The Orchestra that is Collaboration
Imagine you were a flute player, or a saxophone, or a violin, and you are the best in the world. And then, one day, you discover an orchestra filled with people who are all the best in the world. That’s what collaboration is.
Why is it so unfair?
People are wired to have strong emotional reactions to real or perceived unfairness. It lights up certain parts of your brain like a Christmas tree. And it doesn’t even need to be real. If you imagine unfairness, you still get the response. And it affects how we make decisions, even to our own detriment.
Is Collaboration Just a Buzzword? (Repost)
Collaboration is a word often used. And equally as often, it is used without a complete sense of what it means or what makes collaboration unique. I propose a clearer definition and describe a framework for understanding the main parts of collaboration.
Vivien Twyford on the newest episode of Cool Collaborations
Here’s a sneak-peak into the latest episode of the Cool Collaborations podcast conversation with Vivien Twyford, where we talk about Vivien’s experiences of successful collaboration, the systematic approach to collaboration laid out in the Power of Co book, and some of the things that set Vivien on the path to becoming a collaboration specialist.
Showcase: The Complexity Project
In this showcase post, I highlight the work of Ken Banister and The Complexity Project. The project is an exploration of the complexity we experience in our lives through stories and studies that highlight some of the hidden connections within complexity.
Four Lessons from a Horse
If you’ve ever stopped to really watch a skilled horsewoman communicate with her horse through subtle unspoken signals, you’ll also see some of the very same aspects of good collaboration. In this week’s post, I point to four aspects common to both riding and collaboration.
Introducing the Cool Collaborations Podcast
Introducing a new podcast where we explore fun stories and insights of successful collaboration with guests from around the world. The first episode is now available featuring an interview with Stephanie Roy McCallum.
Values at the Heart of Collaboration
Our values drive many of our behaviours and our actions. When we have a group of people collaborating on an issue, there is an interplay among everyone’s values. Sometimes there is alignment and sometimes there is conflict. Being able to discover and understand another’s values as part of the collaborative process is a key step in being able to reach an outcome that satisfies everyone.
Chimpanzees Recruit the Best Collaborators
Our ability to collaborate has deep roots. Experimenters test how and when chimpanzees collaborate in this 2006 paper in Science.
How to Build Commitment and Enthusiasm
Reflecting on a past project, there are a few things that can help build momentum in a project that affected people across organizations. Simple, clear, adaptive, and reflective could be principles for collaborative efforts.
A Venue for Collaboration - Métis Crossing
Aside from all of the typical things you would consider when picking a venue for collaborative work, there are a couple of seemingly intangible aspects that come from the right location. And Métis Crossing offers it all.
Happy Labour Day!
In collaboration, success comes from the people involved. When you find good people, recognize how they’ve been part of your journey and take the time to let them know you appreciate them and their support.
Lessons from Kugluktuk
Sometimes it takes years to understand the lessons we learn about how to collaborate. Take my experience in Kugluktuk, Nunavut. It is only when I look at that experience today that I understand the things I stumbled through at the time. Things like how our everyday actions shape our collaborative success. How we are always being tested. And how the “good stuff”, the fun creative ideas, come after we’ve spent the time and done the work of showing others who we are.
5 Reasons Collaboration fails (and how to avoid them)
How do you avoid a collaboration failure? In this week’s guest post, Annemarie describes solutions to some typical issues that can affect your collaborative efforts.
Going Out of the Box
How can lessons from dating someone from a different cultural background allow us to design better collaboration?
Today I review and discuss a 2017 research paper that investigates whether close intercultural relationships promote creativity, workplace innovation, and entrepreneurship.
5 Ways to Build Collaborative Mindset
There are lots of ways to get yourself into the collaborative headspace, and these five are my favourites. There’s bound to be one that will help you out when you just need to get the right collaborative focus.
Explaining Collaboration - repost
Collaboration can take you or your organization to another level of impact. You get there by creating a clear purpose, connecting people through culture, values and empathy, and connecting ideas from different perspectives.
Parking Lot or Trash Bin?
Is there a way to save good ideas and potential solutions from the dreaded “Parking Lot”? This week’s blog explores how these ideas come about and how to save them from disappearing.
Anatomy of a Virtual Meeting
With a limited attention span in virtual meetings, it becomes critical for a meeting organizer to shift some of the things that normally occur during a meeting and make them preparation for the meeting instead.
Equanimity and Collaboration
Bringing the practice of equanimity into the collaborative space allows us to shift from quick response to considered reflection so that we can build better collaborative solutions.