Collaborator: The end of a dirty word

Photo from U.S. Airforce

I've recently been hiring and therefore looking at a lot of resumes. I have yet to see someone highlight, let alone list collaboration as one of their skills. For those of us that do consider collaboration as a positive descriptor, and by default wouldn't mind being complimented with the word, likely it doesn't rate at or near the top of our resume skills. In fact, even if we consider it as a positive, we may subconsciously feel it detracts from the weight of our accomplishments, and not list it at all. While this may save us from rejection by the non discerning manager, who do we really want to work for, or with?

Marriam Webster defines a collaborator as, among other things, "to cooperate with or willingly assist an enemy of one's country and especially an occupying force". It can also mean "to work jointly with others or together especially in an intellectual endeavor". While the English language may be confused, the need for all of us to collaborate is without question completely appropriate. Even for the General with the highest level of security clearance.

In their book "The leadership Challenge", J.M Kouze and B.Z. Posner discuss fostering collaboration. It is one of the best written leadership oriented works that we have read. Here's what we took away from our reading and discussion of this most necessary of leadership skills, the skill of fostering collaboration.

There is a common misconception among our society that the exemplary person can achieve extraordinary success simply by themselves, given the right circumstances. However, J.M Kouze and B.Z. Posner agree that this isn't so. No man or woman is an Island, and no General, for instance, can control tens of thousands of troops in disparate locations with unique assignments simultaneously.

"In the thousands of cases we've studied, we've yet to encounter a single example of extraordinary achievement that's occurred without the active involvement and support of many people."

But if you know of one, please feel free to enlighten us- the post reply button is only a click away.

At a rudimentary level, it's fairly simple; why would a visionary leader go it alone when they could harness the creative energy of those around them? Any leader with a knack for learning from their experiences will agree, the more you can effectively delegate tasks, the more you can accomplish. It stands to reason then, that useful collaboration can greatly improve our desired outcome.

Picture from IMCOM

A skill at fostering collaboration requires creating a climate of trust. Those who can't trust others fail at leadership, since they end up unwilling to depend on others, and in doing all the work themselves, they are little better than a hard worker. Conversely, trusting others is a key aspect of a successful business, without it nothing valuable will get done. Psychologists have also found that trusting people are happier than those who are not. But trust must be earned. Be the first to trust- not only does it show your self-confidence, but trust is contagious. 

Trust isn't just external as a relationship change, it requires internal change as well. We must be open to the other party's stance; they may have information or resources that when exchanged, should cause us to realign our strategy or opinion of a situation more closely to theirs. Without a willingness to be shown a better way, we come across as tyrannical, a clear detractor to any trust or collaborative building.

The second necessary skill in fostering collaboration, according to J.M. Kouze and B.Z. Posner, is to facilitate relationships. The more complex things get, the more we must rely on each other to get things done. Take the average four division corporation of 10,000 employees over two continents and just six countries that wishes to establish a corporate communications director. Without the ability to facilitate relationships cross culturally, this leader will be highly ineffective. Many division leaders are only accountable within their division, and without a visionary leader showing them why a relationship would be useful, the new corporate communications director would likely end up with little better than lip service. This can be accomplished best by stressing that the division leaders (in this case) step back and see the big picture, in other words the good of the company and the company's ability to give the division long term support.

Photo from Edhardyjackets

Facilitating relationships can come more naturally to some of us than others, but it can be learned as well. One key aspect of facilitating healthy relationships, both professionally and personally, is by being open to give and take. Both parties must practice reciprocity, without it one side will be taken advantage of, and the relationship will deteriorate. Since reciprocity works both ways, it is better to behave nicely. While we think of reciprocity traditionally in an action based setting, such as "I"ll commit to the project if you do first", we should also consider the power of using it in a reactive setting, for instance by acknowledging someone for their good work and insights.

So far we've stated that fostering collaboration is as easy as building trust and facilitating relationships, but what concrete actions can we take to get this done? J.M Kouze and B.Z Posner offer a simple recipe for success in taking action to build collaboration:

• Show trust to build trust
• Say we, ask questions, listen and take advice
• Get people interacting

If you didn't think these were required actions for a leader, look again. A successful leader must be a great facilitator of collaboration, make it yours.

Our world of choice

In the western world especially, we pride ourselves on our choices; that we have them, and our ability to make them quickly and effectively. It is part of our freedom. A quick trip to the supermarket or to the car dealership will remind you that it is so. We love choice, and we surround ourselves with it.

Photo by craig1black

So what's the problem?

We can save ourselves a lot of extra effort and capital if we are honest with ourselves and aware of the impact of our choices, and what they really mean.

Say you are at home one day and an old friend calls you up to see if you would like to catch up. You go over there and she offers you a drink. "Can I get you something to drink" she asks. "Sure, what do you have" you respond. "Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Diet Lime Coke, Lime Coke, Diet Cherry Coke, Cherry Coke" at which point you interrupt her and say "Cheryl, that's all just coke". Or maybe you are a little more discerning and you say "that's all just soda".

Are these all valid choices? Sure. But keep in mind during this story your choices were more limited than you would have been comfortable believing. We often take what is presented to us at face value, but wouldn't it be more appropriate to consider good choices in drink options a choice between water, apple cider, soda, tomato juice, or a mixed beverage? Often our optimal choice might not even exist, but that's neither good nor bad, just something to remember when we get worked up about trying to decide between colors of soda when there is something more deserving of our time.

Secondly, choice can be used against us, especially when we don't know the worth (to ourselves) of the item we want to purchase. We will often look to other signals we should be more cautious about to inform us of what our correct choice should be. Because make no doubt about it, as western people we have been taught that there is a right and a wrong choice for just about everything.

A professor recently gave us an interesting article in which they related how a prominent journal had advertised three service plans in which to receive the journal.

1. Online version only for $59.99
2. Traditional journal (mailed to your destination) for $109.99
3. Traditional journal plus online version for $119.99

Overwhelmingly (about 80%) of people chose option 3, since they got the most value for their money.

Keep in mind, the company set these prices. Who is to say you are really getting the best deal? We crunch the numbers in our head while thinking "if I get both options I'm saving $50.00", when instead we may be spending $10 more for a service we won't use, or $60 more for a service we won't use. 

Interestingly enough, the professor tested a different group of people on the same product, minus choice 3.

1. Online version only for $59.99
2. Traditional journal (mailed to your destination) for $109.99

This time about 80% of respondents chose option 1. The price told them that the traditional journal was not worth almost double the fee for an online version. 

Both times the respondents walked away feeling they had made the best choice, but how can that be given the same set of options 1 or 2? We are often not aware of how much we are manipulated by indicators that tell us what to choose, especially in believing that price equals quality.

Next time you find yourself making a purchasing decision, pause and think "how am I being manipulated" and "what do I really want". Your answer might surprise you.

The five minute rule

Photo by Whiskeygonebad

A famous professor once told us about the five minute rule.

But you may ask, "I've known about the five minute rule since I was in sixth grade and the teacher had not yet shown up five minutes into class!" Trust me, this rule is better.

Ok, so in sixth grade just about nothing could beat your 5 minutes rule in a rule for rule match, but you've grown up a bit since then, right? While I'm sure you enjoy unexpected free time just as much as the next person, there are other things you want as well.

How about financial freedom, something anyone who has never had, wants? Maybe you'd like to break bad habits, or turn over a new leaf in how you view the world around you. Perhaps you just want to "do" (for work) what makes you happy, or you are tired of having no energy and getting sick all the time? Or do you know people that find it hard to do more than the bare minimum they need to do to survive? From casual observations as early as your school days, I'm sure you would like to know how people are often manipulated (simply to prevent yourself from being taken advantage of, of course).

Irrespective of what you want, I guarantee you it won't come by following your old five minute rule- taking every opportunity to avoid learning or doing.

Those of you who liked to sit in the back of the classroom and find a flaw in every teachers logic are thinking "what if I do nothing for the rest of my life except buy a winning lottery ticket "? Well, without a lot of foresight, moderation and a deep understanding of your world and how it operates with or without you, even  a winning lottery ticket won't bring you happiness, and statistically speaking you won't have that money for long. I could cite you examples of mega millions winners that have lost all their earnings, but you found us, you obviously have a handle on internet search.

The point is it's easier to do nothing, and so procrastinate we often do. Companies have figured this out, and rely on the fact that the majority of people will take no action over small matters rather than spend time and energy to fix something. Our goals of ours are well within our reach, we must just move towards our goals instead of standing still.

This famous professor told us her rule. "Never put off for later what you can do in the next five minutes". Her words to us have great meaning.

Photo by Jonesor

• Moving toward our goals, we will eventually reach them.
• Reacting to what is placed before us prevents these small obstacles from building up, for when they pile up it gets harder to accomplish all required tasks, and more desirable to let things pass.
• Thinking about something that needs to be done has often already taken a significant portion of the time and energy needed to do the short task. Why put it off and require yourself to spend time remembering where your brain left of?
• Taking advantage of opportunities placed in our path, makes us people who seize the day. 
• Doing even small tasks successfully energizes us, as people we naturally get excited when things begin to go our way. We can facilitate this cyclical process.

Acting on the five minute rule is a small thing. However it was a host of relatively small things that built the Roman Aqueducts 2,000 years ago, realized goals that are still with us today. 

Finally, understand that walking down this path is contagious, and the more we move towards our goals and surround ourselves with like-energized people, the easier it becomes to meet new goals.

This wise professor ended her point by emphatically stating "those who chose to procrastinate end up spending more time and energy just to get by, than those who act in the moment". As things come to you and are easily taken care of- do them.