Collaboration and Communication

A key driver of effective collaboration is customization. After a careful assessment of strengths, we tailor our relationships to create a language unique to each connection. Every partnership adjusts to accommodate the nuances of personality, history, perception, and psychological wellness. Try this path to enhance team communication.

It’s usually the topic we’re not discussing that wields the most power in the room. Subtle and often hidden from view, insidious obstacles make collaboration difficult. These landmines are both sins of omission and sins of commission. Usually, we know they are causing or perpetuating struggle but we’re not willing to risk the consequences of unveiling them for open communication. So, we make them normal in our culture. Consider these ten landmines and perform a quick assessment of your own team.

Without exception, every team has work to do. Whether fixing something broken or fueling an opportunity, there is a conversation needed to move things forward. We all know which conversations are most important. It’s usually the ones that are awkward and sensitive. It’s often the issue not being discussed that fills the atmosphere with tension. Here are a few of the most common team conversations waiting to be initiated:

The drivers of workplace behavior can be both selfish and altruistic. Our personal desire for achievement can overtake our mission to advance the lives of others. When our own needs clamor for satisfaction, the greater good sometimes gets sacrificed. Few of us, however, live in isolation. Most of us are members of relationships, families, teams, and organizations where goals are shared.

The ability to collaborate effectively within teams is one of the greatest tests of communication. Growing up, most of our education is skewed toward individual success. We learn to set goals, take initiative, and budget our time based on our own pace and work ethic. We assume that applying the same rubric will lead to success in team settings. We believe the contribution of strong individual performance along with respect for others constitutes teamwork. Not always. In fact, it might even be a detriment.

Blending differences has the potential to polarize as well as coalesce. How do you collaborate effectively when everyone at the table is an expert? How might generosity and sharing occur when each stakeholder represents a different cause? Understanding the recipe for effective collaboration provides a starting point. Consider these ingredients:

As obvious as the benefits of teamwork might be, collaborating is difficult. Imagine what it would be like to enjoy the outcome of joining our talents without having to make the sacrifices required to share. Unfortunately, letting go of self-interest is a primary ingredient of the teamwork recipe. Sadly, working in silos is easier despite the subtraction of advantages that come from working together. Let’s look at the spectrum of hardships required for healthy collaboration.

Activate an idea circle. Rather than opening a discussion where the most verbal participants shape the conversation, create a structure that invites everyone to pitch in. Often, the best ideas are left unspoken. Sometimes team politics make it unsafe to speak up. Maybe more introverted teammates prefer to listen than talk. An idea circle extracts innovation from the quiet side of the team. Here’s a way to turn up the volume.

Day-to-day interactions with colleagues often provide an indication of the quality of communication without revealing much evidence about the reasons for its strength or weakness. True data usually lives beneath the surface. When it’s not going well, the motive for the choice not to collaborate is frequently some unresolved grudge that converts a “we” into an “us vs. them.” Perhaps a teammate said something insulting six months ago. Maybe a counterpart came from the wrong side of a merger following a corporate acquisition. Sometimes a colleague stays loyal to a previous leader. Either way, a talent with whom you should partner is rendered off limits. What should you do?

Ask the tough questions only when you truly want the answers. Requests for feedback are often misunderstood as appeals for praise. Why ask unless you are prepared to absorb the critique and make the changes it evokes? Consider intensifying the challenge. Rather than asking a friend, ask a stranger. Instead of soliciting one opinion, ignite a feedback circle. Here’s an example:

It took nearly three years for the Team Clock Institute to publish the soon-to-be-released interpersonal suite of products. The assessment sort cards and action workbook unfolded quickly since they are both anchored in the trademarked principles and methodology of the Team Clock. The book, Useful Pain: Why Your Relationships Need Struggle, took over two years to complete. While the author had his own obstacles, the primary source of delay was the decision to invite critique.

The executive leadership team I coach on Friday mornings doesn’t always see eye-to-eye. Sometimes, a teammate opts out of the discussion when he or she isn’t getting their way. As a coach, I finesse a way to invite them back into the conversation. The musicians who gather in my basement on Friday nights find ways to collaborate without words. It’s a universal language. Sometimes there is harmony and other times there is dissonance. There is always communication. Fridays are full of lessons.