Collaboration at Work

What’s An Elephant Between Coworkers? By Daniel Robin Have you ever noticed how your perceptions and those of others often don’t match? It is said that we all hold “a piece of the elephant” (and the elephant likes it). This is why collaboration is necessary and usually advantageous at work: to gain access to unfamiliar territory and the new resources that live in other people. Indeed, to get things done, learn, and improve, your colleagues – yes, even your boss – could actually come in handy from time to time. Collaboration is more than just working together cooperatively (“teamwork”), more than going along (accommodating) or getting along … it is that remarkable and unpredictable chaos, complexity and creative stuff that makes life interesting. Admittedly, sometimes too interesting.. Look Within, or Look Out! Reflect for a moment on your own workplace . when was the last time you had a conversation that didn’t go well? Do you normally come back to those less-than-delightful moments to gain a sense of resolution?  How, usually? Do you resolve it inside your own head or do you get in their face? Where there’s been some interpersonal friction, most of us tend toward one extreme or the other to cover up the fact that we feel either threatened or embarrassed. Even if you attempt resolution inside your own head (“Oh, he’s just a jerk!”), or through a third party (“Can you believe what a jerk he is?!”), or with the person directly (“I’m sorry, but I don’t feel complete about X; perhaps there’s been a misunderstanding…”), you aren’t necessarily collaborating. So, what is collaboration, and when does it make sense to collaborate?  There are at least four situations where a collaborative approach is essential: When you need to increase cooperation – collaboration helps deal with differences before they lead to resistance or begin to prevent understanding. Skills: handling resistance, empathic listening and verifying understanding. When you want stewardship (not micro-delegation or micro-management) – whether kicking off an important project or change initiative, stewards “go slow to go fast” with the right input from all the right players up front. [ “Stewardship” just means fully delegating so they truly own and commit to carrying out the action, and getting the desired results. ] Skills: asking goal-oriented questions, forming clear & complete agreements, rapport. When you need a more complete perspective – collaboration allows for useful reflection and feedback, so rather […]