Create 4 Kinds of Information Spaces for Effective Collaboration

The volume of information we must contend with every day is overwhelming.

Collaborations can suffer from information overload just as individuals can. What might seem a fairly low-level, operational activity—processing information—must be done effectively if a collaboration is to achieve higher-order co-creation of ideas and solutions. Exchanging and processing information do not constitute collaboration, but it's important to understand how these activities play a role in collaboration.

Consider whether and how your collaboration has created these kinds of "spaces" for information processing and exchange:

Reflecting Space

Is there time for individuals in the collaboration to consume and think about information that is being distributed? The people participating in your collaboration need to make this space themselves, but encouraging individual reflection helps.

Applying Space

Consider how individuals or small groups in your collaboration can apply information they've had time to reflect on to the challenge you are addressing. Is there a time and place built into your collaboration where participants can test the relevance of new information to the subject of your collaboration?

Sharing Space

Insights reached in reflecting and applying spaces need to be shared with the larger group. Activities like brainstorming are done in a sharing space. It's critical that everyone has an equal opportunity and voice in the sharing.

Integrating Space

Moving toward co-creation means providing opportunities for individual and small group insights to be synthesized. Diversity of perspectives and heterogeneity of groups is vital in integrating spaces.

"Spaces" can be physical or virtual places where these things can happen, time set aside for specific activities, or even just collaborative cultural norms. Be mindful of of them and your collaboration will be able to go from information overload to knowledge co-creation.