“Collaboration is when two or more people work together through idea sharing and thinking to accomplish a common goal. Collaboration can provide solutions. It can give individuals a sense of purpose while reinforcing team membership. Now with the technology that we are opportuned with, we can easily collaborate long distance. The benefits of collaboration are discovering skills and expertise in ourselves and in others, it also opens up creativity.”
– Kinsey Hicks Terry
https://www.georgiasbdc.org/terry-the-importance-of-collaboration/
What does Collaboration mean to you?
Collaboration means coming together with two or more people, without having expectations of what your outcome will be. Through the process we all identify a problem that needs resolution and together we create a solution.
To collaborate is to collectively draw out ideas without calling it your own. Collaboration is the result of the Universal mind in action.
What happens when you Collaborate?
When you collaborate you realize there is a whole new world that you haven’t explored yet, and you simply cannot explore it alone, it must be done with other minds.
Why is Collaboration Important?
Collaboration is important because it reminds us that we are all one unit, taking away socially constructed seperation between creators.
Components Of Collaboration
These Components of Collaboration are crucial to bringing a vision to life becuase everyone needs to be heard and everyone must know that they are equal. There is no dictatorship in Collaboration and when lines are clearly defined for a how a group must function, then creation begins to be a fun and seamless process, with all that are contributing.
Focus – Being able to stick to one problem or one concept at a time will advance the efficiency of the groups ability to focus. Removing distractions and creating a plan for how the group will Collaborate is essential to setting the tone in working together.
Problem Identifying – The whole reason for the group to come together is to solve some kind of problem, so the sooner the problem can be clearly identified and known to each memeber of the group, the sooner ideas can be generated in attempts to solving that problem.
Problem Solving – Once the problem is identified it is time to Collaborate! Collaborating is what you call the whole process between identifying the problem to solving the problem, and all who are involved are a part of the solution.
Commitment – When you are committed, you are saying “I am here and I am staying until the end!” This actually helps with creativity as well, because now you have told the mind that this task will be finished which guides your mind into new pathways that can potentially bring an idea that can be your solution. Without that commitment, your mind says “There is no point. We won’t solve the problem. It’s not worth trying,” and that kind of negative self-directed speech actually disables creativity because it blocks new thoughts from coming in.
Team Work – Practice conversation generosity. Everyone is different, some people may be able to talk for hours without taking a breath and some people may be a bit shy and not have the courage to speak up, however when you practice conversation generosity you actually give room in the Collaboration for others to contribute their words. This subliminally tells the team, “I think that what you have to say is important.” It is especially important that you do not interrupt people when they are in the middle of speech, it may seem obvious not to do so but there often is that one or two people in the group that feel the need to quickly express their idea, we can reduce this with conversation generosity.
Inclusivity – Take the inititative to personally ask each member of the group their perspective on the topic, this exercise can develop the teams overall confidence in feeling like they matter in the group.
Be Present – Thinking about the future or ruminating of the past really will not help you in developing responses to overcoming present challenges. It is a powerful tool to keep yourself in present awareness because it is here that your mind allows you to think in divergent ways.
Conversation – It is important to use whatever form of communication possible to express the ideas and concerns of the groups members. It is effective to have conversation and even debates on how the identified problem can be solved.
Non-Judgement – Being accepting and supporting actually nurtures the confidence of yourself and those around you to continue coming up with novel ideas.
Individual Leadership – Each member of the group must find the will within them to speak up and believe truly that their opinion matters and their contribution can bring the whole group closer to the identified goal.