What Is Collaboration?
It’s a long word with many syllables but, at its core, collaboration is simple: People work together toward a common goal. You can collaborate with colleagues on a big project, or with friends to find the perfect restaurant. And while productivity is possible when you work by yourself, longerterm success — and happiness — requires a collaborative spirit.
Collaboration: The Secret of Successful Teams
No matter how novel our individual ideas are and how many tasks we complete by ourselves, the truth is that we can accomplish more by engaging with our colleagues. And with that greater productivity comes something less tangible: camaraderie.
“If you have that collaborative culture with a respected and engaged chain of command, you’re likely to be more productive, and you’re likely to have more content and loyal teammates,” said Alex Wilson, Senior Program Analyst with the Government-wide IT Accessibility Program in the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Office of Government-wide Policy.
Wilson, who worked in the private sector before joining government, believes that collaboration is easier today than in the past. “Often I speak to individuals, especially people on my team, [and] people feel like they’ve gotten closer and gotten to know their teammates better, even some that aren’t actually working in the same place,” he said.
Leadership
A collaborative workforce doesn’t appear out of nowhere: It’s fostered by leadership. Employees emulate how their managers communicate and what they prioritize, so leaders who embrace collaboration encourage their team members to follow suit, explained Wilson.
That means routine team meetings are important opportunities. Typically, “you’re only focusing on work updates as opposed to making a conscious effort to figure out how your teams are doing, getting to know your team and paying attention to mental health,” he said. Devoting just five minutes per meeting to making personal connections has an impact.
When asked why some organizations struggle to create a collaborative environment, Wilson acknowledged that some jobs are inherently solitary and that technology access can be difficult. But he also pointed to poor performance management.
Prioritizing competition “doesn’t lend itself to collaboration,…to a good work environment, because you never want to share information. You never want to help someone else because if someone goes up, then you go down,” he said.
“I’ve worked in organizations that cherish that competition over collaboration,” he continued. “And I think in the long term, in highly competitive cultures, especially within government, that [management approach] won’t be successful.”
Relationships
It may seem counterintuitive, but sometimes being physically close is more isolating than working miles apart.
Wilson spent entire days unable to interact with teammates in the same building because they were in separate meetings, on different floors or set apart in another way. But the surge in virtual technology has made distance irrelevant.
In person, working with the same few people can become habit, but the virtual world can cultivate a broader team and more opportunities for collaboration. A virtual forum “can often allow people to really share their ideas more easily than you would in a huge conference room or [the] big hangar-like room that some organizations have,” he said.
Technology
An array of technology can facilitate teamwork, and Wilson had advice for agencies considering their options.
Organizations need simple-to-use, reliable virtual meeting software that has ways to easily present and share information and send direct messages to colleagues, he said.
They need a good file management system, so employees don’t waste time hunting for documents, and simultaneous collaboration tools so staff can work together in real time. Task-tracking software, which helps teammates monitor deadlines, also is a necessity, Wilson noted.
And as a member of the Government-wide IT Accessibility Program, he underscored the importance of ensuring that everyone can use agency systems without difficulty because inclusivity increases productivity. Technology offers more possibilities today than ever before — and teammates should embrace it to build more fruitful personal and professional relationships.
“It’s [really] important to get to know your colleagues, especially the ones you work with daily,” Wilson stressed. “You just need to make time for it.”
This article appears in our guide, “The 5 Habits of Highly Productive Agencies.” To learn about the other four habits, download it here:
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