Collaboration in the workplace means much more than working together as a team. It is possible to work in a team and still work in individual silos.
Collaboration's goal should be combining individual knowledge and skills to achieve a task, develop ideas, create processes, and solve problems.
It’s not enough to allocate tasks to individuals within a team. Collaboration is about the cohesion and fluidity with which team members move in and out of different workspaces.
Collaboration is about constant brainstorming and cross-fertilisation of ideas and insights. It is intense but rewarding.
Collaboration is about knowledge-sharing, continuous learning, freedom to fail, asking questions, asking for help, building trust, and leaning on each other when needed.
Collaboration in the workplace is a culture that must be intentionally nurtured. The team leader must understand that everyone has an ego. The leader must be humble and integrated as part of the team.
By pooling the diversity of experiences and knowledge within a team, we avoid the bias normally associated with depending on one source of information.
Collaboration is a demonstration of intellectual rigour. Ideas are challenged and assumptions are scrutinised. Learning is ingrained in the process and development occurs. The organisation becomes better and customer experience is improved.
As the old saying goes “2 heads are better than 1”.
