5 Tips for Strong Collaborations

I always dreaded when the teachers would place us in groups on projects in school because you would always have the person who wanted to be in charge, the person who never did their share of the work or the person who was always indecisive and totally useless when it came to brainstorming and making decisions.  It made the project a lot more stressful than it had to be and the end result would often be a mishmash of mediocrity- just enough to pass.

Real life collaborations will follow this same path if you're not careful. Here are five tips for guaranteeing strong collaborations:

1. Determine what role everyone will play before you get started. Will there be a leader? Will responsibilities be shared? Make sure everyone is on board and understands their role.

2. Set deadlines and stick to them.  Make sure everyone takes the project seriously and is committed to meeting the deadlines.

3.  Be open to explore ideas and opinions different from your own. One of the biggest issues with collaborations is people aren't willing to consider ideas that are not their own or things that they aren't familiar with. You can't stay nestled in your comfort zone if it's going to stifle the growth of everyone else involved. 

4. Learn to communicate effectively. Set meetings and times to chat face to face to (or on the phone) to discuss the progress of the project. Emails and text messages often lead to miscommunication. Watch your tone and remain respectful but also don't bite your tongue if there is something you're concerned about.

5.  Check your ego at the door. When you are working on a collaborative project remember it's NOT ABOUT YOU. So many people get caught up in titles and credit instead of working to do their best to make the collaboration or project successful.