Getting teams to collaborate successfully

Unlocking creativity through collaboration

Nurturing creativity is a puzzle that stumps even the best companies. Those who do it earn a reputation for their forward-thinking and modernized management approach. The ones that can’t tend to stagnate and suffer higher turnover. Excellent products result from excellent teamwork.

Good project management helps teams stay on task and work efficiently. However, the quality of their work often depends on creativity and individual improvement.

The best way to boost creativity and employee engagement is to introduce people to new ideas, usually through collaboration with coworkers.

Managers of productive teams nurture and encourage creativity by creating regular opportunities for collaboration. Whether it’s a team project, a weekly occurrence, or an annual event, giving team members a chance to generate and refine ideas together in real-time benefits their work.

This blog will discuss the nuts and bolts of effective team collaboration, maximizing the benefits of people working together.

Helping everybody win

A strong collaborative environment starts from the top down. For teams to feel comfortable getting into collaborative mindsets, their leaders must also be willing to be part of the team.

It isn’t always easy to show the vulnerability required for effective collaboration—sometimes, it involves trying new things and listening to people you usually wouldn’t. However, this is precisely why collaboration works.

Effective teams feel comfortable sharing ideas and understand how to implement them. However, poor team collaboration leads to wasted time and frustrated employees. These employees feel that their ideas and efforts should be valued and recognized.

Collaboration doesn’t have to be a formal undertaking. Opportunities for collaboration can include:

• Coming together for a problem-solving session

• Brainstorming sessions for new ideas

• Knowledge sharing and tutorials

• Team-building exercises like games or escape rooms

• Surveys on upcoming changes

• Regular team meetings

Large companies need more agility to seize opportunities. However, smaller businesses can leverage annual meet-ups. These events allow teams to break out and showcase their independent capabilities.

What good collaboration looks like

As any high schooler can attest, a group of people working on a project doesn’t automatically mean good collaboration. In the same way, group activities in the workplace can become a headache if not prepared and handled improperly.

For example, turning a boring project into something the whole team has to work on is counterproductive. Administrative tasks, for example, could be a better team assignment.

It’s also not ideal for managers to hover and nitpick their teams’ work as they collaborate. This usually leads to less team member engagement as they defer to their boss for which direction to take.

The collaboration uses imagination, with peers and team members finding the way forward—not managers. It’s essential to keep that open-minded attitude throughout the group undertaking.

Here are a few things to avoid when teams are collaborating:

• Don’t do someone else’s job. Clarify roles and ensure each person understands their role individually as well as within the group.

• Don’t mistake bossiness for leadership. Some people tend to take a controlling role in group settings. Therefore, it’s important to establish that there will be no team leaders early on. Additionally, all contributions should be valued and heard.

• Don’t offer too much direction. Collaboration is a chance for team members to share insights, ideas, and approaches with each other, all of which can be spoiled if they become worried about pleasing an overly involved boss.

• Don’t make the activity too long. At the end of the day, all team members have their own work to do, so allowing collaboration to run its course and end naturally will help people benefit most from it.

• Don’t take creativity for granted. You may hear some pretty bizarre ideas in group efforts, but that is the best sign that the collaboration is working and real imagination is taking place.

Groups that work well together help everyone feel better about their abilities and their place within the team. It’s a beautiful thing.

Using the right tools

Remote work facilitates collaboration, given the abundance of apps and team collaboration software that have emerged recently.

Slack and Microsoft Teams provide excellent platforms for sharing ideas quickly and privately. Project management tools like Asana, ClickUp, and Dropbox enable teams to comment and attach files directly to tasks, ensuring that everyone knows what’s needed to complete projects.

Companies need these tools if they want successful collaboration—especially among remote teams—but preferences vary, and technology changes. There’s no need to blow the company budget on the latest and greatest trend (unless pricing isn’t a concern or you’re convinced it’s the perfect fit).

Collaboration tools should provide an easy solution for:

• Communicating through text or video calls as needed

• File sharing, updating, and comparing

• Designing many different forms of media

• Reviewing drafts and providing feedback that is easy to understand and follow

• Restricting asset access to specific people and groups

Unfortunately, the internet’s information overload renders sites like Google obsolete when finding the right tool for your specific needs. Ask peers and colleagues from other companies about their favorite team collaboration tools.

You could also put the question to public forums such as Reddit or LinkedIn, though it remains to be seen how long those websites will remain free from the grasp of corporate ad budgets…

Encourage constructive feedback

One tremendous benefit of collaborating with teams is peer-to-peer feedback. Rather than receiving correction or criticism from a boss, collaborative teams get to hear and share knowledge with people they are more likely to trust.

Sorry, managers, it’s the truth—people with similar tasks and responsibilities can share information less formally.

However, managers can streamline feedback by asking team members what they learned or thought. Ask them to express both what they liked and what could use more development. Just jotting things down can help employees find a stronger connection to the work they do on a daily basis.

Giving and receiving feedback is also a great way to open one’s mind and exercise imagination. Along with learning more about the job, feedback probes deeper into how each person can maximize their contribution to team goals.

Hone individual skills

The best teams create amazing results because they maximize each individual’s skill sets and abilities.

Team members get to add value in ways that flex their creativity. Meanwhile, they get to see others work in their respective specialties. This, in turn, helps to grow their collaboration skills.

If you can plan a collaborative activity, instruct teams to clarify exactly and outline each person’s role. For example, graphic designers probably don’t need to be closely involved with writing copy.

The freedom to improvise during collaboration will help each team member better inject their personality into their work.

Avoid too much management

The best part about collaborating is the chance to work with coworkers, get work done, and reduce stress from manager oversight. This doesn’t mean managers shouldn’t be involved, but their presence can be distracting.

Managers should give some clear initial instructions about what needs to happen during the collaborative effort. After that, the best thing they can do is step away and let things happen.

After that? The proof is in the pudding. Let each team come up with what they create, and take time to review and enjoy the resulting product. It won’t always be up to expectations, but that’s the beauty of imagination, right?

Let teams work on their own ideas without offering much feedback, if any. Leave them to do their thing, and if you have criticisms to offer, save them for afterward.

Build better teams

Team members who collaborate develop individual skills through group work. Additionally, they learn how to work together towards a common goal. This is a significant achievement.

Many people, especially young employees, learn to work independently without collaborative experiences. As a result, they need more experience contributing ideas in team settings.

Collaboration gives individuals a chance to further the good ideas of their peers, like a “best ball” golf tournament, where a team’s best shot becomes its new point of departure.

Good ideas lead to better ideas, and better ideas can become plans. Having the perfect, final idea isn’t necessary—steering the boat is just as important as catching the fish.

As people start feeling comfortable sharing their ideas with one another, the quality of collective teamwork increases. Suggestions and feedback are freely shared, resulting in better communication channels and helping individuals break free from the usual static, routine workflow.

Getting imaginative with coworkers creates space for people to be imaginative with their teams. The more that happens, the easier it becomes to think outside the box and contribute to what’s best for the team.

Learning to give feedback

For those without leadership roles, collaboration provides a great chance to learn the art of giving and receiving feedback. Can it get ugly? Absolutely. Managers should be prepared to pay attention to how feedback is shared and do it without getting too involved.

These are great chances to teach lessons on professionalism. Is someone’s idea completely crazy? Maybe, but learning to see where they’re coming from can clarify what needs more explanation.

Teams should be encouraged to give good, helpful feedback. Some will have little trouble doing this, while others will have a chance to work on delivering thoughts respectfully and discreetly.

Some conversations about how to deliver feedback may need to happen in private, but they should more often than not happen as they arise. Again, finding a way to listen without intruding is the defining skill here.

Do you have some feedback yourself? This is where to share it. Don’t narrate it as a tutorial or anything, but offer feedback to teams as a great way to demonstrate casual methods for sharing thoughts.

Building a great company culture

As teams learn to collaborate, their employer’s culture becomes more accepting and proactive about involving team members on a broader scale. Eventually, this approach will reach upper management and become a major part of company culture.

People enjoy working environments where their opinions and ideas are valued, making collaboration an easy way to boost morale. Rather than working on their own and fighting to secure a spot for the future, team members get to express their unique personalities in constructive ways. They share with others what makes them valuable to the company and feel more grounded.

Additional resources:
Team bonding questions to improve teamwork and build trust
Ten handbook policies no employer should be without in today’s workforce
Team brainstorming activities: Boost creativity & collaboration