As I sit and listen to some classical music, the idea of
collaboration comes to mind. To make the music, the symphony needs to work
together, yet play as individual musicians. I cannot play your part, nor can
you play mine. By playing each of our parts together as part of the bigger
whole, we can create something bigger than either of us. We call this the
“primacy of the whole”-the sum is greater than the individual parts. This is
the basis of collaboration.
Pulling together a group of people into a team and
instructing them to use “teamwork” or to “work as a team” does not equate to
collaboration. A recent presentation made sense of this. Wikipedia© would not
have come together as we know it if all the contributors had been put in the
same space and given the instruction to create the site. The online
encyclopedia exists precisely because the contributors did not know each other
and did not work together in forced cooperation. The contributors created the
information because they collaborated on a greater vision—each adding a piece
to the whole with the greater end in mind. This does not mean that everyone
agreed or was in total alignment on how to achieve the vision. Rather the
contributors had the opportunity to discuss, debate, decide and then support
the outcome.
So how do we get true collaboration? Here are some thought
starters to point you down the right path towards more effective collaboration:
· Create a problem or issue statement. Use this to
help guide where you ultimately want to go.
· Set a vision or picture of the result, but do
not flesh out details. Let the collaborators add the detail and refine the
vision as they go along.
· Be open to whatever outcomes the collaborators
determine. Do not have a set solution in your mind. Avoid having solutions in
search of problems.
· Give people time to both innovate (create or
produce) and incubate (think about creating or producing). Leonardo Da Vinci
used this cyclical approach to great success.
· Utilize modern technology to facilitate
collaboration (instant messaging, video conferencing, collaboration sites and
tools). Embrace virtualization as a means to end, not as the end itself.
· Select various personalities, rather than
various skillsets or capabilities to work in collaboration. This will allow the
team to determine which skills are needed rather being limited to the available
skills. IT will also foster healthy debate and discussion of possible outcomes.
· Eliminate interruptions and distractions as much
as possible. Shutdown email, lock your office door, go to a quiet place away
from others to get things done. Institute “No Talk Thursdays” where silence,
rather than conversation, is the rule.
These few items should help you get started on collaboration
that is more effective. Let work happen organically. Do not try to force it and
the beautiful music will result.
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