Working together to achieve common goals is what we call collaboration. If you combine it with respect, commitment and good communication, you will have the perfect approach to bring all team members together to achieve the goal you have set. It is also good to understand that collaboration is a process that fosters inclusion, as you must learn to respect the knowledge and skills that each member brings to the table (1).
It is true that teams that work together are able to carry out larger and more ambitious projects. Today, one factor contributing to the success of any business is whether its employees can work well as a team. To be able to work together and work collaboratively, we must develop certain skills. In this article, we will show you some of these and how to integrate them.
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Summary
- Collaboration allows team members to work towards the same goal, exchanging ideas and offering different perspectives to provide solutions.
- Ideally, each member should have an equal opportunity to participate and communicate their ideas.
- Working toward the same goal inspires and gives the team purpose. Consequently, the value of working together is learned, and both the team and the company benefit.
What you need to know about collaboration skills and how to foster them
Collaboration skills are those that allow us to work well and in sync with others. It is clear that we must learn to be collaborative, and this implies knowing how to manage the priorities of the work group well and meet deadlines. This will make us a reliable member.
Most work environments require collaboration, and employers are looking for people who know how to function effectively as part of a team. That is why these skills are so essential.
What makes a good collaboration?
Good collaboration allows team members to work together toward the same goal. At the same time, bringing talent together helps exponentially in building solutions and addressing organizational challenges.
It is important for team leaders to have clear directions in order to decide the team’s objectives, and these objectives should be the main action when creating the team. A successful team that works well together has a clear path, knows the tasks to be accomplished, and has a strategy to complete them.
What is a collaborative strategy?
It is a strategy based on certain methods that make collaboration more effective and successful. Here are a few that you can apply:
- Establish a guide: this will ensure that the teams focus on the common purpose. This team member must have authority, influence, and credibility to unite the organizations (3).
- Have a constant evaluation plan: this allows you to see if the results that are being obtained satisfy the interests.
- Evaluate communication: it is helpful to record what has been learned, and to detect unexpected results.
- Establish a dynamic that allows you to observe progress throughout the process, based on the results obtained.
What are collaboration skills?
Each person has certain skills, these are qualities and competencies that we use to solve a problem (2). The use of these qualities in a work environment includes:
| 1 | Knowing how to listen in order to understand, open communication is necessary to accomplish tasks. |
| 2 | Asking for feedback from others, considering what others think about the work we are doing, helps us understand it better. |
| 3 | Share information, it is important not to withhold information needed to perform tasks. |
| 4 | Recognize and reward others, we must give credit to those who deserve it. |
| 5 | Know how to identify obstacles and address problems cooperatively as they occur. |
| 6 | Apologize for mistakes and forgive others for mistakes. |
Why are collaborative skills so relevant in the workplace?
Mastering collaboration skills helps you promote personal development. It allows team members to reflect on and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses as they work toward a common goal.
Teams tend to function best when everyone draws on and relies on the expertise of other team members.
When you collaborate with others by exchanging ideas and opinions, you are in a constant learning process. Chances are that some of your teammates are better than you in some areas, and that’s when you can lean from them. Ask them for advice, and maybe that will help you solve a problem.
What are the advantages of team collaboration?
The greater the collaboration between teams, the greater the chances of increasing success. This is one of the advantages of collaborative work. Here are some other benefits:
More productivity
As we said earlier, by collaborating at work, problems are solved together, achieving greater results than could be achieved individually. Working as a team reduces time wasted at work, thus ensuring that you work towards a goal.
Greater profitability
Team collaboration increases the performance of the team, and the company. This leads to faster and more cost-effective results.
Personal Development
As collaboration raises team performance, it also allows each individual to reach a higher potential and give more to the team and the company without much effort. It allows employees to assess their strengths and weaknesses as they work toward a common goal.
Knowledge Acquisition
Working together helps you discover new things. When you collaborate with other employees, there is an exchange of ideas and opinions, and it is almost inevitable that you will learn something new (4).
6 skills you need to improve collaboration in your workplace.
Here are some tips to get your team to collaborate effectively and help you improve teamwork among employees:
Communication
Teamwork must be based on verbal and non-verbal communication, and convey respect as team equals. Likewise, employees must learn to develop good communication skills, as this helps to keep in step, and allows members to direct efforts as needed.
Organization
Organization is fundamental to collaboration and should be part of everyone’s daily routine. Consequently, team members must learn to organize their time and workload so as not to affect the work and delivery times of their colleagues on the same project.
Long-term thinking
It is important that you can visualize the end result of the work. On the other hand, collaboration is about working towards a shared goal or purpose, and it is crucial to be able to understand how to adjust to that goal along the way. The more information you have about a project, the better prepared you will be to make it happen.
Adaptability
Adaptability is a skill that allows you to be flexible and to understand how to deal with changes. Team members must be able to learn quickly and know how to restructure their tasks to adapt to new information (5).
Autonomy
Autonomy is having the freedom to manage certain aspects, and make decisions in your work. This allows you to have more control over your tasks and your time. A collaborative team, where each member is autonomous in their work, will result in both higher productivity and improved results.
Responsibility
Being a responsible team member generally inspires confidence – when you are delegated a task, other team members trust you to get it done well. At the same time, this helps to strengthen relationships between team members.
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Conclusion
As we have learned from this article, it is of great importance to strengthen collaborative work. It is also essential to form teams of experts with different experiences and different perspectives, but with a common professional profile, which will help us to achieve the planned objectives.
Today it is essential for any company to adopt this work culture. Forging an environment where ideas and strategies can be shared, motivating creativity and inviting all team members to work together, always open to debate and to the differences that may arise.
References
1. Giraldo Marín, L. M., Aguilar, L. J., & Medina García, V. H. (2013, October). 2.0 COLLABORATION STRATEGIES FOR KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
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2. DOYLE, A. L. L. I. S. O. N. (2022, June). What Are Collaboration Skills? https://www.thebalancemoney.com/. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
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3. 10 tips on effective research collaboration strategies. https://www.enago.com/. (n.d.). Retrieved October 3, 2022,.
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4. What is collaborative work and how to improve it in your team. https://www.onlyoffice.com/. (2021, October). Retrieved October 3, 2022.
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5. What is adaptability at work? https://www.indeed.com/. (2021, December). Retrieved October 3, 2022.
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