What is Collaborative Awareness?

We're all familiar with the term Self Awareness, which is defined as "an awareness of oneself, including traits, feelings, and behaviors." Yet it's fascinating to see how often a group of incredibly brilliant, individually self aware people come together and things suddenly fall apart.

Sometimes we need others to help us see ourselves more clearly.

Collaborative Awareness is the process of discussing, collecting and growing knowledge of ourselves and other's ideas, actions, behaviors, values, goals, needs and desires. Collaborative Awareness supports and builds trust. It is created to simultaneously make the most out of the present moment for each individual and the group as a whole without losing sight of defined, shared goals. Collaborative Awareness recognizes and encourages bringing our best selves to the relationship and the work at hand, towards rewarding, effortless relationship.

Collaborative Awareness is built in three phases:

1. Build Awareness to Quiet the Safety Brain
2. Collaborate to Custom Design Your Relationships
3. Practice and build Collaborative Awareness in the present moment
   

Collaborative Awareness arises from an invitation, not a demand, declaring a foundation of trust. It's about understanding someone vs. changing them. When we are understood and feel truly listened to our Safety Brain is calmed and we are able to deeply connect with others. In those moments when we are connected, we are naturally drawn to bringing out our best selves.

In every relationship there are at least 3 entities, You, Me, and a third, separate entity called Us. Collaborative Awareness addresses all 3 entities through the lens of the Us. As we build awareness of ourselves and others, the level and quality of information expands.

• We learn not only about behaviors, but about the feelings behind the behaviors. Knowing the feelings behind other's actions gives understanding of what is needed for each person in different situations.

• As we share more and more about the behaviors and needs of ourselves and each other, we are better able to design the structure needed to bring out the best selves of everyone in the relationship.

• In the process of building Collaborative Awareness an upward learning spiral is created.

Because our world is changing in increasingly complex ways, the old ground rules are no longer reliable. We must consciously design and evolve the structure and form of our relationships in order to sustain them. The Blueprint of WE Collaboration Process is an excellent way to build Collaborative Awareness.

 

 

 

 

How the 5 Components of the Blueprint of WE infuse Collaborative Awareness into your relationships

		1. The Story of Us Share your vision and lay down positive neural pathways about why these people in this particular relationship. .
		How it Builds Collaborative Awareness: • Invitation to the Relationship • Build Trust • Quiet the Safety Brain .
		2. Interaction Styles and Warning Signs How I work best, what I look like on a good day/bad day, and what I might need that I couldn’t ask for in a moment of stress. Create an upward spiral of knowledge & positive auto-pilot responses. .
		How it Builds Collaborative Awareness: • Quiet the Safety Brain • Create an Awareness-Learning Cycle .
		3. Expectations Design and build custom container for the relationship to serve our best selves coming together to realize our joint needs. Include core values and non-negotiables. .
		How it Builds Collaborative Awareness: • Develop the Awareness-Learning Cycle • Custom Design how you will Collaborate .
		4. Questions to Return to Peace A tool to return to peace if the need arises, makes the difficult times shorter and easier. .
		How it Builds Collaborative Awareness: • Quiet the Safety Brain • Custom Design how you will Collaborate .
		5. Short and Long-Term Agreements Clean out the pebble in your shoe. Review and update the Document. Agree to no outright harm, and a willingness to keep an open window if the unimaginable happens. .
		How it Builds Collaborative Awareness: • Simultaneously focus the present moment on individual and joint needs and goals • Continual review of Collaborative Awareness growth .

 

Our fast-paced world now demands Collaborative Awareness. Not only must we be aware of our own traits and behaviors, we need to have the knowledge of others' as well—from their perspective, rather than our own assumptions and filters. The Collaborative Awareness process takes us out of blame and into empathy and rapport, out of victim mentality and into personal responsibility. The increased ability to bring out our best selves, while championing the best in others, creates healthy, adaptable, productive and effortless relationships.