When Collaboration Backfires
Don’t collaborate on everything. Everyone shouldn’t make every decision. Everyone doesn’t have to agree on every decision.
Collaboration backfires when it dilutes responsibility.
Lack of accountability means collaboration stagnation.
Collaboration stagnation:
Endless meetings without decisions point to stagnation.
Delay masked as inclusiveness ends effectiveness.
Politeness isn’t a way of avoiding conflict, it’s the way we deal with conflict.
Stagnation happens when…
- Comfort supersedes accountability.
- Delegation is a group activity instead of individual responsibility.
- Fear of offending eliminates common sense.
- The house is on fire and decisions are delayed.
- Day-to-day work is hindered by discussions.
- Fear of doing your job without approval from others limits performance.
- Excessive planning is the manifestation of fear.
Avoid Collaboration Stagnation
- Set aside personal agendas.
- Make forward progress mandatory. Every meeting ends with, “Who does what by when?”
- Expect decisions. When the same topic comes up more than twice, require a decision.
- Share what’s already been decided before you begin discussing.
- Define goals and responsibilities clearly. Ambiguity prolongs stagnation.
- Listen to experts, but don’t surrender decisions that have broad impact.
- Designate the people who are responsible. (See #2)
- Don’t surrender to emotion. The person you can’t confront controls you.
- Delegate decision-making authority.
- Distinguish input from vote.
- Focus novices on challenging assumptions and “what if” suggestions.
- 100% agreement with decisions isn’t necessary, 100% commitment is.
Power tips:
You are collaborating when you seek input before making decisions, even when one person is the decision-maker.
Seek input on the front-end of decisions, not after something goes wrong.
Work in small, highly committed teams when leadership mandates consensus style decision-making.
What does it mean when collaboration works?
What makes collaboration work?
How to Be Decisive and Collaborative When the House is on Fire
The Secret of Enthusiasm is Short-Term Commitments
Benefits and risks of collaborative working
Really great food-for-thought on how to avoid stagnation when interacting with others. Some food-for-thought with regard to decision-making and collaboration from the perspective of a Certified Professional Facilitator – me! You are consulting when you seek input before making decisions, even when one person is the decision-maker. You are collaborating when a decision impacts something new that needs to be done (i.e., new product development) or a team effort (i.e., design and execute a customer satisfaction survey) regardless of the type of decision (consensus, consult, or command). Collaboration works best when you need the input of qualified others for the best course of action to emerge.
Thanks for sharing your wisdom, Valerie. It’s very helpful. The thing I notice is collaboration can slip into the idea that ALL decisions are made by EVERYONE. And that is a catastrophic problem.
Yes agreed! All decisions made by everyone is a catastrophe!!
One thing is certain, teams do not collaborate to their potential unless they have a good trust level with each other. Thoughts come into play, such as fear of rejection from peers. As a result, we may end up with some very poor collab sessions. When it is rocking though…it is a thing of beauty!