Working Across Boundaries: Making Collaboration Work in Government and Nonprofit Organizations (JOSSEY BASS NONPROFIT & PUBLIC MANAGEMENT SERIES)

If we are to solve today's complex problems— urban sprawl, drug abuse, low-performing schools, global warming, inadequate transportation, and terrorism— public and nonprofit agencies must be able to cut across agency and professional boundaries and work collaboratively. Working Across Boundaries is a practical guide for nonprofit and government professionals who want to learn the techniques and strategies of successful collaboration. Written by Russell M. Linden, one of the most widely recognized experts in organizational change, this no nonsense book shows how to make collaboration work in the real world. It offers practitioners a framework for developing collaborative relationships and shows them how to adopt strategies that have proven to be successful with a wide range of organizations. Filled with in-depth case studies— including a particularly challenging case in which police officers and social workers overcome the inherent differences in their cultures to help abused children— the book clearly shows how organizations have dealt with the hard issues of collaboration. Working Across Boundaries includes Information on how to select potential partners Guidelines for determining what kinds of projects lend themselves to collaboration and which do not Suggestions on how to avoid common pitfalls of collaboration Strategies proven to work consistently The phases most collaborative projects go through The nature of collaborative leadership Working Across Boundaries explores the interpersonal and organizational forces that often inhibit collaboration and offers government and nonprofit leaders the tools to combat those forces. This important resource shows readers how they can create a collaborative culture in their agencies and work across boundaries with others, in order to deal with complex, cross- cutting challenges. Working Across Boundaries......Page 6 Contents......Page 12 Tables, Figures, and Exhibits......Page 14 Preface......Page 18 Acknowledgments......Page 26 The Author......Page 28 Part I. Working Across Boundaries......Page 32 1. Why Collaborate? And Why Now?......Page 34 2. One Example of Collaboration That Makes a Difference......Page 50 3. The Challenges of Successful Collaboration......Page 62 Part II. A Framework for Collaboration in the Real World......Page 88 4. A Framework for Collaboration......Page 90 5. Getting the Basics Right......Page 104 6. Forming Open, Trusting Relationships Among the Principals......Page 122 7. Developing High Stakes......Page 138 8. Creating a Constituency for Collaboration......Page 158 9. Building Collaborative Leadership......Page 176 Part III. Key Collaboration Issues and Tasks......Page 198 10. Phases in the Collaboration Journey......Page 200 11. More Keys to Successful Collaboration......Page 218 12. Collaboration Within a Single Organization......Page 234 13. Toward a Collaborative Culture......Page 254 Resources......Page 270 A. Four Methods That Promote Collaboration......Page 272 B. Some Questions and Answers Concerning Collaboration......Page 288 C. Collaborative Assessment Tool......Page 302 D. The Research Base for This Book......Page 306 Bibliography......Page 314 Index......Page 324 This volume explores the interpersonal and organizational forces that inhibit collaboration and offers government and nonprofit leaders the tools to combat those forces. Russell Linden helps readers see collaboration not as an end in itself, but as a means to building more effective organizations. Linden - the author of "Seamless Government" (0-7879-0015-X) - acknowledges that collaboration is hard, but shows readers that it is worth the effort and helps them find ways to overcome the obstacles to successful collaboration