David D. Chrislip is principal of Skillful Means. His work focuses on three areas: civic leadership development,
collaboratively addressing complex community issues, and organizational strategy and development. He is the coauthor
of Collaborative Leadership: How Citizens and Civic Leaders Can Make a Differrence (Jossey-Bass).
Review
"This is a brilliant analysis of the most important kind of leadership, collaborative and participatory,
and hence essential to anyone thinking about or working in the field of leadership."
--James MacGregor Burns, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and senior scholar at the Academy of Leadership, University
of Maryland
"Chrislip has long been guru and guide to those with an interest in collaborative leadership. This book
is an indispensable tool for communities determined to transform good ideas into good practice."
--Barbara Kellerman, executive director and lecturer in public policy, Center for Public Leadership, John F.
Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
"David Chrislip brings the importance of collaboration into sharp focus and underscores its value in fashioning
solutions to complex social problems."
--Congressman Mark E. Udall, Colorado
"From wilderness adventure to building civil society in American cities and Eastern European countries,
David Chrislip has encountered the trinity of leadership-change, conflict, and collaboration. Fortunately for us,
he shares so lucidly his lessons about their role in the demands and promise of democratic civil society."
--Richard A. Couto, Antioch University PhD Program in Leadership and Change and author of Making Democracy Work
Better
Submitted By Publisher, June, 2003
Summary
When the landmark book Collaborative Leadership was first published in 1994, it described the premise, principles,
and leadership characteristics of successful collaboration. The book outlined an innovative way of building partnerships
to solve the civic problems too big for anyone to solve alone as well as a new type of leadership that brings together
diverse stakeholders to solve a community's problems. While that book provides a much-needed framework for working
together, The Collaborative Leadership Fieldbook offers nonprofit practitioners, community leaders, and public
officials a practical, hands-on resource. It presents the tools needed for applying the lessons learned, powerful
approaches that get results, and guidance for solving complex community problems. In clear and concise terms, the
Fieldbook
Presents a wide range of tools and concepts that can be readily applied
Provides a comprehensive guide to collaboration from conception to implementation
Describes how to establish effective civic leadership development programs to support collaborative efforts
Contains stories and examples that clearly illustrate the book's concepts and tools
Helps readers find-quickly and easily-what they need for their specific situations
Table of Contents
Foreword (John Parr).
Preface.
Acknowledgments.
The Author.
The Contributors.
Introduction: The Power of Collaboration.
PART ONE: META: THE IMPORTANCE OF COLLABORATION.
1. America's Civic Challenges.
2. Civil Society, Democracy, and Collaboration.
3. Building the Civic Community.
PART TWO: MACRO: PREMISES AND PRINCIPLES OF SUCCESSFUL COLLABORATION.
4. Essential Concepts of Collaboration.
5. A Framework for Collaboration.
PART THREE: MICRO: PRACTICES OF SUCCESSFUL COLLABORATION.
6. Getting Started.
7. Setting Up for Success.
8. Working Together.
9. Moving to Action.
10. Developing Networks of Responsibility.
PART FOUR: STORIES AND EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL COLLABORATION AND CIVIC LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT.
11. Joint Venture Silicon Valley (Christopher Wilson).
12. Transforming Civic Culture: Sitka, Alaska 1999-2001 (David D. Chrislip).
13. Neighborhood Action Initiative: Engaging Citizens in Real Change (William R. Potapchuk).
14. Equal Partners, Shared Vision: The Colorado Partnership for Educational Renewal (Carol A. Wilson).
15. Scenarios: Catalysts for Civic Change (David D. Chrislip, James Butcher, Adam Kahane).
16. Building Civic Leadership in Portland, Maine (Thomas J. Rice).
17. Building Leadership Capacity in a Socially Emerging Community (Allan Wallis).
Appendix A: Learning from Research and Experience.
Appendix B: Institute for Civic Leadership Curriculum and Agenda.
