Reflecting and Connecting

As we prepare to enter the next phase of the LAPH program, we want to reinforce your thinking around stakeholders and boundaries. In Boundary Spanning Leadership, authors Ernst and Chrobot-Mason talk about six boundary-spanning practices that are key to working in a multi-stakeholder collaborative environment. Each practice has multiple tactics. We will be focusing on the second two practices: Reflecting (creates understanding of boundaries to foster respect) and Connecting (suspends boundaries to build trust). The tactics for Reflecting are: 1) create opportunities for groups to listen and learn from one another; 2) ask powerful questions to uncover deep differences; 3) let commonalities emerge from differences; 4) counteract the tendency for groups to want to "make them like us"; and 5) slow groups down to speed them up. Connecting is about suspending boundaries to build trust. Its tactics include: 1) meeting in a neutral zone; 2) creating attractor space; 3) utilizing communication technologies to link people together; 4) building leadership networks; and 5) mixing it up outside the office. 

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