Co-development
What is the co-development?
The professional co-development is a methodology of collective intelligence which was developed in Montreal at the end of the 1990’s by Adrien Payette and Claude Champagne. They indicate that “the group of professional co-development is a development approach for professionals who think they can learn from each other in order to improve their practise. The brainstorming realised, individually and with the group, is favoured by a structured exercise of consultation in relation to the issues experienced by the group members”.
Why a co-development group?
A co-development group enables managers or executives, from the same organisation or various organisations, to meet in order to interact around common issues and learn from practices, visions and thoughts of their peers. Thus, it is a pear group of ideally 6 to 8 members, meeting regularly and focused on the review and study of concrete issues brought up by members. The members are not working in the same teams, or even in the same organisations sometimes; the common professional practises and/or concerns are bringing them together. By way of example, top executives of similar size companies might feel the need to constitute a co-development group to interact around the exercise of their responsibilities; as well as managers or experts of the same company facing the same responsibilities, but located in different regions or countries. The co-development group is therefore a confidential and safe space of interaction in which trust and openness play an important role. It is the responsibility of the coach to facilitate, accompany the process and sense of this interaction, which content remains the main responsibility of the members.
For which results and benefits?
The added value of the co-development may present various features according to the constitution and objectives of the group:
- Take a step back from one’s professional practise, sharing the successes and setbacks with peers;
- Obtain a variety of practical solutions from peers experience with regards to own experienced problems;
- Become more efficient is one’s professional practice and consolidate one’s professional identity through the sharing and comparison with peers practise;
- Develop cross-practises and favour creativity;
- Learn to assist and be assisted;
- Create networks of internal synergy practising trust and solidarity.