What does collaborative work bring to a team? There are many advantages using collaborative work to achieve a common goal. To name a few, it allows team members to share their skills, share they unique views, build trust, respect the opinions of others, receiving and giving feedback.
However, there needs to be a set of common understanding and values within your team for those advantages to take hold in a collaborative environment. Some key values for a collaborative meeting is respect, having an open mind and trust. Respect the ideas of others. Have an open mind and see both sides of a disagreement. Trust your team members that they are giving you feedback to help you. Nevertheless, you need a safe space to share your ideas. Without it, trust will be difficult to achieve and your team members might not accept your ideas and contribute to them. Ensure the values of your collaborative team are known by everyone.
Once your main values are set, the next step is to establish what happens when something is agreed upon. That’s where accountability comes in. Team members who brought forward the idea or were tasked with working on the project are held accountable to move the project ahead. Other common understanding could be to show up at the meeting on time and finish the meeting on time. Have a set agenda prior to the meeting so everyone can prepare themselves. Wait for the others to finish their thought before jumping in. Have everyone participate in the meeting.
Rules need to be set so everyone knows how to collaborate with respect. For example, disagreements are welcome when approached with respect. If a disagreement or a misunderstanding cannot be resolved within five minutes of discussion, put a pin in it and come back later or set up a meeting for it. Disagreement can be uncomfortable for some but open and honest communication is important as it brings out the best in everyone when active listening is involved. As a result this creates better solutions.
A safe environment and a set of rules around engagement and sharing of ideas allows you to challenge each other. Its an opportunity to make team members accomplish something that they didn’t think they could do because they were challenged. This is also true for you. Team members will challenge you because it’s part of the team culture. It allows you and your team members to expand your skill set, increase self confidence and take that next step into your career. When collaborative work is used correctly, it creates mentors all around you. It’s about co-creation to build something better.
Team collaboration practices team members to communicate effectively, to articulate the message or the idea in a simple way so everyone understands. All teams are different because no person is the same. It’s important to know each individual how they prefer to work. However, there is one thing that everyone has in common, they want to be heard and respected. Whatever your role in the team is, you can be the catalyst to ensure you get the advantages of collaborative work by challenging yourself. Be open to new ideas and encourage others to share. Challenge them respectfully. They will thank you later.
Take care.