Enablers

Personal values, beliefs, and attitudes can have a positive or negative effect on a collaboration’s success.

The following can make a difference:

• An attitude that embraces both public health and primary care philosophies,
• Responsiveness to individual and community needs,
• Awareness that there is a need to collaborate,
• Willingness to collaborate,
• Commitment to collaborate,
• Passion for collaboration.

Values, beliefs, and attitudes are often revealed by behaviour; for example, a willingness to collaborate is clearly evident in one’s actions and has a direct affect on performance in a collaboration.

Attitude counts!
Responsiveness demonstrates support and commitment in collaboration. This winning attitude can make a positive difference.

Willingness and responsiveness are positive attitudes that an individual can develop and will directly contribute to a collaboration’s ongoing success.

Based on one’s values and beliefs, one’s attitude is often revealed by one’s behaviour.  A willingness to collaborate is clearly evident in one’s deeds and has a direct affect on one’s performance in a collaboration.

For example:
One public health nurse explains how it was great to work with a certain primary care nurse as “he is always willing … he doesn’t just talk the talk but he walks the walk so to speak and does it with enthusiasm.”  This person collaborates willingly and is an enabling component in this collaboration.

Attitude Counts!
One public health dietitian stated that “Responsiveness to patient and community needs is an important element in our collaboration. An individual who shows a willingness to collaborate and has had previous experience working in a team would be the type of person I’d be interested in recruiting for a collaboration.”

Awareness
Having an awareness of the need to collaborate along with a commitment and a passion for collaborative approaches provides an enabling feature for a collaboration success.

Responsiveness to individual and community needs is a positive attitude that an individual can develop and will directly contribute to a collaboration’s ongoing success.

Personal values, beliefs, and attitudes of individuals working in a collaboration can act as an enabler or a challenge. An individual who demonstrates qualities of willingness and responsiveness would be a facilitator.