Collaboration is not just a process of having two people working together on a project. Instead, we should think of collaboration as a spiritual act that, if done right, would drive endless possibilities for those participating in it. In this short article, I will be covering a few of the many aspects of collaboration that I hope you will find useful later. Here goes…

It is an opportunity to learn from others

Share the joy of working on a project with others you may hardly know. In this way, you will get to learn a great deal from them, and appreciate them for who they are. The gains of having two people work together on something will always multiply in value compared to just working alone.

“Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.” -Ryunosuke Satoro

Remember, to collaborate is not about getting your way

Be open to accept other people’s ideas. Because of our unique background and experiences, everyone can offer valuable opinions that can influence other ideas in the process. Collaboration is not about getting your way, but by reasoning and discussing with others to get the best outcome for everyone.

Don’t be shy to ask for help

Always be ready to ask for help. There are people out there with skills that you may not have, who can help you bring your project to the next level. There is no shame in asking for help. There is only shame when you don’t ask for help when you are stuck. Peter Bregman – the CEO of Bregman Partners, shared in his article with Harvard Business Review back in 2019: “People feel good when they help. They are inspired when they are needed“. If leaders are not afraid of asking for help, we can ask for help too!

It is also about knowledge sharing

Collaborate to teach and grow those around you. As you will soon find out, collaboration is more about giving than just receiving. It is an opportunity to grow and help the people around you so that everyone is better off moving forward. Finding and building your tribe via micro-community is one way to share your knowledge and learn from each other.

“It is good to rub, and polish our brain against that of others.” – Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (French Renaissance philosopher and writer)

The key to collaborating is trust

Have you played the trust fall team building activity where one of the team members does free-falling with the trust that the teammates to catch him or her? It’s objective is to build and cultivate trust in the team, and demonstrate it in their workspace as well. Collaboration is built on trust. Without trust and personal responsibility to deliver your part means that the whole team is collectively worst off.