted outcome. It requires each participant to fully participate and respect the rules for it to be fully effective and it also requires a dedicated facilitator. The facilitator must be willing to move the process along when they see that it is moving off task or running over time. Author Pamela Spokes works as a Service Designer in Metropolia’s RDI team. Originally from Canada, Pamela has years of experience in university admin focusing on international recruitment, marketing, and the international student/staff experience. With a Bachelor’s from Canada, a Master’s degree from Sweden, an MBA in Service Innovation & Design from Laurea, and her AmO from Haaga-Helia, she is interested in purposefully designed experiences that are centred around the user. Don’t be surprised if she knocks on your door to talk about learning co-creation methods through intensive learning experiences. Source Payette, A., & Champagne, C. (1997). Le groupe de codéveloppement professionnel. PUQ.

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7 Reasons Why Creativity at Work is Essential
http://Pencils,%20highlighters%20nad%20post-its%20on%20tabletop.
15.8.2023
Pamela Spokes

Research has shown that European employees are less engaged at work than in other parts of the world. Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace: 2022 Report (1) puts European employees’ engagement levels at only 14%. This is 7% lower than the global average (21%) and 19% lower than the US and Canada (33%). It has been noted that Europe can be a great place to live but not a great place to work. Gallup notes three big areas that affect employee engagement: Having clear expectations Feeling connected and supported by your team Finding purpose in your work Jari Hakanen, Research Professor at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (TTL), stresses that “[F]or work engagement, some of the most important work resources are people being able to use their skills in diverse ways, learn new things, and develop.” (2) All three of these can be practiced and experienced through more creativity at work. Changes mindsets from failure to learning It is really important that people can internalise the difference between failure and learning. At some point, fairly early on, we go from learning to failure. Where things that don’t work out are determined to be failures. In reality, we must fail to succeed in most things. Things do not come out fully formed in any process. Using creativity at work allows people to see failure as learning. Work can be a highly competitive environment but while some competition is good, it is never good to have a workforce that is happy when another part of the company isn’t successful. Ideally, you would want these antagonistic relationships to become collaborative. And to do that, there needs to be a mindset of ‘failing forward’. This is a mindset shift that can be unsettling for both the employees and the management. Trusting that failing is a part of success means that failure needs to be shrunk both in real costs and mental costs. Allows for adaptability When you exercise creativity, you are able to look at things from different angles. You are able to can see customers’ needs from different angles. You are open to new ideas and comments from others to improve the idea. When you are coming from a point of creativity, you want your solution/idea/product to be the best it can be and will be consciously and subconsciously searching for connections and things to improve it. Creativity will also have people looking in unusual directions for possibilities. It will also have people interested in collaborating with people that they normally would not. Encourages innovation and learning Innovation is made up of trial and error (or trial and learning). Innovation is never instant. No service or product has ever sprung from someone’s brain fully mature and ready to be delivered. Thinking creatively and collaboratively will help ideas get better and turn into testable concepts. Those concepts will be influenced by those who can wield creativity more effectively. Creativity is also good when you have constraints because it gives you boundaries. Sometimes those boundaries are what spark innovation. Sometimes open possibilities are too free and can overwhelm. These boundaries allow you to test and try things that you might not otherwise. Fosters growth - because it is about solving problems Humans love a mystery. They are hard-wired to find patterns and solve problems. By solving problems in an organisation, it will inevitably become more efficient and more focused. Growth happens when you do a few things really well. You can see organisations that grow too wide often split up into smaller entities in order to focus better and to foster growth. Using creativity and creative thinking in your organisation will allow individuals to challenge their current way of thinking. This can be seen by more efficient processes, new ideas to be explored, or even completely new niches to dominate in. Improved work satisfaction Allowing more creativity gives people permission to get excited about their work. It also allows people the time to recharge from the day-to-day tasks that they might be taking on. These tasks, while important, may take a lot of energy but do not replenish that energy. Improving work satisfaction is one of the biggest ways to improve engagement at work. A lack of engagement leads to many negative outcomes; most significantly for the organisation is high staff turnover. Boosts productivity and performance When people are excited about their work, they naturally boost their productivity and performance. It is human nature to be curious and curiosity allows for new ideas and new connections to spring forth. Creative thinking uses different parts of the brain than most jobs and these activities can stimulate people’s minds and provide possibilities for serendipity and inspiration. Having permission to think creatively gets people to be more open to possibilities of collaboration and breaking internal (and external) silos that may have formed in an organisation. Creates lasting value When you take all the previous points into account: new mindset around failure, increased adaptability, innovation, solving real problems, improved work satisfaction, better productivity and performance, you give people multiple opportunities for creating lasting value. The process of being creative and being open to new ideas encourages us to solve real problems. By solving real problems, staff are more inspired in their work and take ownership of outcomes. Encouraging an open mind and receptiveness to new ideas also helps to improve diversity in who you serve and in how you serve them, and who gets to create in the organisation. Author Pamela Spokes works as a Service Designer in Metropolia’s RDI team. Originally from Canada, Pamela has years of experience in university admin focusing on international recruitment, marketing, and the international student/staff experience. With a Bachelor’s from Canada, a Master’s degree from Sweden, an MBA in Service Innovation & Design from Laurea, and her AmO from Haaga-Helia, she is interested in purposefully designed experiences that are centred around the user. Don’t be surprised if she knocks on your door to talk about learning co-creation methods through intensive learning experiences. Resources Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace: 2022 Report TTL.fi press release

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Be the Guide, Not the Hero
http://Three%20hikers%20pulling%20each%20other%20upwards%20on%20a%20mountain%20top%20in%20the%20front,%20one%20person%20standing%20alone%20on%20top%20in%20the%20background,%20silhouette%20of%20mountain%20and%20misty%20skies%20in%20the%20back.
20.6.2023
Pamela Spokes

Workshop facilitation is a skill that many organisations still do not realise that they need on a wider basis. Facilitated workshops are able to achieve many things that unguided meetings are unable to. This comes from their structure, their pace, their methods to hear difference voices, and having a person whose job it is to keep everyone on track. ‘Be the guide and not the hero’ is a good mantra for all facilitators out there. It is something that may need repeating when you are in the middle of a difficult workshop where some may be looking to the facilitator for answers. What Is Facilitation? The word facilitate is a verb that comes from the 1610s and is descended from French and Latin - "make easy, render less difficult," from French faciliter "to render easy," from stem of Latin facilis "easy to do."[1] The Cambridge Dictionary defines the noun facilitation as “the act of helping other people to deal with a process or reach an agreement or solution without getting directly involved in the process, discussion etc. yourself.” [2] This means that a facilitator is not usually a part of the team and may not even be a part of your organisation. The role of the facilitator is to guide participants through the process to achieve an outcome in the allocated time. It is the facilitators job to make sure that the discussion does not stray too far from the topic at hand and that organisational politics are kept to a minimum. The focus is on the process and the outcome. In other words, facilitation helps groups get things done. Many meetings in organisation are broken. There are many reasons for this. They can be hijacked by the loudest voices or those who are better at office politics than others. There are 4 main issues where a facilitator can help solve: Poor collaboration Unproductive meetings that waste time Companies not getting the best out of their expert employees People lacking ownership over solutions Helping With Objectivity Objectivity is one of the crucial pieces of being a good facilitator and it is something that you always strive for. It is through this objectivity that you are able to help manage the heat, the feelings, the politics, and all the other things that happen when decisions are being made and budgets needing to be allocated or spent. With this objectivity, facilitators help in the four main ways. Collaboration is Broken Alludo’s The State of Collaboration Report 2022 [3] had some very interesting results. It mirrors the sentiments that you can hear around the world when it comes to meetings. It gave 3 statistics that reflect how employees are currently feeling about their work: 70% of employees agree that poor collaboration is limiting their productivity and wasting their time 64% of employees report that they waste a minimum of three hours per week 20% wasting as many as six hours weekly [4] The responsibility for these statistics come down to leadership. 78% reported that their organisation’s leadership for “not doing enough to promote collaboration within the organisation”. This includes not investing or providing the right tools or in training of collaboration tools. Facilitators, in essence, are collaboration tools. Unproductive meetings that waste time Meetings are almost universally disliked and they are also high on the list of things people wish would change in their organisation’s culture. Traditional meetings, while they are suitable for some kinds of actions, are rarely successful in creating an atmosphere that feels productive, collaborative, and effective. Many meetings end with planning the next meeting- either to deal with the things that did not get resolved today or for new issues that came up while trying to discuss something else. Traditional meetings are rarely successful in creating an atmosphere that feels productive, collaborative, and effective. This cycle ends up with people going to meeting after meeting rather than actually being able to do their jobs. Having a facilitator when a decision needs to be made can be really important to a successful outcome. Companies are not getting the best out of their employees Organisations hire experts to add value. Adding value requires getting the best out of their expertise. Just because someone is an expert in one thing does not mean that they are experts in collaboration or in how to share their knowledge effectively with others. It can sometimes be difficult to figure out how to bring experts together and know how to get these experts to work together in a way that they understand each other. People lack ownership over solutions When people don’t feel heard, they step back from the outcome. During a properly facilitated workshop, each participant will have the chance to have their voice heard just as much as anyone else. They will also participate equally in the decisions that are made along the way. One of the reasons that it is important that the facilitator be the guide and not the hero (the one that comes up with the best idea) is because at the end of it, the participants must own the outcome and be willing to do the work that will be needed to bring it to reality. Facilitation Is a Top Future Skill Facilitation does not only help organisations to work better, when learned, facilitation skills help individuals to future-proof their own skillset. According to the 2020 report by The World Economic Forum [5], the top skills employers will prioritize these 10 skills. The last 5 on this list are all practiced and exercised when using facilitation. Leadership and social Active learning and learning strategies Technology design and programming Resilience, stress tolerance Technology use, monitor and control Analytical thinking and innovation Complex problem solving Critical thinking and analysis Creativity, originality and initiative Reasoning, problem-solving and ideation Facilitation helps to give structure to all of these 5 points that helps individuals and organisations accomplish more than they would without it. Being able to give structure to things such as complex problems, innovation, creativity, problem-solving, and ideation is a valuable skill to have. Being the guide and not the hero is emblematic of providing the structure rather than being the content expert. It is the glue that holds the experts together so that they can do their job and actually solve the problems and creating intelligent and innovative solutions. Author Pamela Spokes works as a Service Designer in Metropolia’s RDI team. Originally from Canada, Pamela has years of experience in university admin focusing on international recruitment, marketing, and the international student/staff experience. With a Bachelor’s from Canada, a Master’s degree from Sweden, an MBA in Service Innovation & Design from Laurea, and her AmO from Haaga-Helia, she is interested in purposefully designed experiences that are centred around the user. Don’t be surprised if she knocks on your door to talk about learning co-creation methods through intensive learning experiences. Sources [1] Etymonline.com [2] Dictionary.cambridge.org [3] Alludo.com [4] Blog.alludo.com [5] Weforum.org

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