Finding Allies, Building Alliances: 8 Elements that Bring—and Keep—People Together

NINE

Defining Common Ground

Defining common ground, the eighth and final element of a value alliance, is often a predictor of success. To function effectively, the parties need to develop trust in each other and the processes that govern them. Achieving trust requires an unusual degree of transparency as the parties determine the underlying assumptions, sources of information, and standards upon which they will rely. Effective collaboration requires that these be part of a common information base, permitting everyone the chance to operate with the same information. This points, once again, to the difference between advocacy, where parties may ...