Chapter 10: Collaboration Through a Lens of Social Capital

Four distinct women joined to write this piece. Women embarking upon the world of academia at different points in their lives and careers crossed paths. They began by sharing casual conversations. These informal connections through conversations revealed commonalities. Dinners were shared and family stories told. Robert Putnam (2000) deems this schmoozing. Eventually, rewarding relationships evolved, a community formed, and a norm of mutual help and reciprocity (p. 87) developed. This connection between individuals formed because of collaborative relationships.

In any collaborative environment, relationships are essential. Human relationships require communication; there are no exceptions. It is indisputable that interaction improves communication effectiveness (Knewstubb & Bond, 2009, p. 180). However, communication may also result in problems. The first problem lies in whether or not all parties have a shared understanding. Second, mutual trust needs to be established. Third, a collaborative culture must be nurtured and protected. Every member has something to contribute and when channeled correctly such contributions leads to an effective team (Steele & Boudett, 2008-2009, p. 56). This is a reminder that success does not happen in isolation (Hord & Hirsh, 2009, p. 22), but collectively. In order to address these problems, we worked to establish shared understandings of the group’s purpose and goals using a lens of social capital.