Radical Collaboration: Five Essential Skills to Overcome Defensiveness and Build Successful Relationships

by James W. Tamm, Ronald J. Luyet

The second edition of the essential guide, updated with new research and observations to help twenty-first century organizations create models for effective collaboration. Collaborative skills have never been more important to a company’s success and these skills are essential for every worker today. Radical Collaboration is a how-to-manual for creating trusting, cooperative environments, and transforming groups into motivated and empowered teams. James W. Tamm and Ronald J. Luyet provide tools that will help you increase your ability to work successfully with others, learn to be more aware of colleagues, and better problem-solve and negotiate. Radical Collaboration is an eye-opener for leaders, managers, HR professionals, agents, trainers, and consultants who are seeking constructive ways of getting the results they want.

Genres: Nonfiction, Business, Leadership, Psychology, Unfinished, Self Help, Management

336 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2004

Reviews

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a little skeptical of this book at first because the basic five ideas seemed a bit obvious:

*Collaborative intention
*Openness
*Self-accountability
*Self- and other-awareness
*Negotiating and problem solving

But underneath these main headings the authors serve up a wealth of helpful, practical, and thought-provoking ideas. I ended up taking lots of notes and resolving to work on lots of things.
For example, here are five questions they ask about the second item on the list, openness. Let's say you find yourself in a personal or professional difficulty. These are the five questions to begin asking the other person or people to start a useful collaboration or resolution:

What's happening in this situation?
Why and how do you think it developed?
What's the meaning and impact for you?
How do you feel about the situation?
What do you think ought to happen next?

Overall, a great book with lots of useful tips, case studies, and helpful information.

[Archana Pai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why 5 ?

- can serve as a good mirror to ones behavior
- can help one improve professional and personal relationships
- The writing is simple and easily understandable


I see myself finding shelter in this book while dealing with conflicts

[Vanessa Princessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book thanks to Blinkist.

The key message in this book:

In a globally interconnected world, it’s more important than ever to have good collaboration skills. Therefore, it’s in your best interests to identify the skills that are crucial to establishing and sustaining collaborative relationships. An especially important aspect of this is knowing how to resolve a conflict, which can be done by taking the pulse of every party involved and finding a solution that everyone can agree with – including you.

Actionable advice:

Invite all stakeholders to a brainstorm!

The next time you’re trying to come up with creative solutions for a conflict, try brainstorming with everyone involved. Brainstorming is an effective technique that gives you a greater number of ideas to choose from. So, ask all sides in a conflict to take a minute to write down a few ideas. This will let you avoid a situation where one party takes a more dominant position by offering more suggestions than the other.

[Henk Devos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got to know the concepts of this book during a workshop a couple of years ago, and finally got to read it. Some parts are quire boring and repetitive, but the concept of green and red zones is an important concept that everyone should know about.

[Maryke Snyman · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a remarkable, insightful and useful book. I will certainly be using the tools provided for the rest of my life.

[Jakob Widestedt · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Radical Collaboration" offers a practical, well-structured framework for improving workplace relationships and resolving conflicts. The five essential skills—collaborative intention, truthfulness, self-accountability, awareness, and problem-solving—are presented with clear explanations and actionable strategies that can be immediately applied.

What makes this book particularly valuable is the authors' extensive experience in conflict resolution and their ability to translate complex psychological concepts into accessible guidance. The sections on recognizing and managing defensiveness (Red Zone vs. Green Zone thinking) provide particularly powerful insights into relationship dynamics.

The book excels at balancing theory with practice. Each skill is illustrated with relevant examples, and the authors include self-assessment tools that help readers identify their personal challenges. I found the chapters on truthfulness and self-accountability especially transformative for my own collaborative relationships.

While occasionally repetitive and somewhat dated in some of its cultural references, the core principles remain as relevant today as when first published. The only significant drawback is that some of the organizational examples feel simplified compared to the complex realities of today's workplace environments.

Overall, "Radical Collaboration" delivers on its promise to provide essential skills for building successful relationships. Anyone looking to improve their collaborative abilities—whether in professional or personal contexts—will find valuable wisdom in these pages.

[Denise Griffitts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Radical Collaboration is an enlightening guide that addresses the pressing need for effective collaboration in our interconnected world. This second edition enhances the original content with updated research and practical strategies aimed at fostering cooperative environments in both personal and professional settings.

The book outlines five essential skills that are pivotal for successful collaboration:
1) Collaborative Intention
2) Openness
3) Self-Accountability
4) Self-Awareness and Awareness of Others
5) Negotiating and Problem Solving

The authors encourage introspection to enhance relational effectiveness and encourages anyone looking to improve their ability to work effectively with others. The book serves as a comprehensive manual for transforming defensiveness into constructive collaboration, making it an invaluable resource for leaders, managers, HR professionals, and anyone engaged in teamwork. Whether you're new to collaboration or seeking to refine your skills, Radical Collaboration offers actionable insights that can lead to more successful relationships in all areas of life.

[Krista Harwick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This took me over a year to finish, but my biggest take-away was right in the beginning: giving people my full attention when I listen to them. I didn’t realize how often I was not doing this. Finishing an email, doing dishes, checking my phone, and not giving someone my full attention. I’m much more aware of this now, and it’s probably the biggest impact this book had on my behavior.

Some other takeaways were:
Don’t include solutions in a problem statement, it limits the possibility of more solutions arising.
Ask for education, not justification when not seeing eye to eye with someone.
The most important factor in successful collaboration is the self esteem of those participating in the collaboration.

[Annette Crawford-Sykes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Become a better collaborator

I was introduced to the Concept of Radical Collaboration by a course ran by Jim Tamm and a partner. I decided to read the book afterwards. I recommend it to all persons who has to work with a high number of persons, whether at equal level, lower or higher level. The material's insistence on personal authenticity requires much introspection but allows the better ability to choose to remain and negotiate from "the green zone". It improves all relationships if practised.
Though said, one could miss the importance of boundary setting in the book, hence the rating of 4. It is a very useful book to read and reread.

[Donna Simon]

Great book for forming and tending collaborative rekationships

Radical Collaboration offers a detailed plan for overcoming and avoiding the defensiveness that sands in the way of entering into collaborations that serve all parties. The authors give simple descriptions and provide detailed plans for preparing, negotiating, and reviewing collaborations. This is a must read for anyone whose work involves relationships with others.

[Paulo Peres · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ótimo livro para ampliar seu repertório se você é um facilitador ou mediador, ou deseja ser.
Os autores trazem boas ferramentas para o facilitador/mediador pensar sobre sua atuação, mas também para os participantes estarem preparados.

Existem boas dicas e ferramentas que ajudam os participantes a colaborar de forma honesta e genuína. Uma das ferramentas me lembra bastante Constelação Familiar. Recomendo o livro como complemento ao seu toolkit de facilitação.

[Fiona · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was OK, felt like there were a lot of fillers here. I did turn some pages to go back and re-read so there is good stuff in here.

[Ign33l · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well this was cool tbh, it told me more about myself and how to chill. I read it because i admire my manager and she gave it to me as a gift <3. This made me a better person.

[Glennie Mercer]

Didn’t finish it. I may come back to it. Wasn’t finding it terribly resonant

[Suzy Goodwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Work book club. Repetitive, but valuable mindset lessons with tactical examples. Will make for good discussion with colleagues

[Elizabeth]

As seen in FYI: For Your Improvement.

***

Also, as seen in “Conflict to Collaboration”.

[Karen]

Awesome for coaching people through this.

[Drew Tosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for Leaders

[Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's really jarring to read the sentence 'Perhaps your mother was a real bitch.' in a book like this. =(

[Jeannine Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anything we can learn about how to better communicate is good right? This book has a lot of good information.