Mastering Collaboration

by Gretchen Anderson

  Conclusion

  The work you do as a collaborative group can reach breakthrough ideas and mitigate risks to deliver great solutions. But don’t take it for granted that everyone will understand and follow what you do. You need to be thoughtful about introducing a challenge that is overcome, to engage people’s neural networks and to keep them from inventing their own information or relying on wishful thinking.

  Being intentional about telling a story that places the team or intended users at the center helps avoid a mistake that designer Mike Monteiro calls “real estate tours” of the solution. Many people fall back on just listing out elements of the solution, without tying back to why those elements are there and why they are good.

  Christina Wodtke says that sharing the journey behind the team’s work is as important as the work itself: “If you have a successful product it’s important to tell those who will copy you what to do, and what not to do. Tell people what you screwed up and teach them to make better decisions. It’s not always about the facts, but about the greatness of the story.”

  Whatever you decide in terms of how to tell your story, by tapping into the neural story net of those who weren’t closely involved in the collaboration, you will increase your chances of success and buy-in.

  Key Takeaways

  Our brains are hardwired to understand information in the form of a story. By taking a little time to create a narrative about what’s been done, you will get a more engaged audience that better understands the team’s effort and progress.

  Good stories don’t just happen, even if the events they cover are very dramatic. They have a structure that takes the audience through a struggle and shows how it has been (or is being) overcome. It’s a common mistake to be overly optimistic when we share the work we’ve done, leaving out the struggle in an effort to impress, which can backfire.

  If you craft your story to work at different levels from the most concrete to the most abstract and back again, it will be easier to give presentations without getting lost.

  Stories that the team tells can focus on the end user of a solution that’s been created, the team itself and what they are learning, or the brand and how it’s supported by the work being done.

  Be sure to take notes as you go about what’s happened in a way that supports storytelling, so that you don’t forget about the struggles and eureka moments that make up a great story.

  Chapter 12. Conclusion

  Becoming a master of collaboration is a journey worth undertaking, and I hope that by now you’ve seen some ways that you can bring people together to do great things. If you face enormous challenges or risky, intimidating situations, there’s no better tool to have at your disposal than a great group of people willing to tackle them with you.

  In this book, I’ve made the case for collaboration as the approach to solving problems that are complex and confusing. The saying at the beginning of this book, “if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together,” speaks to the support that we give each other when we work well together. I’ve shown how it can help your professional endeavors, whether you are creating innovative products, saving lives in the ER, or reinventing how your organization works. But collaborations shouldn’t be thought of only in our professional lives.

  Jim Kalbach, author of Mapping Experiences (O’Reilly), shared a story about a collaboration he was part of in 2017. Kalbach was approached by Hedaya, an organization dedicated to countering violent extremism, to lead a collaboration to understand the journeys of former extremists who had left their pasts, and see how their experiences could be leveraged to reach others like them. He flew to Dubai and met a diverse group of people, including former gang members, Islamic extremists, neo-Nazis (“formers”), as well as the US State Department and NGOs, over several days of collaboration where formers explained aspects of their lives that were previously invisible to their partners. By holding a safe space where all were respected, the group began to understand what turns people away from violence, and how their identities suffered once they were on the outside. After spending a lifetime understanding themselves in opposition to an “other,” formers faced depression and isolation that made it tempting to return. In the end the group came up with actionable steps that they could take to recruit, support, and train formers to become agents of change to reach more violent extremists and change their perspectives. “I don’t know how else that diverse a group could have gotten together except at the UN,” said Kalbach, “and that setting is where people just speak to each other about this topic, as they had in the past.” Collaboration enabled them to have a space where emotions could be allowed into the discussion, where people could trust one another and listen to one another’s perspectives, and where they could ultimately develop new ways of thinking about a vital problem we all face.

  Throughout my career, my greatest accomplishments and most enjoyable experiences have happened while working closely with people very different from myself. I’ve learned to be humble, and to make what I think are brilliant ideas into solutions that actually work. I’ve learned to see the world differently through clashes in perspectives. I’ve laughed, I’ve cried, and most importantly, I’ve made lasting relationships with people of all kinds, who continue to be sounding boards and inspirations in my life and work.

  It is my sincere hope that by employing some of the approaches I’ve gathered here, based on a wide range of experiences, you too can take the experience of working together from “It’s Complicated” to something that gives you enjoyable, lasting relationships.

  Index

  A

  About Face (Cooper), Expertise and Experience Dominate the Solution Space

  accountability (RACI model), RACI Models for Stakeholders and Supporters

  acting out scenarios, What About When Constraints Are Real?

  Adobe, transparency at, Transparency Supports Collaboration at Scale

  advisor (RACI model), RACI Models for Stakeholders and Supporters

  Agile for Everybody (LeMay), We Start with Unclear Objectives and Structures, Working with Virtual Spaces, Manage Tension with a “Disagree and Commit” Approach, Share Early and Often

  alignment with stakeholders, Choose the Right Problem and Moment, Getting Alignment

  The Alliance: Managing Talent in the Networked Age (Hoffman et al.), Trust Comes from Experience

  Amazon, whitepaper approach to objectives, Use the “Whitepaper Approach”

  ambiguity, facing, Choose the Right Problem and Moment, Facing Ambiguity

  anchor tenant, So what can I do?

  Apple iPod, So what can I do?

  Arango, Jorge, Working with Physical Space

  assumptions, Know What You Are Listening Forsharing, “More Is Less” Communication

  turning into knowledge, Share Early and Often

  audienceinconsistent, in storytelling, Inconsistent Audience

  lack of engagement during remote meetings, Lack of Engagement During Remote Meetings

  authorityand decision making, Enlisting Everyone Brings Up Cultural Differences

  and power distance in different cultures, Enlisting Everyone Brings Up Cultural Differences

  B

  behavioral differences, understanding, Enlisting Everyone Brings Up Cultural Differences

  Benioff, Marc, Enlist Everyone to Boost Engagement

  Bezos, Jeff, Use the “Whitepaper Approach”

  bias, learning to get past, Know What You Are Listening For

  blame, assigning for failure, Protect Trust When Things Go Wrong

  Blitzscaling (Hoffman and Yeh), Engaging Employees

  Borek, Thorsten, Dealing with Difficult People in Teams, So what can I do?

  brainstorming, Critics, Mistrust Within the Teaminviting users into, So what can I do?

  Brin, Sergey, What Gets in the Way of Good Collaboration?

  Brown, Dan, Make Tension Productive, Manage Tension by Trading Perspectives

  Build
Better Products (Rutter), What’s Collaboration? And What Isn’t?

  Building Products for the Enterprise: Product Management in Enterprise Software (Reeves and Gaines), Enlist Everyone to Reduce Risks, Leading Teams Toward Trust, Transparency Supports Collaboration at Scale

  C

  cadence and pace (in stories), The Shape of Stories

  challengessharing especially in challenging situations, Share Especially in Challenging Situations

  unsolved, communicating with stakeholders about, The Trough of Despair

  characters (in stories), What a Character!

  Chekhov’s gun, The Shape of Stories

  Chi, Tom, What Gets in the Way of Good Collaboration?, Working with Physical Space

  Chin, Jimmy, Enable Trust and Respect, Try It, You’ll Like It, Tell the Story

  Cho, Vanessa, Virtual Spaces Aren’t Just for Distributed Teams, Timeboxing Over Deadlines, Manage Tension by Trading Perspectives

  climax (in stories), Elements of Storytelling

  close collaborators, Levels of Contributionroles for, Roles for Close Collaboratorscritics, Critics

  drivers, The Driver(s)

  facilitator, The Facilitator

  navigator, The Navigator

  co-creation, What’s Collaboration? And What Isn’t?

  collaborationabout, What’s Collaboration? And What Isn’t?

  becoming a master of, Conclusion

  engaging employees, Engaging Employees

  facing ambiguity, Facing Ambiguity

  getting alignment with stakeholders, Getting Alignment

  helping teams avoid and overcome obstacles, How to Help Teams Avoid and Overcome Obstacles

  issues addressed by, Choose the Right Problem and Moment

  obstacles to, What Gets in the Way of Good Collaboration?, Ineffective Communication Causes Conflictdominance of expertise and experience, Expertise and Experience Dominate the Solution Space

  independence and individualism, The Environment Favors Independence and Individualism

  ineffective communication causing conflict, Ineffective Communication Causes Conflict

  unclear objectives and structures, We Start with Unclear Objectives and Structures

  taming complexity, Taming Complexity

  collaboration fatigue, Fidelity Matters

  collaboration theatre, What Gets in the Way of Good Collaboration?

  collaborators, Roles for Close Collaborators(see also close collaborators; roles)

  levels of contribution, Levels of Contribution

  commander's intent, Be Descriptive, Not Prescriptive

  communicationineffective, causing conflict, Ineffective Communication Causes Conflict

  synchronous vs. asynchronous, Working with Virtual Spaces

  telling the story, Tell the Story-Key Takeawayscharacters, What a Character!

  elements of storytelling, Elements of Storytelling-The “Oh Shit!” Moment

  laddering, Laddering

  note-taking to support, Note-Taking Supports Storytelling

  “oh shit!” moment, The “Oh Shit!” Moment

  power of stories, Why Stories Are So Powerful

  shape of stories, The Shape of Stories-The Shape of Stories

  troubleshooting storytelling, Troubleshooting Storytelling-So what can I do?

  transparency, Communicate Transparently-Key Takeawaysin multiple modes, Be Transparent in Multiple Modes

  supporting collaboration at scale, Transparency Supports Collaboration at Scale-“More Is Less” Communication

  troubleshooting, Troubleshooting Transparency

  comparing and contrasting ideas or archetypes, Manage Tension by Framing the Argument

  complexityexample timeframes for efforts of different complexity, How Many Cycles Do I Need?

  planning your effort and understanding complexity, Plan to Experiment and Reduce Risks

  taming through collaboration, Choose the Right Problem and Moment

  complications vs. risks, mapping out, Plan to Experiment and Reduce Risks

  conceits and metaphors (in stories), The Shape of Stories

  conflictmaking tension productive, Make Tension Productive-Manage Tension with a “Disagree and Commit” Approachmanaging tension by framing the argument, Manage Tension by Framing the Argument

  managing tension by trading perspectives, Manage Tension by Trading Perspectives

  managing tension with disagree and commit approach, Manage Tension with a “Disagree and Commit” Approach

  too much conflict in decision making, Too Much Conflict

  Connor, Adam, Democratize Discussion, Not Decisions, The Big Reveal Belly-Flop

  consequencesconnecting to experiments and launches, Plan to Experiment and Reduce Risks

  in determination of timeframes, How Many Cycles Do I Need?

  managing, example plans for, Example Plans to Manage Risks and Consequences-High Risk, High Consequenceshigh risk, high consequences, High Risk, High Consequences

  high risk, low consequences, High Risk, Low Consequences

  low risk, high consequences, Low Risk, High Consequences

  low risk, low consequences, Low Risk, Low Consequences

  unclear, when setting objectives, Consequences Not Clear

  constraintsdiscarding temporarily, Throw Away Constraints, for a While

  embracing and inflating, So what can I do?

  extreme, What About When Constraints Are Real?

  real, dealing with, What About When Constraints Are Real?

  consulted (or contributors) in RACI models, RACI Models for Stakeholders and Supporters

  contribution, levels of, Levels of Contribution

  contributorsmodeling and celebrating, So what can I do?

  understanding different types of, Explore Many Possibilities

  convergent and divergent thinking, How Ideas Develop

  Cooper, Alan, Expertise and Experience Dominate the Solution Space, Working Backward, Thinking Laterally

  cooperation, What’s Collaboration? And What Isn’t?

  critics, Critics

  critique, Democratize Discussion, Not Decisions

  culturecrossing cultures, not overthrowing them, Cross Cultures, Don’t Overthrow Them

  enlisting everyone and bringing out cultural differences, Enlisting Everyone Brings Up Cultural Differences-Cross Cultures, Don’t Overthrow Themexercises to handle differences, Enlisting Everyone Brings Up Cultural Differences

  navigating cultural conflicts, Navigating Cultural Conflicts

  The Culture Map (Meyer), So what can I do?

  cyclesdetermining number of, How Many Cycles Do I Need?-How Many Cycles Do I Need?

  exploring ideas and deciding which to pursue, Explore Many Possibilities

  getting feedback on ideas, Find Out What Others Think

  D

  DACI model, RACI Models for Stakeholders and Supporters(see also RACI models)

  data-driven optimization, Working Backward, Thinking Laterally

  de Bono, Edward, Working Backward, Thinking Laterally, Democratize Discussion, Not Decisions

  deadlines, Working Against a Fixed Deadline, Ground Objectives in Solving Real-World Problemsusing timeboxing instead of, Timeboxing Over Deadlines

  decision making, Make Sound Decisions-Key Takeawaysauthority and, Enlisting Everyone Brings Up Cultural Differences

  communication favoring, Ineffective Communication Causes Conflict

  democratizing discussion, not decisions, Democratize Discussion, Not Decisions-Democratize Discussion, Not DecisionsThinking Hats tool, Democratize Discussion, Not Decisions

  making sense of ideas and deciding what to pursue, Helping Teams Make Sense of Ideas and Decide What to Pursuesatisficing vs. optimizing, Satisficing Versus Optimizing

  wanting the best, We Want the Best

  wanting what we can imagine, We Want What We Can Imagine

  making tension productive, Make Tension Productive-Manage Tension with a “Disagree and Commit” App
roachmanaging tension by framing the argument, Manage Tension by Framing the Argument

  managing tension by trading perspectives, Manage Tension by Trading Perspectives

  managing tension with disagree and commit approach, Manage Tension with a “Disagree and Commit” Approach

  modeling success criteria, Manage Tension by Framing the Argument

  troubleshooting issues with, The Popularity Contest-So what can I do?popularity contests, The Popularity Contest

  success criteria not working, Success Criteria Aren’t Helping

  too much conflict, Too Much Conflict

  defensiveness (about feedback), Don’t Get Defensive

  delivery (in storytelling), The Shape of Stories

  demos, Be Transparent in Multiple Modes

  descriptive, not prescriptive objectives, Be Descriptive, Not Prescriptive, So what can I do?

  The Design of Business (Martin), Working Backward, Thinking Laterally

  Designing Together (Brown), Make Tension Productive

  difficult people, dealing with in teams, Dealing with Difficult People in Teams