"Good partnerships withstand questions, conflicts, debates, and disagreements; provide structures and processes to solve problems; and are maintained -- even strengthened -- after differences have been resolved."

Joyce Epstein, Center on School, Family, and
Community Partnerships

Keeping your planning team enthused and running smoothly isn't always easy -- particularly once the initial excitement dies down and the real work begins. For every step forward, you seem to take two steps back: turf issues arise, hidden agendas surface, progress slows down, or your most dedicated members become disillusioned.

No team is immune to these challenges, but they needn't be devastating. Here are 10 guidelines for building a team that not only functions well as a group, but also has the fortitude to withstand potential problems when they arise.

Provide leadership. Respondents to a National Association of Community Action Agencies study identify the following as the most important qualities of successful collaboration leaders:

• A reputation for reliability
• Expertise related to the issue being addressed
• Charisma
• An ability to relate to a cross-section of groups
• Power from one's position
• Access to money or important people

Successful leadership requires an awareness of how your own roles and responsibilities interconnect with those of your partners, and the ability to weave together the perspectives, needs, and resources of all involved.

Establish a foundation of trust and respect. Allow ample time for relationship-building, i.e., for partners to get acquainted, understand what each needs and can offer, appreciate what constraints each operates under, and focus on shared goals. Develop a common language and framework for discussing prevention; representatives from different agencies may use similar terms that have very different meanings. Then, create an open and fair process that allows everyone to participate, set the ground rules, and shape your prevention plan. When individual members represent a broad constituency, remember to respect their points of view. Don't expect them to be able to comprehensively characterize or analyze the perspectives held by an entire race, ethnic group, sexual orientation, or faith.

Delegate. Your primary role is that of catalyst. Support the active engagement of all members. Allow group members to initiate and carry out effective problem-solving and to share leadership responsibilities. Ultimately, the team will need to establish a mechanism for ongoing communication, advocacy, evaluation, and problem-solving among the individuals and organizations involved.

Communicate. Communication within the school and between schools and community partners throughout the planning process will strengthen ownership and facilitate implementation of your prevention program. Be a good listener, and make sure that team members have a clear understanding of the group's purpose and feel free to express their feelings and points of view. Establish formal communication channels, such as weekly memos or electronic mailing lists, and send out meeting notes to keep those unable to attend updated on activities; this will help them feel included.

Be organized and explicit. Plan ahead: Set an agenda and stick to it. Make sure to keep the team on track and stick to pertinent issues. Have copies of all needed information available. Make sure that members know what you expect of them -- otherwise, important tasks may go undone. Always end a task-oriented meeting by identifying "next steps" and asking, "Who is going to do what by when?"

Respect people's time. Keep meetings to a reasonable length (approximately one hour), and schedule them at convenient times and in convenient locations.

Don't lose sight of the individual. Strike an appropriate balance between group productivity and the satisfaction of individual needs. Make intelligent use of the differing abilities of your members. Get to know team members and what their particular concerns are. Take their interests into account as you move ahead. Recognize team members publicly, and don't forget to celebrate your successes!

Learn from history. Find out everything you can about both your school's and your community's history of conflict and cooperation. Learn from their successes and mistakes.

Revisit your vision and purpose regularly. To keep your team from going off on tangents, review your vision regularly and assess the extent to which the team is accomplishing its original purpose. Review your prevention plan: Are you accomplishing your goals? Are you meeting your timelines? Make sure to evaluate both your program and your process. Use the evaluation data to review and revise the course of your initiative.

Get things done. Avoid getting bogged down in lengthy planning and abstract discussions. Keep moving toward action and accomplishment. Long-lasting partnerships keep on acting -- visibly, energetically, and effectively.

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References

Bruner, C. (July 8 and 9, 1999). Remarks from Head Start Focus Group on Collaboration. Washington, DC.

Center for Mental Health in Schools (2001). School-Community Partnerships: A Guide. Los Angeles, CA: Author.

Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (in press). Collaboration Training Manual, Working Draft. Developed for CSAP's Northeast Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies. Newton, MA: Education Development Center, Inc.

Epstein, J. L. (1995, May). School/family/community partnerships: Caring for the children we share. Phi Delta Kappan, 76(9), 701-712.

Gottfredson, G.D., Gottfredson, D.C., Czeh, E.R., Cantor, D., Crosse, S.B., & Hantman, I. (2000, July). National Study of Delinquency Prevention in Schools. Ellicott City, MD: Gottfredson Associates, Inc.

Henderson, A. T. and Berla, N. (1995). A New Generation of Evidence: The Family Is Critical to Student Achievement. Washington, DC: Center for Law and Education.

Jehl, J., Blank, M. J., and McCloud, B. (2001). Education and Community Building. Washington, DC: Institute for Educational Leadership.

Marx, E., Wooley, S. F., and Northrop, D. (1998). Health Is Academic: A Guide to Coordinated School Health Programs. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Massachusetts Department of Education (2000). The Parent, Family, and Community Involvement Guide. Malden, MA: Author.

National Association of Community Action Agencies (1998). National Study on Collaboration.

National PTA (1998). Parents on Public Education: National Survey of Parents of Public School Students. Washington, DC: Bennett, Petts, and Blumenthal.

National PTA (2000). Building Successful Partnerships: A Guide for Developing Parent and Family Involvement Programs. Bloomington, IN: National Educational Service.

Wolff, T. (2000). Coalition Barriers and How to Overcome Them (or Help! I'm Trapped in a Coalition and Can't Get Out!). Amherst, MA: Area Health Education Center/Community Partners.

Wolff, T. (2000). Coalition Barriers and How to Overcome Them: Part II. Amherst, MA: Area Health Education Center/Community Partners.

Wolff, T. (2000). Coalition Leadership. Amherst, MA: Area Health Education Center/Community Partners.