As we finish up with collaboration in class I wanted to one last post regarding my observations about one things which is necessary to effective collaboration: hierarchy. Anyone who has been following my posts about social media in our society will have noted my big emphasis on social justice. So it might seem strange that I feel that hierarchies are necessary for effective collaboration.
However, human beings tend to form hierarchies whenever there is more than one person in a group. Thus, I actually think it is far wiser to consciously choose the working hierarchy, otherwise the hierarchy spontaneously generated will likely just reflect the current inequities of our society.
In my group’s wiki project one member immediately set themselves up as the project manager, creating the overall structure for the project but allowing us all the freedom to decide our own involvement. He also would have likely and willingly given up the leadership role if one of us had wanted to do it instead.
Over the last year in library school I’ve had to participate in my collaborative projects. The most successful one after the wiki project is one where we specifically elected on person to be the project manager. It allows everyone more time and freedom to work on their individual pieces if only one person needs to worry about deadlines and the more admin level concerns. It also allows everyone to view that this organizational role is an important contribution: even if the person ends up creating less content for the actual project.
For me, effective and fun collaboration has always relied on the recognition that everyone has different skills and, thus, something to contribute to the overall end product. Collaboration provides a cleate method to recognize and understand how these different ways to contribute are all important and necessary, without privileging only one kind of participation.
** Note: I wanna make it perfectly clear that I think this Wiki assignment and the one I mention are examples of hierarchies done *right*. Also, it they were both examples of collaboration done right and structured properly for success. Great experiences and very educational.**
