The New Collaboration

What comes to mind when you say “collaboration?” You probably think of people applying their specialties and cooperating to accomplish a shared goal.

But what if specialization — and sticking with it — actually gets in the way of the cooperation?

With most product development efforts these days taking place in uncharted waters, it’s important that all participants stand ready to use all the resources they’ve got to anticipate and address all kinds of challenges as they arise. And being limited by the role and responsibilities of a specialty can constrain the team member’s ability to apply creative thinking to problems that may be outside his area of expertise.

Collaboration to solve today’s challenges requires three kinds of disciplines and attitudes:

1. Versatility in bringing all one’s resources to the project, regardless of one’s background and experience and role in the project, and letting the situation dictate what to bring to the table at any given time.
2. Humility in recognizing the limits of one’s own abilities, and recognizing the need for help from others.
3. Openness and a willingness to hear and consider the suggestions of other team members, regardless of their backgrounds and disciplines.

Stuck on finding a way to write code to permit a certain option? The marketing expert might have some valuable input. Looking for a way to streamline testing? Brainstorm with the folks who wrote the code. Trying to increase conversions after free trials? Listen to what the people who just tested the system have to say.

By all means, recruit team members with specialized skills, and make use of those skills for the parts of the project that require that kind of expertise. But when hitting roadblocks in one area, bring everyone to the table and engage the full extent of their problem-solving skills to generate faster, better solutions.