All collaborations need a strong, flexible backbone, holding it all together, channelling communication and letting the interesting bits get on with what they’re really good at. I first came across the term ‘backbone organisation’ in the work of US organisation FSG, writing about what they call collective impact, but the need for a central team of some sort has been obvious throughout my work on collaboration. What is the ‘backbone’, and what does it do?
It's success, Jim, but not as we know it: sixth characteristic
It's a marathon not a sprint: fifth characteristic of collaboration
Collaboration requires high-quality internal working : fourth characteristic
Sometimes we're drawn to the idea of collaborating because we are finding our colleagues impossible! If this is your secret motivation, I have bad news: successful collaboration requires high-quality internal working in each of the collaborating organisations.
So you need to find a way of working with those impossible colleagues too.
Why?