Collaboration culture

Sink or swim together • 3 min read

#PsychFact

Research from the London Business School concluded that PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has one of the strongest capabilities in productive collaboration. Its training includes addressing teamwork, emotional intelligence, networking, and holding difficult conversations. The study showed that a number of skills were crucial, including: appreciating others, being able to engage in purposeful conversations, and productively and creatively resolving conflicts.

Introduction

Last time we looked at how we can achieve the most innovative forms of collaboration through efficient knowledge sharing.

Today, we’ll look at some ways to work together through clear and respectful communication, creating nurturing environments for co-workers to come forward with their ideas.

Communication

Consistent research shows that when others talk to us, instead of listening, we tend to focus on the next thing we’re about to say and how we can make the right impression.

When we actively listen to others’ opinions, we let our egos subside. This gives everyone the chance to understand one another, offer input, express ideas, focus on the goal at hand, and learn from one another’s differences to create a real diversity of ideas.

We can really listen by:

1. Asking expansive questions

To practice more “active listening,” you could divide your team into pairs and have them ask open-ended “how” and “what” questions. This requires people to provide further information than we would receive with simple,“yes” and “no” questions. It also allows us to reflect on our issues, while feeling more listened to.

For example, instead of saying to someone, “Have you asked others who’ve worked on similar tasks for pointers?” you could make a simple change to the question by asking, “How have you reached out to your team members for advice?”

2. Being clear in what we want

To avoid any confusion or misinformation about project objectives and expectations, it’s vital that we use meetings to establish clear milestones that need to be met. You could prepare by:

Providing an agenda.
Making background materials accessible.
Setting the responsibilities in advance of the meeting to ensure that it’s productive.

At the time of meeting, participants should be encouraged to ask for clarity on anything that remains unclear to them.

3. Delegate roles

It also helps to clearly delegate roles and responsibilities, while outlining what needs to be achieved so that all team members are made aware of what’s going on and how their own workload will correspond accordingly. This can also highlight any overlap in people’s workloads, or any potential gaps, giving team members the chance to volunteer help to others.

Key takeaways

We may think we have better ideas than others. However, this mindset can result in missing opportunities and alienating unheard colleagues.
Through active listening and expansive questions, we can build up a richness of ideas, while also offering a sense of agency to others who feel that their contributions are valued.
Providing clarity on tasks and objectives through efficient planning and communication helps to avoid confusion by getting everyone on the same page.

Think big, act small

How about getting in a group to focus on asking each other more expansive questions, or even trying “self-checks”?

This means critiquing your own tendencies by taking turns in sharing stories about the times we’ve failed to listen to others. We can then reflect on the common trends in all the stories and how we can improve on them.

Content sources

Forbes, 2022, Thor Olof Philogène, ‘Why Creating a Culture of Collaboration Is Critical to Business Success In The Age Of Remote Work And How To Achieve It’
Forbes, 2020, Brian Tait, ‘10 Ways to Enhance Team Collaboration’
Harvard Business Review, 2007, Lynda Gratton and Tamara J. Erickson, ‘Eight Ways to Build Collaborative Teams’
Harvard Business Review, 2019, Francesca Gino, ‘Cracking the Code of Sustained’