The Four Habits of an Effective Collaborative Individual
by Michael Sampson
"Collaboration" denotes a group of people working together towards a mutually desired outcome. It is an accepted concept to describe organizational reality—people must work together to achieve things that stick and must be embraced by either an internal culture or a set of customers. "No man is an island," wrote John Donne in the early 17th century. This truth remains unchanged 400 years later, even though we increasingly work on different islands, geopolitical soil, and even continents. Collaboration is more than an abstract need of organizations; it's the daily practice of many an individual. As such, we must contemplate what it means for us to be effective as collaborative individuals. In his book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R. Covey argues that effective people share common life habits. If true, it makes sense to conclude that people, who are effective at collaboration, likewise have mastered and practice similar habits.
Habit #1: Know When You Need to Talk Interactively. Do Not Always Rely on Email.
Much of our collaborative work is with people we rarely, if ever, meet in person. The concept of a "virtual team" is almost meaningless in such a context, because we are all on teams with varying degrees of virtuality. Communication is infrequently done face-to-face but rather via email. It is difficult to know if the other is available to speak with us, and the crossing of more and more time zones leads us to communicate largely by asynchronous means. "It's easier for me to just send an email," we justify to ourselves. "Plus, it is easier for them, because they can respond on their schedule, not mine."
Easier? Yes—but not always as effective. Misunderstandings can quickly escalate out of control, leading to costly rework and frayed emotions. Email has its place in collaborative endeavors, but there is no substitute for regular interaction in real-time, to ensure complete coordination and in-sync-ness. Schedule a phone meeting, or just pick up the phone and call. Even if your 10-minute discussion isn't about your common project per se, there will be positive communication benefits going forward.
Habit #2: Ask for Clarification. Push Back When There Is a Misunderstanding.
If you do not understand something you have been tasked with, even at the risk of looking stupid, ask for clarification. There is no point pushing ahead with a task only to discover, upon completion, that you didn't understand the full scope of what was asked. When distance prevents looking someone in the eye, it is up to you to ask until you have fully grasped the request. There should be no shame in people making a best-effort attempt at understanding the perspective of the others with whom they work. It is a high compliment, actually, to be intentional about understanding the why, the when, and the how that drives another. When you work with specific people for long enough, these perspectives become ingrained. You internalize their views and understand their nuances. It's different with remote work—particularly with short-duration remote work.
Habit #3: Be Clear on the Value You Bring to the Table
Teams composed of a homogeneous set of people are designed to merely add strength, not to multiply or compound it. People with too many similarities in background and outlook find it much harder to create compelling breakthrough ideas, because they lack the sharp points of difference that a more varied group of individuals bring to the table. Variety in background enables the identification of new possibilities. The recognition of nuances that can be leveraged for advantage, and often a better fit with a cosmopolitan target market. While the contribution of an individual could be minimized by waving it off as but one data point, if you are on the team then you have a right—no, a duty—to know why you are there. What special collection of skills and abilities do you bring for the benefit of the collective? Is it a technical skill— perhaps you know things about strategic thought that others do not? Is it a process skill—perhaps you are excellent at listening to the meandering discussions of a group and then concisely bring it all together in a compelling vision and set of next actions. Whatever it is that makes you special, contribute that to the benefit of the team with great intention.
Habit #4: Have a Common and Shared Vision, Purpose and Approach.
Differences and disagreements between team members lose there rough edges when people are committed to a grander vision and purpose. If time and effort are invested upfront in defining an outcome that everyone can embrace and work towards, the seemly critical disagreements that arise can be evaluated against the objective standard that all have established. This prevents the individual with the best negotiation or manipulation skills from winning the conflict that may be brewing in the moment. Asking the question: "How does what you are advocating help us reach the outcome we all agreed to achieve together?" allows everyone at the table to refocus on the real task at hand.
A common approach is especially helpful for tasks that require a high degree of coordination and where variations in approach can result in outputs that inconvenience or harm customers. When people have both a shared vision of what needs to be done, and an agreement to work together in a certain way to achieve those outcomes, the process of being collaborative is made easier.
Collaboration Effectiveness
The four habits of the highly effective collaborative individual noted here are not meant to be an exhaustive list. There is much more to be explored, such as making exceptional use of collaboration tools and technologies. However, even in its brief form, these habits are fodder for thought nonetheless. In light of these habits, how are you doing at being collaborative? Which habit do you need to most work on? MS/TMP