Today’s workforce is more collaborative than ever. In fact, the time that managers and employees spend collaborating has increased by at least 50 percent over the past two decades, according to the Harvard Business Review.
With more and more people starting their own businesses (nearly 660,000 business were started in the UK in 2016) this trend looks set to continue. as businesses Since success is a team sport finding the right partners to collaborate with becomes a key ingredient to help smaller businesses demonstrate scale and depth of resource whilst retaining the flexibility and agility of a smaller organisation.
Cоllаbоrаtіоn is all about working together. Trаdіtіоnа business рrасtісеѕ adhered tо thе оld аdаgе thаt thеrе wаѕ not еnоugh buѕіnеѕѕ to go аrоund, so competition was healthy аnd considered thе nоrm. Suсh ideas as “bеаt your соmреtіtіоn” or “ѕtер оn your соmреtіtіоn” wеrе considered trаdіtіоnаl buѕіnеѕѕ vаluеѕ.
However tоdау, buѕіnеѕѕ practice іѕ more еmbrасіng of the true dеfіnіtіоn of collaboration: thе concept оf working tоgеthеr and the vаluе оf іntеrdереndеnсу so that the result is bigger than the sum of the parts
Collaboration іѕ a kеу еlеmеnt in tаkіng уоur buѕіnеѕѕ practice to thе next lеvеl. It іѕ a powerful buѕіnеѕѕ-buіldіng strategy — an oftеn оvеrlооkеd, yet еаѕу рrасtісе that рrоduсеѕ роwеrful rеѕultѕ while increasing уоur lеvеrаgе іn today’s market. Effесtіvеlу putting together resources, energy, tаlеntѕ and gоаlѕ раvеѕ thе wау for thе ѕuссеѕѕ that you рlаn tоgеthеr, аѕ wеll аѕ mаnу unexpected benefits.
One such organisation I am part of is called The Change Maker Group. We are a collective of about 25 consultants who collaborate on projects and share resources. This relationship gives us scale and enables us to submit proposals for business opportunities that individually none of us could service, but with our collective depth of experience makes us a stellar choice for companies to engage with.
I’ve always loved collaborating with others on projects and over the years have learnt what works and what doesn’t. Here are my 7 strategies that I always use to help me build collaborative relationships.
- Start With The End in Mind – being clear on what you would like to accomplish opens the opportunity for you to seek out the right resources and collaboration partners who can help you achieve this. Importantly ensure that these partners are aligned with your values or else a cultural mismatch could ensue which could provide very costly at a later date
- Be Open To New Opportunities – when people collaborate a new energy is created which is bigger than the sum of the parts. New ideas flow which can result in projects way bigger than what you initially envisaged
- Share a Common Vision – both parties must essential have a shared vision for the project. When project vision’s diverge then one party will usually become disgruntled which doesn’t make for an effective working relationship
- Be Clear On Your Roles and Responsibilities – knowing what you are committing to in the collaboration is key. Work to your strengths and have clear action plans so everyone knows what they are doing by when. Recognise that others work in a different way from you and be flexible to accommodate other working practices
- Lay Out The Ground Rules – having clarity over the ground rules such as time and money commitments is paramount. This needs to be done upfront or else it creates animosity at a later stage when confusion emerges about how profits are to be split. Never assume that because you are collaborating everything is being shared 50:50!!!
- Communicate Clearly – being able to express your feelings, doubts and concerns is healthy in any relationship and collaborative relationships are no different. Each party must feel able to say what is on their mind. Always listen carefully to what your collaborative partner doesn’t say as this is where you might find the real gold in your conversations
- Collaborate With People You Like – there are so many collaborative opportunities out there so please make sure you choose a collaborative partner that you like and can have fun working with. The energy dynamic needs to be positive and engaging to attract clients and if it isn’t then success will be much harder. After all, typically we are engaging in collaboration to leverage resources and so make work more effortless, not harder.
I love partnering in collaborative relationships as they create amazing opportunities for me and my business. This year I am hosting more retreats as a result of the collaborative partnerships I have formed.
Retreats are by application only so to find out more and then connect with me to explore if this is a great fit for you.
Julia Felton (aka The Business Wrangler) is the founder of Business HorsePower. Business leaders, entrepreneurs and executives hire her to accelerate their business performance by harnessing the energy of their people to work more collaboratively together. By aligning purpose with actions the team achieves exponential results as everyone starts pulling in the same direction.
Julia believes that business is a force for good and through designing purpose-driven businesses that leverage the laws of nature, and the herd, you can create businesses founded on the principles of connection, collaboration and community that make a significant impact in the world.
