Work Better Together: The foundations of successful collaboration

When it comes to achieving goals, teamwork is either the catalyst for success or the cause of failure. While it’s safe to assume that colleagues genuinely want to succeed when they come together, how we collaborate is just as important as the intention behind it.

Too often this is learned the hard way. Ineffective collaboration often leads to burned bridges or burnout. In a complex world that asks a lot of our time, we need to employ strategies that mean we’ll work smarter not harder. 

First: Assume Good Intentions

Teams that assume good intentions communicate more effectively. This mindset best positions a team to approach tension with curiosity and productivity. They’re able to be candid and ask each other honest questions. In short, they cut through the fluff and stay focused on delivering their best work.

This doesn’t mean you’re giving others a free pass to be rude. Disrespectful behavior is distinct and should not be tolerated. It’s also true that trust is earned and healthy relationships are two-way streets with standards on each side. Yet it’s too common that energy on teams is wasted dwelling on misunderstandings and antagonistic conspiracy theories about how others are out to get us. I believe we often mistakenly choose this mindset and in doing so, undermine our own abilities to lead.

Unfortunately, this is a risk for organizations with workforces where colleagues are friends and often chat outside of the workplace. To apply my own advice, I believe it’s true this trend is founded in good intentions as well. After all, building camaraderie and sharing knowledge over a beer is one form of networking. However, if those conversations aren’t focused on helping each other rise above challenges, then a culture quickly becomes toxic. As you rise in your career, it will be important to distinguish yourself from those who vent and gossip, in favor of circles who problem solve and help others.

Especially in an increasingly hybrid and remote world where tone can be difficult to discern online, it is an incredibly helpful exercise to consider the most generous interpretation of what the other person means first. When you find yourself feeling confused by a colleague’s actions or words, start by asking questions. The most influential collaborators allow themselves to be influenced often. A meaningful way to demonstrate your flexibility is to make efforts to understand others. 

Finally on this point, healthy working relationships allow for some imperfect communication. If behavior is out of the norm from a leader or colleague, you could be curious or simply choose to let it go. We all need grace at one point or another. If you have proven reasons to not trust your team enough to assume good, then there’s real work to do. Either you’ve stopped reading here to start your new job search or you need to start leading in ways that build trust. 

Second: Focus on Intentional Collaboration

A benefit to remote work is that your outputs are judged from a fairly objective point of view. It doesn’t matter how busy you look, the quality of your work reflects skill level and whether you involved the people who needed to be involved to create the best outcome. While some cooler-chat is important for team culture, we can’t be everything to everyone and you’ll be most effective if you focus those energies on individuals with whom you need to build trust. After a point, collaboration can have diminishing returns and to be more intentional with everyone’s time ask yourself the following questions when working with others:

For effective collaborative design:

1. What is the goal of this collaboration? 

2. Can everyone involved state the same goal?

3. Is the timeline clear?

4. Are roles by those involved established?

5. Who makes decisions?

6. How will the team know we succeeded?

If you can’t articulate great answers to any of the above, reconsider the entire initiative. Be open to the idea that the project isn’t that important after all and should be canceled in favor of more productive efforts. 

On who to include in the process:

1. Are decision makers involved in ways that will help them make effective decisions?

2. Who does the work affect most and needs to have input?

3. What assumptions have been made but could derail the project? Is there experience we can seek that will shed meaningful light on how we should move forward?

4. Can I clearly articulate why each person was invited to the discussion?

I suppose a warning here is that we can get so “efficient” that we silo ourselves in ways that stifle innovation. That is certainly not the goal. Effective leaders make space for brainstorming and curiosity often, but they do it thoughtfully. If that is what you are hoping for from a group, be upfront that is your goal.

Third: Get a Life

As stated in “Beyond Collaboration Overload” by Rob Cross, successful collaborators are involved in 2-3 social circles outside of the workplace. This will achieve multiple ends for you that include gaining new perspectives, access to people in various industries, and limiting how much time you spend at work. 

You may even make friends who become mentors and give great advice. You’ll learn about what works in other organizations so you can consider how to innovate within your own. 

Not to mention the mental and physical health benefits of having a work-life balance. Taking time to invest in yourself and your interests will mean you can bring a better self to create value in the workplace. It’s also true that having other obligations will help you stay more productive. I found this very true once I became a mother. Childcare ends at 4:00 p.m. which gives me a hard deadline to finish my workday. It motivates me to carefully plan my day and encourages productivity. 

In conclusion

A successful collaboration can be one of the most rewarding experiences in your career. Getting it right matters to both you and your company. And yet, I think the greatest pitfall we can all fall into is that we enjoy the dopamine effect of being needed. This can lead us to sign up for too much, overloading ourselves and others. 

Some people just like meetings. Some need validation that they are a part of something or have FOMO. If you are one of those people, I hate to be the one to tell you this… you’re great, but you’re not THAT great.

Rob Cross wrote in “Beyond Collaboration Overload”:

The most-efficient collaborators don’t try to get their sense of purpose and worth from demonstrating their accomplishments or trying to gain status. Instead, they get it from developing others and positioning them to become values for their own capabilities.

When considering how to design a successful collaboration, think of the word “essential.”