How can you overcome common collaboration challenges in a strategy career?

1 Communicate clearly and frequently

One of the most important skills for a strategy professional is communication. You need to be able to articulate your ideas, assumptions, findings, and recommendations to various stakeholders, such as clients, colleagues, partners, and investors. To avoid misunderstandings, confusion, or delays, you should communicate clearly and frequently with your collaborators. Use simple and concise language, avoid jargon and acronyms, and check for comprehension. Also, use multiple channels of communication, such as email, phone, video, and chat, and choose the most appropriate one for each situation. Finally, be responsive and respectful, and acknowledge the input and feedback of others.

2 Align on goals and expectations

Another common challenge in collaboration is when different parties have different or conflicting goals and expectations for the strategy project. This can lead to frustration, tension, or wasted resources. To prevent this, you should align on the goals and expectations of the project from the start. Define the scope, objectives, deliverables, timeline, and budget of the project, and make sure everyone agrees on them. Also, identify the roles and responsibilities of each collaborator, and clarify how they will contribute to the project. Moreover, establish some ground rules and norms for the collaboration, such as how decisions will be made, how conflicts will be resolved, and how progress will be tracked and reported.

4 Give and receive constructive feedback

Feedback is another vital component of collaboration, as it helps you improve your performance, learn from your mistakes, and achieve your goals. However, feedback can also be challenging to give and receive, especially if it is negative, vague, or inconsistent. To overcome this challenge, you should follow some best practices for giving and receiving constructive feedback. When giving feedback, you should be specific, timely, honest, and respectful. You should focus on the behavior and outcomes, not the person or intentions. You should also balance positive and negative feedback, and provide suggestions for improvement. When receiving feedback, you should be open, attentive, and grateful. You should not take it personally or defensively, but rather use it as an opportunity to grow and develop.

5 Celebrate successes and learn from challenges

The last tip for overcoming collaboration challenges in a strategy career is to celebrate your successes and learn from your challenges. Collaboration is not easy, and it requires hard work, patience, and commitment. Therefore, you should acknowledge and celebrate the achievements and milestones of your collaboration, and recognize and appreciate the efforts and contributions of your collaborators. You should also reflect on the challenges and difficulties of your collaboration, and identify the lessons and insights that you can apply to future projects. By celebrating and learning from your collaboration, you can strengthen your relationships, boost your morale, and enhance your skills.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?