Collaboration, especially for women

I’m a huge fan of collaboration.  We will never change kids’ lives without working together.  That’s true in your youth ministry, that’s true in your city, that’s true in our country, and that’s true in our world.

That’s a big part of why I am very excited about being a guest blogger for YMWomen as it launches.  Some days I tend to think women are often better collaborators than men.  But then I think about an interesting insight from Janet Hagberg in her book, Real Power. She describes women in leadership like lobsters in a pail.  As one lobster starts to climb its way out of the pail, other lobsters in the pail who also want to climb up, end up climbing on top of that first lobster.  As a result, the first lobster tumbles back down.  This vicious process keeps repeating itself, with no lobsters ultimately being able to escape the pail.

I thought about that “lobster in a pail” imagery as I read this brief blog in the Harvard Business Review.  While obviously geared toward for-profit companies, it makes some great points that women in leadership should notice:

• Collaboration has intangible benefits.
• The new era of social networking makes collaboration more possible.
• Collaboration deserves to be a priority.

So as I think about application to my own life, I’ll pose some questions to you that I’m wondering about myself:

• What women do I know who live locally who I can collaborate with?
• What would we gain by collaboration?
• What might we lose?
• How can I make collaboration more of a priority?

While I am continuing to learn more about collaboration, of this I am sure:  the Kingdom is furthered as we collaborate together.

©2011 Fuller Youth Institute