The interview was winding down and I asked my final question, “Will you tell me about a time when you collaborated with your friends or coworkers?”
Emily replied, “I collaborate with my coworkers all the time on patient cases and co-treats.”
“Can you share with me a time when your collaboration was outside of clinical care?”
“Outside of patient care?”
“Yes. Are there any projects, processes, or initiatives you can share with me when you collaborated with your coworkers to get it done?”
There was silence.
I had learned to let the silence sit, to give it space.
After about 8 seconds of silence, Emily said, “I can’t really think of anything.”
This happens over and over. Highly educated, professional people frequently have the hardest time sharing stories when they collaborated, when they played well with others.
Why?
Collaboration is often not how they think. It’s not how they were taught.
It’s not uncommon for these professional people to have spent 20 years in school being conditioned to do 2 things above all others. The 2 things? Be right and do it by yourself.
This conditioning, to be right and do it by themselves, may have lasted for 20 years, from Kindergarten to a Doctorate. 13 years to graduate high school, 4 years in undergrad, and 3 years in a doctorate program. Graded on a curve or a straight scale, the rewards and reinforcement are to have the right answer and to do it alone.
Collaboration on a quiz, test, report, or exam is not called “collaboration”. It is called something completely different. In school it is most often called “Cheating”. And it’s punished.
Even group projects often fall to 1 or 2 people to do the bulk of the work. The grade is dependent on the end result. Collaboration along the way is not graded.
The problem with this conditioning, with this mindset, is that outside of school, our success in virtually everything else in life is dependent and proportionate to our ability to collaborate.
How well we collaborate can directly impact our success. And not just as individuals, but as teams.
There is much lip-service paid to organizations acting as “teams”. The irony is that the better an organization acts as a real team, where people collaborate well, where they “pass the ball” well, the more successful the organization.
So, what can you do?
Start with a quick check.
· Is your organization dominated by a hub and spoke mentality?
· Are there people in your organization who need to be right all the time?
· Are there those who derive their power from their knowledge and the information they possess?
· Is the sharing of information done freely or is it doled out on a need-to-know basis?
· Are there specific, “acceptable” channels for communication?
Diagnosing and assessing where you currently are is the first step.
These graphics might help.
This is what communication can look like in an organization with a hub and spoke mentality. The dots represent people, the lines communication channels.
Do you see the potential for silos here?
Is this where your organization, or parts of it, are right now?
If you want greater collaboration, foster connections, and communication. And then recognize and reward the collaborative behaviors you want.
This is what communication can look like in a collaborating organization.
Where are the silos here?
Select new hires for their desire and ability to collaborate. That is the point of the conversation I shared at the beginning. But know that that’s only a starting point. You can go deeper with your interviews to truly assess a candidate’s collaborative mindset.
By fostering connections and open communication and recognizing those who are adopting and implementing the collaborative behaviors that you want, you will move toward making collaboration normal in your organization.
And you will see better results.
We see it all the time in sports. Teams whose players work well together do better.
We see it in projects. When a team really comes together, they create a better work product.
Some of your favorite songs are likely the result of collaborations.
Collaboration led to major scientific breakthroughs like decoding the human genome, understanding HIV, and enabling mRNA vaccines.
Imagine what could happen for your team when collaboration is intentionally encouraged, fostered, and nurtured.
What could you achieve together?
Make sure to share this with a friend or co-worker. Start the conversation to move toward greater and more productive collaboration. You’ll be amazed by what your team can achieve.
