Three Steps Towards Better Collaboration

Welcome back to the Amplify Emotional Intelligence newsletter. Twice a month, I’ll share advice and inspiration to help you develop emotionally intelligent leaders and transform your company culture. Together, we can #amplifyei and create more belonging.

Three Steps Towards Better Collaboration

In my last newsletter, I discussed the problem with over-collaborating. When it’s done without boundaries and intentionality, it becomes counterproductive.

But when done right, collaboration brings a lot of new potential to the workplace. It engages diverse voices and perspectives, and empowers individuals and their unique skill sets. It leads to new ideas and more effective problem solving. Organizations can and should use collaboration as a tool for increasing belonging and inclusion in the workspace.

Are you making the most of collaboration opportunities? Or is your team burnt out from meetings and distracted by emails? If you’re rethinking your organization’s collaboration style, take a look at my three actions towards more effective collaboration.?

Define goals

Managers are responsible for setting up the framework for effective collaboration. That goes for everything from planning productive meetings to delegating tasks within a project team.?

But leaders, you may be scheduling too many meetings. More than half of meetings are considered unproductive, according to a 2017 survey of senior managers.? And research published last year found that employees were 71% more productive when their meetings were decreased by 40%.?

Meetings are an essential part of collaborations, yet when they lack clear focus and purpose, they could be wasting one or more employees' time.

It might be time to gather some feedback from your team. Ask which meetings are most helpful, and which they could go without. Try to get a feel for whether employees feel like they have enough room in their work schedule to complete their projects.

Share vulnerably

Collaboration is only effective if a team feels safe to share vulnerably. People need to feel comfortable being their authentic selves in the workplace in order to engage and express their ideas.?

That’s where psychological safety comes in. Defined by the Center for Creative Leadership as “the belief that you won’t be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes,” psychological safety is essential for successful collaboration. When people feel psychologically safe, they feel more inclined to share and more open to learning and feedback.

Leaders who are willing to share their own feedback and criticism may enhance psychological safety in the workplace, according to a study from 2021. And by being specific and open about learning moments, managers can further normalize a culture of learning.

I once coached a C-Suite executive who had received feedback on their perceived listening skills. They spoke over people in meetings, so some of their team thought they could do a better job of listening. Instead of keeping this feedback private, the executive shared it with their team, and invited the team to hold them accountable. The results were extremely positive. My client's participation in meetings improved, and so did the overall effectiveness of the meetings. Everyone showed up with more empathy.

Sharing vulnerably leads to productive collaboration, and that culture of safety and vulnerability needs to be intentionally cultivated.?

Support diverse ideas and skills

Great collaboration brings together diverse talents and perspectives to meet a goal. But this diversity won’t shine without practicing inclusion.

There are two ideas that I teach leaders to help cultivate a space where all members feel included: Every Voice Heard and Every Emotion Acknowledged.?

Leaders should ensure that every team member gets a chance to share their input without interruption. During this process, you must use active listening. Listen with curiosity and the intention of understanding. Set an example that the rest of the team can follow.

Every Emotion Acknowledged is sometimes less about listening and more about being present and observing non-verbal cues. You may be able to see when someone is holding back input based on their body language. By paying attention to these cues you’ll know when a team member needs extra encouragement to participate.?

One of the greatest things that collaboration brings to the table is diversity. But without practicing inclusion, the diversity of a team won’t be represented. Research from Great Place to Work shows that teams that excel in diverse and inclusive collaboration win at creativity and innovation — and I’ve seen it firsthand. Cultivating a more inclusive culture will benefit leaders, individual team members, and the team’s overall effectiveness.?

As a board-certified leadership coach, keynote speaker, and facilitator, for over twenty years, Patrice B. Borders has combined her employment law and human capital practices to help organizations and individuals develop resonant leaders, collaborative teams, and inclusive workplace cultures. Continue the conversation at amplifyei.com and stay connected by following #amplifyei .