Sparking innovative collaboration Glen Salmon USFWS

1. Sparking innovative collaborationGlen Salmon USFWS

2. Ok, so we’Vegot a few new problems (i.e. barriers) in today’s world

3. WHY DOES IT SEEM SO HARD TO DO COLLABORATION?

4. Time? • Question: How Many Emails Are Sent Every Day? • Answer: Statistics, extrapolations and counting by Radicati Group from April 2010 estimate the number of emails sent per day (in 2010) to be around 294 billion. • Average number of corporate emails sent and received per person, per day:2008: 1562009: 1772010: 1992011: 228 • Percent of work day spent managing email for the average corporate email user:2003: 17%2006: 26%2009: 41%

5. Lack of Leadership- Who has time to be a leader? • Collaboration is working together to achieve a goal.[1] It is a recursive[2] process where two or more people or organizations work together to realize shared goals, (this is more than the intersection of common goals seen in co-operative ventures, but a deep, collective, determination to reach an identical objective[by whom?][original research?]) — for example, an intriguing[improper synthesis?] endeavor[3][4] that is creative in nature[5]—by sharing knowledge, learning and building consensus. Most collaboration requires leadership, although the form of leadership can be social within a decentralized and egalitarian group.[6] In particular, teams that work collaboratively can obtain greater resources, recognition and reward when facing competition for finite resources.[7] Collaboration is also present in opposing goals exhibiting the notion of adversarial collaboration, though this is not a common case for using the word.

6. Uncertainties- Future conditions are foggy, at best • HR execs brace for downsizing • Aug. 8, 2012 • The government’s top human resources officials expect their agencies’ workforces to decline due to budget cuts, according to a new survey the Partnership for Public Service will release Thursday.

7. Travel Restriction-Travel to a meeting of colleagues? What were you thinking? House and Senate Propose Legislation That Restricts Government Employees’ Participation in Conferences The MPSA has been involved in an effort to amend the federal travel restrictions that would limit federal employees ability to attend academic conferences. As the American Society of Associations noted, “Since we delivered a sign-on letter to Congress last week with 2,100 signatures, the Obama administration has responded with a directive to federal agencies to cut their travel budgets for fiscal year 2013 by 30 percent and cap spending on government-sponsored conferences at $500,000. These new restrictions apply only to government travel and conference spending and do not have the broader implications for association … meetings that were evident in the amendments (that had passed).” These could limit the ability of researchers who are federal employees from attending academic meetings.

8. Teams aren’t what they used to be-generational differences and expectations- • Traditional? • Baby Boomers? • GenXers? • Millenniums? • Effective collaboration with multi-generational teams can be both rewarding and challenging. • The succession of leadership from Baby Boomers to GenXers and Millenniums is ongoing. Get used to it.

9. Ok, so context is really importantis it hard, or is it the end of the world?

10. Take a breath- Get your head wrapped around the fact that it’ll be different • Old school: • Meetings in places you actually would like to go to • Seminars in locations that want you there • Face to Face meetings- Planes, Trains and Automobiles • New reality: • Webinars, Conference Calls, Lync-like technology, Videoteleconference, Gotomeetings.org sort of stuff. • Cleveland, Wichita, Detroit • Virtual meetings- Phones, monitors and I-Pads.

11. Be the catalyst- if not you, then whoM? • "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead • Take the time to really figure out exactly what it is you all are trying to accomplish. • Don’t assume that everyone shares your vision. “We need more” isn’t always the right answer. • Find something that worth the fight- and go get it. • Scale is important • If you can’t answer the “why do we need to do this” question in a few words, then you’d better rethink what you’re doing. • Money usually works as a motivator

12. Case in point- Landscape Conservation Cooperatives- New reality or flash in the pan?

13. Landscape Conservation Cooperatives model- Science Based • Pick a geographical landscape that makes sense- Ozarks, Northeast USA, Florida, Gulf Coast, Corn-belt-aka Tallgrass prairie, whatever- just pick one • Figure out who has skin in the game & get them together • Provide organization support and leadership • Equal partnerships- we’re all in this together • Develop a set of future desired conditions • Develop a plan to get there • Communicate, communicate, communicate

14. Collaboration will be even more important as budgets and staff shrink • Scary thought or a galvanizing concept to do things differently • Put up your periscope once in a while and really see where your headed • Be intentional in your actions • Thanks very much for your time.