Collaboration is a way of energizing people to work and think together. It is the exploration of multiple options from various perspectives. Collaboration is the process of people thinking and working together to discover ways to solve problems; address complex or cross-functional issues; improve processes, products, or systems, or invent new ones. Creative, collective thinking applied to the work we do leads to examination of how we do it, and how we can do it better. This means discovering new ways that are better, simpler, more efficient, or faster.

You will discover many advantages to getting the individual contributor’s thoughts for greater collective thoughts. The benefits are enormous. In the words of Dee Hock, founder and former CEO of Visa USA and Visa International “Given the right circumstances from no more than dreams, determination, and the liberty to try, quite ordinary people consistently do extraordinary things. With collaboration, the whole is not the sum of the parts. The whole is exponentially greater than all of the parts. Individuals join the cooperative effort by pooling their personal resources for superior results. Shared knowledge earns knowledge in return, and pooled knowledge consistently leads to better outcomes. In the information era, sharing information is important because it leads to understanding and keeps you in the loop of what is happening. Sometimes just being in the know opens a wider range of opportunities for action.”

When problems are complex, seemingly insurmountable, or just frustratingly difficult to solve, answers and breakthroughs are more likely to be discovered through a collaboration of diverse capabilities or divergent viewpoints. The process of collaboration can transform conflicting points to common goals. Collaborations provide an abundance of ideas and options in a short period of time.

Searching for new and better ways in today’s morass of possibilities is more than one mind can handle, or at least more than one mind can handle as well in the same time frame. There are countless tasks and complexities that are beyond the capability of one person alone which can be handled by the concentrated efforts of many. There are additional reasons for collaboration. It will help improve production and product quality in shorter time frames while contributing to profitability.

Even contributors who do the same job, but do not ordinarily work together can benefit from sharing tacit information. This is the kind of information that is often not written anywhere, but learned through experience and passed on by word of mouth. The knowledge of how to perform tasks they all do separately can be profitably shared. The result is that each party in this collaboration gains personally from the collective knowledge of the group.

Most often the main obstacles to successful collaboration lie with the collaborators. One of the most common obstacles is a negative or self-serving attitude. Careful consideration must be given to the attitudes of the collaborators. Collaborators need to respect each other for their talents and skills, and they need to focus on outcomes, not personalities. Positive, solution-oriented attitudes should either be part of the selection process or the collaborators’ development process. Training collaborators in conflict resolution and goal setting strategies will also pay rich dividends.

Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in helping businesses and individuals achieve high levels of excellence and success. Learn how at www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.

It’s no longer enough to be good, you must be exceptional. It is no longer enough to have satisfied customers, you must seek to develop a loyal and delighted customer base. It’s no longer enough to maintain. You must be aggressive, responsive, and quick. Your challenge is getting everyone on your team or in your department committed and focused on achieving organizational success. As an effective team leader, your role is to build the best, strongest, most productive team possible. Your team or department’s results, or lack thereof, will be in direct proportion to the cohesiveness of your team.

Creating a winning team begins with creating a culture in which your employees are encouraged to challenge, to question, to create, and to innovate. Surround yourself with the best people the organization has to offer. Don’t limit yourself by focusing only on people with seniority or rank. Bring people into the team as they are needed based upon their expertise or abilities. The ideal team should include all four types of thinkers, so you get a blend of perspectives. For example, some team members will naturally focus on short-term efficiency issues (doing things right) while others will focus on short term effectiveness (doing the right things). Others should be selected for their natural inclination to focus on long-term efficiency, while others should be selected for their natural focus on long-term effectiveness.

Create a culture where people are encouraged to be their best and perform their best. As the goals or projects dictate, you may want to involve multiple team members in different aspects of the project as needed. Furthermore, it may not always be necessary to involve everyone from beginning to end. Always be sure; however, the goals are specific and that they are aligned with the vision, values, and strategies of the organization as defined by management. Alignment must also occur between the department’s activities and its outcomes. If continuous improvement is to occur, your team needs to focus on continuous improvement in all areas. Therefore, measurements and expectations must be developed and reviewed regularly. Get team members involved and delegate ownership of processes and challenges which rightfully belong to them.

The momentum of the team keeps a project going so the probability of success is enhanced. A team’s collective power is much greater than that of any one individual!

Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in business and management consulting, leadership development, executive coaching, and youth leadership. For more information visit www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.

No matter how much of a useful quality you possess, you can always develop it so that it becomes even more valuable. One additional degree of personal growth today can make a big difference in your positive impact tomorrow. Does one degree really make a difference? To answer that question, imagine that you are heating water on the stove. The water will boil at 212 degrees Fahrenheit and produce steam, a source of tremendous power. But if you drop the temperature back just one degree, you only have hot water. The moral of the illustration: Don’t stop developing your strengths until they produce maximum power in your life and the lives of others.

Too often people neglect their strengths and debate the questions, “Why work on areas where I am already strong?” They devote most of their time and energy to shoring up their weaknesses and developing skills they don’t have. If you manage your life by only concentrating on your weaknesses, you take energy away from accelerating your strengths, thereby generating mediocre results.

Research indicates that as many as two-thirds of all working adults are slaving away at jobs they don’t like and for which they are not well suited. In a research poll of millions of workers, only one-third reported they were engaged in the kind of work they do best. No wonder so many businesses are characterized by apathy and mediocrity instead of passion and excellence! As we become pressed by the challenges of life, we often accept mediocrity by neglecting your strengths and shoring up a weakness.

If a weakness is really holding you back, naturally you should work to develop it. For example, if your deficiency in public speaking is curtailing your job performance and your daily work is in concert with your goals and purpose then it makes sense to devote some attention to improving that area. The blunt truth is you cannot be anything you want to be. For example, it is hard to be a successful professional basketball player in the NBA if you are 5′ 4″. The average height of these professional athletes is 6′ 7″. However, the good news is that you can always be more of who you are!

Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in business and management consulting, leadership development, executive coaching and youth leadership. For more information visit www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.