February 25, 2009
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the capacity to compete then you’ll have a highly competitive environment and a lot of adversarial relationships.  If you just project you have the intention to cooperate but not the capacity to compete then you’ll be run over by your opposition.  You need to project both attitudes.  They did so in this case.  Each demonstrated that they knew the other had a great deal of power hence the capacity to compete but they each had the attitude there’s got to be a better way, there’s got to be a way to collaborate.  Each wishes that the other one succeed.  And in that way, they both succeed.

Principle 2

They expressed in writing a set of guidelines that each will adhere to.  They are:

1. We will work hard to understand the core of each other’s shop. 
2. We will respect each other. 
3. We will be honest with each other. 
4. We will not sugarcoat difficult issues. 
5. We will disagree without being disagreeable. 
6. We will reflect on each others comments, suggestions, and concerns. 
7. We will seek clarification until we understand.
8. We will maintain confidentiality. 
9. We will both own the contract. 
10. We solve problems rather than win arguments.
11. And we will laugh at ourselves and with each other.

Teachers and district worked together to establish these guidelines or norms, and they carefully maintain them and reconsider them every year.  They are explicit and written. (See Harvey and Drolet, 2004 for further explanation of how norms work.)

Principal 3

They have mutual trust for one another, but they take it very behaviorally.   They recognize they are interdependent on one another.  That as one succeeds, the other will succeed; if one group fails, the other group will fail.  They act in consistent fashion.  What they say to one person, they’ll say to another person.  Or what they say they will do.  They are honest in establishing mutual trust.  They are respectful.