Is “Collaboration” Becoming a Synonym for “Going Along to Get Along”?

Maybe you’ve heard the word “collaboration” tossed around lately when talking about how teams accomplish goals—especially if you are on a cross-functional team.

If collaboration is working together to produce or create something new, just how much room are organizations allowing for disagreement between “collaborating” team members in their effort to get to that “something new” outcome?

Are team members really open to expressing a difference of opinion or challenge the status quo?

In today’s environment, where focusing on each other’s personal feelings and sensitivities seems at an all-time high, it’s important that “collaboration” doesn’t get confused with “going along to get along!” In fact, operating with a “get along” emphasis of thought and opinion, while it may protect team members’ feelings and even make them feel esteemed, is not what teams and teamwork are all about.

And if the desired outcome is to create something new that truly adds value, doesn’t it make sense that there be room for candid conversations and open debate? After all, that’s how teams in the past reached better outcomes that exceeded their initial expectations.

If you’re a team leader or any leader at all, let your people know that the best way to add value to objectives is to not get tangled up with who said what or how it was said, but to pay more attention to what was said and to assess whether it adds value to what the team wishes to accomplish.

Now that’s COLLABORATION!

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