Lilia Efimova is looking at teams, communities & networks in terms of communication forms:
One of the things I came up when playing with different ideas was to position teams, communities and networks in respect to the most prevalent forms of communication in each case (in all cases the other forms of communication are there as well, but are not at the core of it).
This is her model in progress [please read Lilia’s full post]:
This maps to the group work matrix I developed, based on TIMN and the Cynefin framework. For types of work that have clear goals, then communications for getting things done can be mostly coordination (traditional project management), as there is structure and clearly understood goals. With less structure and goals, collaboration entails working together, with less management but shared objectives (communities of practice). In informal environments, where group work seeks opportunities, then cooperation is the best way to work together (networks).
One can easily envision someone working on all three levels on any given day:
- a small team producing a deliverable on a deadline for a client (coordination);
- members of that team providing advice and information to other teams on related projects (collaboration);
- team members working with a larger and looser network in identifying new business opportunities (cooperation).
It would be important for an organization to allow for collaborative and cooperative communications and activities, and not constrain all work and communications with too much structure and the need for controlled coordination.
