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O P I N I O N
Collaboration consideration
Implementing strategies to enhance collaboration can lead to better projects, better productivity, and better profits.
C ollaboration: What jobseeker doesn’t mention a passion for collaboration? Engineering professionals talk about collaboration within teams and with clients, subconsultants, agencies, and partners. But do we really collaborate or are we just using a buzzword to attract and impress?
Matt Hoying
Collaboration is a culture and a choice. Some firms and individuals don’t view a collaborative environment as a crucial tool for achieving success. However, for those firms that have built a culture around collaboration, it is vitally important to get that collaboration right in every aspect of the business to be as successful as intended. When collaboration is key to a company’s culture, it permeates through all aspects of the business: strategy, leadership, people development, business structure, and organizational performance. Therefore, getting it right is important. Saying collaboration is collaborative is one thing, but making that collaboration effective is something
else entirely. This is the difference between collaboration as a buzzword and collaboration as a differentiator. TEST FOR COLLABORATION. So, is your team truly collaborating or just talking about it? One simple litmus test for understanding the collaboration within any organization is to listen for “we” and “our” in conversations about projects or initiatives versus “I” and “my.” A collaborative mindset will create a team-based, shared responsibility for the success (or failure) of a project and this will show up in conversation. There isn’t anything inherently wrong with the “I/my” mindset in many cases, but if you want to cultivate collaboration, it’s a
See MATT HOYING, page 10
THE ZWEIG LETTER OCTOBER 18, 2021, ISSUE 1413
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