why collaboration is essential for innovation?
Collaboration, to me, means contributing, fully committing, being courageous and confident, listening, and sharing your greatest value to create and work towards a collective vision. However, before we dive into the importance of collaboration, let's clarify that it doesn't necessarily mean merging everyone's desks into an open concept office space. Studies have shown that open concept plans may hinder creativity, productivity, and innovation by causing anxiety, distrust, and stress among coworkers.
The key to successful collaboration lies in positioning yourself as a resource within a resource. By understanding each other's strengths, weaknesses, and areas for growth, a group can effectively collaborate. Without this awareness, collaboration might not truly take place, resulting in a group with a common goal but a few overpowering voices leading the charge, discouraging critical thinking and creativity.
As the Principal Director of BKRx Inc., my job requires me to work both independently and collaboratively while encouraging others to do the same. However, I've noticed that many companies assume they are collaborating when, in fact, their business models or role hierarchies hinder their success. Collaboration is often mistaken for cooperation, but they are fundamentally different (here are their definitions):
Collaboration: To work jointly or together with others, especially in an intellectual endeavor.
Cooperation: The actions of someone who is being helpful by doing what is wanted or asked for; common effort.
In a collaborative environment, there is a shared vision or co-ownership, whereas in cooperation, one or a few people lead, and others follow or support. Collaboration is an active process, while cooperation can be applied to specific tasks and paused without losing context or productivity.
To collaborate effectively within a traditional hierarchical business structure, ground rules should be established, individual strengths recognized, and openness to experience cultivated. Restructuring teams into small focus groups and inviting third-party facilitators for working sessions can also promote more inclusive collaboration.
So why is collaboration essential for innovation?
True collaboration encourages diverse thinking, where each idea is contributed, considered, and either embraced or discarded. The result is a combined vision unique to the group—a form of innovation.
Innovation: A new idea, method, or device; novelty, or the introduction of something new.
The path to supporting collaborative environments to drive innovation involves daring leadership, having tough conversations, staying curious, and learning how to listen. Collaborative environments require expressing your beliefs and challenging assumptions. Constructive criticism, rejection, debate, and disagreements are part of the process, as is avoiding the tendency to blend in and please others by agreeing all the time.
As brands strive for honesty and transparency, collaboration becomes crucial. It challenges the individual performance mindset taught in schools and encourages working together to address systemic problems and complexity. Conflict, when embraced constructively, can lead to achieving the impossible and finding the best answers.
To collaborate effectively, slow down to speed up. Taking time to understand each other and the bigger picture ensures that the right direction is pursued. The language of collaboration extends beyond words, encompassing body language, energy levels, openness to ideas, gratitude, intention, motivations, and desires.
In collaborative work environments, understanding oneself becomes essential. Scaling back, introspecting, and considering how to make the environment better for others and oneself are crucial steps in fostering collaboration. Collaboration allows people to bring their whole selves to the table, challenging and transforming individuals in the process.
In conclusion, collaboration is a transformative journey that requires trust, self-awareness, and the willingness to let go. It may be challenging at times, but the results are worth the effort. When true collaboration happens, innovation thrives, and teams achieve the impossible. So let's embrace collaboration as the key to unlocking creativity, innovation, and success in our professional and personal lives.
