Are collaboration and teamwork the same thing?

Not exactly, although they both involve working together. A team is made up of individuals—with each individual being responsible for their own defined role and tasks, which contribute to the team's overall objectives. Typically, the team will have a leader who oversees each individual's work and drives the team forward. Think of a soccer team, headed up by a coach, with each player fulfilling roles such as goalkeeper, defender, center forward, and so on. If one player is sent off the pitch, or if the coach isn't there to decide tactics, the team will struggle to function as well.

Collaboration involves teamwork, since it requires people to work together. But above and beyond that, collaboration means thinking together, making decisions together and sharing responsibilities—as opposed to working as separate individuals. There may not be a leader at all; the group could be a self-managed unit. And if one person isn't there, the rest of the group steps in to pick up the slack and continue towards their goal. That's collaboration.

With both teamwork and collaboration, the end result may be the same—meaning that the group achieves their desired outcome. However, the group dynamics may differ.

Think of it this way: a team within an organization can, in theory, fulfill its objectives even if the individuals don't especially like, respect, or trust one other—even if the individuals don't possess important skills like empathy and emotional intelligence. So long as everyone delivers on their responsibilities, the team can still meet the collective goal and be considered “successful.” But that's not the same as collaboration. Working together in a truly collaborative way relies on things like emotional intelligence, mutual respect, and trust.

This distinction between teamwork and collaboration is important, given the changing nature of teams. Traditional top-down organizational structures are giving way to flatter organizational structures, organized around project teams rather than siloes and layers of management. Therefore, the teams of the future will need to be more collaborative than ever.

So what makes a good collaborator?

Perhaps one of the reasons why collaboration can be challenging is that it requires many different interpersonal skills. Obviously, communication skills are central to collaboration, and I'll talk more about interpersonal communication in Chapter 10. There's also emotional intelligence and empathy, which I talked about in Chapter 7.

Looking at other important qualities, good collaborators:

• Are active listeners. Rather than waiting impatiently for others to finish speaking so they can offer their two cents, good collaborators listen attentively to what people are saying.
• They're generous with their time, knowledge, experience, and encouragement. This can be especially challenging in today's super-busy world. I know I'm guilty of occasionally being too selfish with my time and not giving it as freely as I could.
• They're adaptable. Good collaborators possess that ability to be flexible and go with the flow when things don't go according to plan—as they often don't.
• They're trusting and trustworthy. Good collaborators create a safe space where people can share their ideas without fear. They're transparent and authentic. They deliver on their promises. All of this inspires trust. What's more, they give their trust freely, without skepticism and negativity.
• They're motivated. As I said, collaboration doesn't necessarily require a leader to set the agenda and hold people accountable. Good collaborators are self-motivated. They have an inner drive that propels them forward—and inspires others along the way.
• They're respectful. Because collaboration thrives in an environment of mutual respect.
• They're team-oriented. Good collaborators care more about achieving the common goal than being recognized for their individual role. They don't have a huge ego, in other words.
• They're open to feedback. Good collaborators don't get defensive when presented with feedback; they see feedback as an opportunity to learn.

Collaboration in the 21st-century workplace

Earlier in the chapter, I mentioned the trend for flatter organizational structures. (If you're interested, you can read more about this and other future trends in my book Business Trends in Practice: The 25+ Trends That Are Redefining Organizations.)

Another trend that will heighten the need for collaboration is remote and hybrid working, where team members may be spread across many different locations, and potentially across different countries. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, 84 percent of employers said they were set to expand remote working—with the potential to move 44 percent of their workforce to remote working.¹ What's more, people will increasingly be working as “gig” workers, contractors, or freelancers. Therefore, the teams of the future will likely include a mixture of office workers, remote workers, contractors, permanent team members, and potentially other employees from within the business who “float” between projects and teams.

With such distributed teams, there's even more of a need for people to feel connected to one another and to a shared purpose. When this connection falters, people can genuinely suffer (see the impact on newly remote workers in Chapter 7). I'll talk more about boosting collaboration in remote teams later in the chapter, but suffice to say that collaboration will be more important than ever. Granted, collaboration may look a little different in future, and will rely more on digital tools—but it will still be a vital part of success, for individuals, for teams, and for entire organizations.

What's stopping good collaboration?

Working with others to achieve a common goal. Sounds simple, doesn't it? And yet it's not always that simple—otherwise all organizations would be shining beacons of collaborative harmony. Many of us know from painful experience that there are plenty of organizations, teams, and individuals out there that are anything but collaborative. Why? Aside from lacking the interpersonal skills I mentioned earlier in the chapter, it's probably because certain barriers are preventing good collaboration. These barriers may include:

• A culture of fear. When people are afraid of voicing new ideas, asking questions, or reaching out to others for help, collaboration—and innovation, for that matter—suffers.
• Time. If someone thinks it'll take too much of their time to collaborate with others, they'll probably just try and go it alone. It's a bit like creativity in that sense (see Chapter 8); people are more creative when they have the space and time to be creative, and when they aren't overwhelmed with basic tasks. The same can be said for collaboration.
• Flexible and remote working. Because, if we're honest, it takes more effort to collaborate with others when they aren't sitting in the same room.
• Poor leadership. Collaboration must be modeled at every level of the organization, so if a business has leaders who fail to inspire trust, or aren't generous with their time and knowledge, or don't listen to others, this will filter down into teams.
• Performance management systems. Many performance management systems actively pit employees against each other through targets and rewards. Metrics should recognize the importance of relationships, not just tasks.
• Assumptions about different personality types. Much has been written about the differences between introverts and extroverts, and how they behave in group settings. While I think it's important to recognize and celebrate differences, it shouldn't be an excuse for poor collaboration. To put it another way, just because someone is an extrovert, doesn't mean they aren't a great listener or aren't generous with their knowledge; and just because someone is an introvert doesn't mean they aren't emotionally intelligent or empathetic. It's important to focus on the specific qualities that make people good collaborators, rather than broad personality types.

For individuals

• Practice active listening. When others are talking, focus on what they're saying rather than formulating your own response in your head. This way, you'll be better able to understand their perspective, and they'll feel heard. To really nail this, you'll need to filter out distractions—by which I mostly mean don't look at your phone while others are talking!
• Volunteer your time and talent. If you aren't presented with as many opportunities to be collaborative as you'd like, go looking for opportunities yourself. Offer to get involved in projects (big or small) at work. Sign up for committees inside your organization, as well as industry groups. Volunteer to be a mentor. Some of the best learning opportunities may come from things that are outside of your everyday work.
• Find a mentor of your own. If you admire someone else's collaboration skills, ask if they'd be willing to mentor you. This could be as informal as grabbing a coffee once a month.
• Be open about what you need from others. Not everyone works in the same way, so say up front how you like to collaborate and what you need from others in order to collaborate well. In turn, ask what they need from you. And do deliver on what you promise.
• Hone your emotional intelligence and empathy skills (see Chapter 8).

If you're a remote worker, here are some extra ways to foster collaboration from a distance:

• Ask people's communication preferences. Some people prefer email, others like to jump on a telephone or video call, some people respond well to instant messaging and emojis, while others are immediately turned off by a yellow smiley face! Learn what your collaborators like, and use the right channels for the right people.
• Brush up on your communication skills. When you're not in the same room as your colleagues, they'll be less able to pick up on non-verbal clues, so what you say matters more than ever. Think ahead about what you want to say in meetings and one-to-one calls. And take time over your written communications to make sure they're clear. (On the flip side, try not to read subtext or tone into written communications that isn't really there.) Read more about communication in the next chapter.
• Shoot the breeze. To build and maintain rapport, make time for more casual conversations, of the sort you'd have in the office corridor or kitchen. You may even want to ask your boss if your team could have an instant messaging or chat channel that's purely used for informal chats, as opposed to work updates.
• Keep time differences in mind. If your colleagues are across different time zones, be respectful of that. Don't expect responses at a time when they're not supposed to be in the office, and ensure any project deadlines take the time difference into account.
• Try to meet up in the real world, when possible. Getting together offline can do wonders for building rapport. When meeting in person isn't possible, you could try organizing a video happy hour hangout, or virtual quiz.

For organizations

I can't stress enough how important it is to lead by example. Leaders and managers must be good listeners. They must be respectful of other's ideas and feedback. They must inspire trust, and be flexible, and all the things that make a person a good collaborator. The overall organizational culture must be one that prioritizes open-mindedness, transparency, and interpersonal relationships—which may mean you need to rethink or tweak your performance management metrics.

Of course, there are specific training and team-building activities that promise to foster collaboration, from off-site retreats to team-building exercises and games. I know some team-building activities can be a bit cringeworthy, but time spent working together as a team to achieve a goal—even if it's something silly, like building a LEGO model—can be great for strengthening collaboration skills and relationships.

Organizations will have to work hard to enable collaboration across remote teams. This means investing in the technology tools that make collaborating from a distance easier, such as document sharing platforms, online communication tools, video calling software, and project management software. Managers will also want to schedule regular check-ins with individuals, and arrange more social hangouts (whether virtual or in person) to build relationships within the team.