Collaborative Q&A Part 2 — Creating the right environment for collaborative meetings

Question #2:

What if a client doesn’t want to engage a coach in a collaborative matter?

Answer:

In an ideal world, many of us would change our work environments to suit the collaborative work that we do, but that comes at a cost.

A no-brainer is to always provide coffee/tea/water and some snacks – and of course tissues!

Some other suggestions:

• Create mood lighting;
• Ensure the chairs are comfortable;
• Make sure that the clients are not sitting directly opposite each other in the room;
• Provide break-out rooms, in case clients need to pause during meetings;
• Replace your boardroom table with a low coffee table (ideally round) so as to remove the physical barrier of the big table;
• Create a large light and airy meeting room to cater for the energy and emotions that come with collaborative meetings

But the most important thing is the “metaphysical” right environment – the relationship between the professionals must be working and those professionals must role-model respect, trust, openness and transparency. Without this key ingredient, the surroundings no longer matter.

More Collaborative Q&A:

• Part 1 — What if a client doesn’t want to engage a coach in a collaborative matter?