Mindset: We should collaborate

I looked it up. Collaborate comes from the Latin: collaborare, meaning, to labor together.

Lots of people think collaboration is a key thing in agile. I agree.

But I find that after some lip service, a lot of people don't actually do much collaborating.

Contrast

Let's contrast collaborating with working alone.

You will have noticed that it is the distinct habit of geeks to work alone. Common. Often they are rather strong introverts, although there may be other factors.

Also: Everyone collaborates some. People do naturally help each other some.

Note: I say that lovingly, in part because I know and like geeks, and in part because I am a geek and (at least partially) an introvert myself.

So, working alone in one's cube or at one's desk is the opposite of collaborating. (Yes, it is also good to work alone some.)

So, does this mindset suggest that we ONLY collaborate, the whole day? Every day? No, we are not proposing that.

We are proposing more collaboration.

What is it?

Ok, then what is collaboration?

It happens when we help each other. It happens when we ask for help.

We have many phrases. "We're talking." "We're trying to figure it out." "We're trying to solve this problem." "I'm run through that with George."

Another phrase is "two heads are better than one."

Two things to always work on

I think every person and every team does some collaboration, and this is done without any special trying.

BUT.

Every person should be collaborating more. (No, not the whole day. Just more than they do currently.) Every person should have a goal of more minutes of collaborating today. We recommend Pair Programming, for example.

And. Every person needs to learn HOW to collaborate better with each partner. Use new methods. Understand the person and what they already know better. Adapt to that person better. Listen more effectively. Etc.

Another thing

I think most people do not ask for help often enough. And this is a key part of collaboration.

Why not? Probably several reasons, but a key one is that they think it will make them look bad.

Goal: To be stuck less. And the deeper goal is to get more done in the bigger timebox (eg, the Sprint).

Related

A related idea is that it is all about the Team. We are going for a Team success, not after success for one or more individuals.

Then: our premise is - if we work together, collaborate well, then we, together, can get more done per day (usually), per Sprint, per Release.

Summary

We think collaboration is a key part of the mindset.

Talk with your Team about collaboration.

Explain that we do NOT expect to collaborate every minute.

But consider collaborating more. Asking for help more. Offering help more.

And think about how, with each person, you can learn to collaborate more effectively.