Working
together is one of the
hardest and most rewarding aspects of our work lives. Different
personality dynamics, skill sets and experiences are present in every
team and in every workplace.
The best teams succeed both
because of and despite of this diversity.
When
you're working on a project that spans several different disciplines,
the ability to consult others who are experts in the
core-competencies needed to make the project work is crucial. Not
only will they have the required knowledge but they mostly likely
look at the project from a new, different angle, seeing things and
sparking off ideas that you wouldn't have done on your own.
Building
a diverse team is often the only way to assemble the breadth of
knowledge and skills required to pull off a complex, innovative
project. For example, a film production needs researchers,
scriptwriters, producers, cameramen, grips, actors, etc. Each of
those people brings specific skills to the table as well as their own
ideas, biases and unique point of view.
Even
having multiple people with similar skill sets working on one
specific aspect of the project can produce unique insights and brand
new perspectives as they will come from different backgrounds, have
trained at different schools and have different experiences
influencing the way they think.
Collaboration Outside Your Business
Collaborating
with other businesses provides the potential to experiment with new
product areas and ideas as well as introducing both parties to a
brand new customer base. It's important to carefully choose who you
work with as collaborators
who are different to you will often bring the most innovation to
partnership.
Working
with businesses in another
industry or with a different
audience in the same industry to pool client and press contacts is
often beneficial, but it's
also important that you're on the same page in terms of the final
outcome and any ethical
considerations.
However,
it may be preferable to work with businesses with the same goals and
customer bases. This
helps increase your existing knowledge of your specific area of work
as well as ensuring a greater level of understanding within the
partnership.
Top Tips
1.
Set Goals. Make sure that
everyone knows exactly what they're working towards. This
helps to keep individuals focused on team goals and provides
measurable indicators of success.
2.
A good team will share
knowledge freely, learn from one another, help one another complete jobs and
meet deadlines, and share resources.
3.
Communicate. Share
your ideas and listen to others. Digital
tools such as Asana or Podio
can be helpful for staying in contact and sharing information,
especially for remote working teams.
Podio is also useful for keeping a shared record of contacts and
events.
4.
Colleagues who focus not
just on their own goals and the goals of the team/company but also
each other's individual goals, working together to help everyone
achieve what they need to in the best possible way, often
get the best results.
5.
Remember, colleagues should tell you when an idea is great but they
should also let you know when it needs improvement and when it's so
terrible that you need to scrap it immediately.
More Information
To
Build Your Business, Smash Your Silos
–
https://www.fastcompany.com/1839317/build-your-business-smash-your-silos
5
Reasons why collaboration contributes to innovation
–
https://www.freshconsulting.com/5-reasons-why-collaboration-contributes-to-innovation/
The
unexpected business benefits of collaboration
–
https://www.trainingjournal.com/articles/opinion/unexpected-business-benefits-collaboration-0
5
Reasons Why Collaboration Is Essential in Today's Business
Environment –
http://www.inc.com/natalie-nixon/5-reasons-why-collaboration-is-essential-in-today-s-business-environment.html
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