Collaboration on Communications


We see it every year in the data from the Nonprofit Communications Trends Report.  Nonprofit communications directors want better collaboration internally on how content gets planned, created, and published.

We agree it’s essential. It’s the C in CALM: Collaborative, Agile, Logical, and Methodical. That’s our framework for managing nonprofit communications work for success.

We have tools and ideas to help!

A Process for Solving Collaboration Problems

First, we recommend a four-step process to work through communications collaboration problems:

  1. Name the problem.
  2. Help others see it.
  3. Design simple rules.
  4. Set personal boundaries.

You can see how we apply these four steps to specific collaboration problems.

Favorite Collaboration Tools and Processes for Communicators

You can also lean hard on tools and communications processes to support your collaborations.  We especially encourage the use of the following tools and processes.

We also love the collaborative communications strategy process outlined in this guest post.

Ultimately, It’s All About Culture

Sometimes external events can nudge people in the right direction toward rethinking the way you collaborate. Many nonprofits reported, for example, that the pandemic forced more collaboration on content creation.  Working remotely also (hopefully) forces some good conversation about how you are going to work together while working apart physically.

Ultimately, collaboration needs to be a part of an organizational culture that supports communications work. We are here to help you do your part to build that kind of culture in your nonprofit.

 

Published On: January 13, 2022|Categories: Communications Team Management, Relationships, and Boundaries|