“It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” In the early years of working with the Delmarva Land and Litter Collaborative (DLLC), one of the farmers from the group brought up that quote, attributed to Mark Twain. The sentiment encapsulates the value of working in collaborative groups to break down silos and keep each other “out of trouble” by shedding light on misconceptions.

The power of collaboratives is that for ‘wicked problems’ (those without easy solutions, like almost any environmental management topic), multiple perspectives are brought to the table. In DLLC’s case, the group brings together representatives from chicken companies, farming, regulatory agencies, academia, and environmental groups that would otherwise be unlikely to come together and learn from each other.

Each member has a slightly different understanding of the larger puzzle, and by working together, the group has been able to innovate creative ideas for solutions. As another member said, “if finding ways to have healthy ecosystems, farming, and chicken production coexist were easy, it would have been done by now.”

As DLLC celebrates their 10-year anniversary this summer, Green Fin Studio celebrates having the opportunity to have coordinated this group over the last decade. DLLC members have gotten to know and trust each other over all those years. When someone says something that they think they know that just isn’t so, they have the foundational trust to challenge and hear each other, and hopefully overcome the trouble Twain mentioned.

Click here for a high resolution version of the DLLC 10 year anniversary timeline!

In addition to clearing up some troublesome misconceptions of our own, we’ve learned a few lessons about the essential elements for DLLC and other collaboratives we support:

1. The “Right” Members

Nothing is more important than the people who make up the collaborative. Success requires curated membership that represents the diversity of the topic, including sectors, geography, experience, and more. Members must be willing to work collaboratively, which means being open to sharing their knowledge and learning from others.

Pro-tip: Members must also be willing and able to commit the time it takes to get to know others to build two-way trust. “Moving at the speed of trust” is a saying for a reason. Building trust doesn’t happen overnight, though unfortunately it can be lost quickly.

2. A Shared Mission

Without a singular North Star, a diverse group can dissolve into competing agendas. A Common Agenda creates a shared mission and builds an actionable foundation for successful collaboration. This document typically provides a collective definition of the problem and a shared vision for the solution.

Pro-tip: Co-creation of this document builds shared ownership for it.

3. Backbone Staff

Collaborations often fail because they are treated as “side work” for overextended partners. True alignment requires a dedicated, independent Backbone Staff. This is what Green Fin Studio provides to DLLC and others. We don’t dictate strategy; we coordinate it by managing logistics, facilitating communication, and tracking data.

Pro-tip: Backbone staff should act as neutral arbiters who advocate strictly for the mission, not any single member.

4. Operating Principles

Diverse groups bring diverse organizational cultures and communication styles. Successful partnerships establish explicit governance processes early on. These outline how decisions are made, membership terms and requirements, meeting structures, and more.

Pro-tip: Much like retirement savings, early investments in process will pay dividends later on. Governance documents provide structure for guiding collaboratives through difficult decisions, rather than having them tear a group apart.

5. Workplans

Who didn’t dream of developing workplans as a child, right? While they may not sound exciting, having workplans that clearly identify objectives, projected timelines, expected outcomes, and other details will avoid the possibility of members having very different expectations of what the group is working on.

Pro-tip: Keep these documents focused on the big picture and try not to get caught up in minutia. These are guiding documents, not the detailed work products themselves.