Chapter Extension

1Improving Your

Collaboration Skills

Q1: Why learn collaboration skills?

Q2: What is collaboration?

Q3: What is an effective team?

Q5: What characterizes productive conflict?

Q4: What skills are important for effective collaboration?

Q6: How can you improve your collaboration skills?

Study Questions

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Collaboration is a key business skill in twenty-first century

Distributed collaborative teams are becoming increasingly common

Collaboration skills will help project teams become more productive, do better work, and waste less time

Q1: Why Learn Collaboration Skills?

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Collaboration occurs when two or more people work together to achieve a common goal, result, or work productCommunicating, sharing information, sharing knowledge, combining skills, sharing time

Cooperation is not collaboration

Q2: What Is Collaboration?

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One person produces something

Others review and comment

Make changes

It takes time to create a

collaborative team

Importance of Feedback and Iteration

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Changes?

Done

Yes

No

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• Communication skills, member abilities

• Availability of effective communication systems

Key Elements of

Communication

• Who made what changes? When? Why?

• Rights to create, edit, delete, and read-only content privileges may vary

Content Managemen

t• Ordering tasks, processes for handling

rejected changes, dealing with exceptions

• Often not needed for one-time, ad hoc groups working on short-term project

Workflow Control

Critical Collaboration Drivers

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Accomplish goals and objectives that satisfy sponsors and clients

Over time, working together is easier and more effective

Members learn and feel fulfilled

“Leading Teams” survey

Hackman’s three

characteristics of team

effectiveness

Q3: What Is an Effective Team?

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Given: Business world goals and objectives seldom clearly defined, no definite answer

Therefore: Team must create common understanding of goals and objectives

What Does Accomplishing Goals and Objectives Mean?

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Learn each others’ strengths and how to best use themLearn weaknesses, hot buttons, and how to avoid or manage themLearn to give and receive critical feedback

Come to respect and trust each other

Improve the Ability for the Team to Work Together

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Team work should foster

personal learning and positive

feelings

Sense of belonging

Develop new friendships

Learning and Fulfillment

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Q4: What Skills Are Important for Effective Collaboration?

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What Qualities, Attitudes, and Skills Help Make a Good Collaborator?

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Essential Characteristics

EnthusiasticSays what they think, even if it’s unpopular

Curious and Open-minded

Highly AppreciatedResponds promptly Easy to work with

Can engage in difficult discussions

Does what commits to

Good listener Enthusiastic learner

Good giving and receiving critical feedback

Provides different perspective

Will voice unpopular ideas

What Qualities, Attitudes, and Skills Help Make a Good Collaborator? (cont’d)

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Not Important Characteristics

Well organized Outgoing and social

Similar personalities Someone I already know

Trust based from previous experience

Reputation as experienced collaborator

Experienced with collaboration

Seasoned business experience

Effective presentation skills

Identify differences in perspective and decide if differences consequentialUnderstand rational people have different perspectives based on:•Understanding task differently•Having different experience•Having different knowledge

Empathetic thinking―strive to hear, learn, and adapt when appropriate

Avoid personal attacks

Agree on common set of criteria for evaluating and choosing alternatives

Q5: What Characterizes Productive Conflict?

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Show up and get

involved

Assess

yourself

Try new behaviors and watch what

happens

Remember Hackman’s

three characteristic

s of team effectiveness

Engage in

productive

conflict

Ask for feedback and listen

to it

Practice and

keep at it

Q6: How Can You Improve Your Collaboration Skills?

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Active Review

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“All of the literature on team performance indicates that attacks on a team member’s personality, appearance, intelligence, or any other personal characteristic does irreparable harm to the team.”

If, in a moment of frustration and anger, you tell someone that he or she is stupid, what can you do to repair the damage? What can your teammates do?

Consider These Statements

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Suppose in that moment of anger and frustration you have the thought that the person with whom you are conversing is stupid. What can you do that will increase effectiveness of your team? Keep Hackman’s three criteria in mind as you answer.

Explain this statement, “The easiest way to solve a problem is not to have it.”

Consider These Statements (cont’d)

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