Ways to be a better collaborator

My best (and most enjoyable) work has been product of working together with great people, and I’ve learned some techniques that tend to help me be a better collaborator. These skills benefit my one-on-one partnerships, but scale to work with teams and companies with great impact as well.

 Establish shared core values early

Core values are useful for an organization especially as it grows, but many people don’t consider putting time into establishing core values early in a partnership or collaboration. Working on core values early helps me and my collaborator bond by providing a chance to think & discuss what we care about and more importantly, we you care about it.

Having shared core values also allows my disagreements to be settled easily because ego can be tabled (or at least tempered) with the questions, “How does this fit our core values? If it doesn’t, what can be changed to help it fit? Or do we need to evaluate our core values?”

 Give trust to get trust

I want to be able to tell my partner anything, and want them to feel like they can tell me anything. That honest and authentic dialogue will not only help you through inevitable tough times, but it’ll make good experiences even better.

The trouble is, I can’t make someone trust me, I have to earn it. I can’t take trust, it’s given. So I’ve found success in making it a point to get to know my collaborators better beyond the work context, and in the process looking for opportunities to take the lead and show my trust in them.

 10 minute decisions

A lot of trouble in collaborations happen when it comes time to make a decision.

It’s actually a two-headed problem; there’s a good chance that there’s something between me and my collaborator that’s not being discussed completely, in which case we need to revisit our trust. Simultaneously, the deliberation begins to undermine the decision itself. As more time passes, the opportunity for tangents increases rapidly.

Most real decision making can be made in 10 minutes or less. If we’re spending more than 10 minutes on a decision, the decision is probably large enough that it would benefit from being broken into a smaller set of decisions that can be made in 10 minutes or less.

Repeat as necessary.

 It’s ok to disagree

In the vein of decision making, being a great collaborator doesn’t mean being agreeable all of the time. In fact, a singular point of view undermines a lot of the value of the collaboration.

When we disagree, there’s a the “sweet spot” for compromise that tends to be strong/better than if either of us had gotten our way completely.

I like to think of my differences like a divining rod, and be on the lookout for “hidden option c”.

 Say thank you, be appreciative

One of the most important acts I can do is to thank my partner genuinely, even when there’s not a specific cue to do so. It’s valuable to remind my partner – and in the process, my – that I’m glad to be working together with them.