Collaborate and Influence Effectively

Effective collaboration is essential for achieving organizational goals, maximizing productivity, and fostering a positive work environment. To cultivate top-notch collaboration skills, it's vital to master effective communication and align with your main stakeholders on common objectives. How can you achieve this? By honing your ability to grasp the needs, priorities, and worries of others and conveying your message clearly, succinctly, and pertinently. Setting clear goals and expectations is crucial for seamless collaboration with colleagues and transparently discussing roles, responsibilities, and decision-making processes. Embrace feedback and diverse viewpoints, working together to devise solutions that benefit the entire team. Cultivating a strong team ethos, fostering trust, and acknowledging the contributions of every team member are also pivotal.

Managers who collaborate and influence effectively:

• Improve Teamwork: Collaboration skills help managers foster a positive team culture built on trust, open communication, and mutual respect, enhancing the team's overall performance.
• Make Better Decisions: Collaboration allows managers to gather input from multiple sources and consider diverse perspectives when making decisions. This helps to ensure that decisions are well-informed and take into account a variety of factors and viewpoints.
• Increase Innovation: Collaboration can spur innovation and creativity by encouraging team members to share ideas and build on each other's strengths. By creating a collaborative environment, managers can help to unlock the full potential of their team and generate new and innovative solutions to challenges.
• Enhance Learning: Collaboration skills help managers promote a culture of continuous learning and development. By encouraging team members to share their knowledge and skills, managers can facilitate cross-training and support ongoing professional growth and development.
• Strengthen Relationships: Collaboration skills help managers to build strong relationships with their team members and other stakeholders. By valuing the contributions of others and working together towards common goals, managers can build trust and foster a sense of camaraderie and shared purpose.

To Improve Your Collaboration and Influence...Focus On Building Stronger Relationships

Collaboration as a critical skill is often set aside on the path to management because many folks are promoted based on their delivery as individuals. If you want to lead high-performing teams, you must get skilled at working with and through others. To improve your ability to collaborate and influence, focus on upskilling in these five key areas:

#1 Communication Style

• Task-Oriented Communication: If you have a task-oriented communication style, you prioritize efficiency, clarity, and achieving objectives. Focus on providing clear instructions, setting expectations, and ensuring timely feedback.
  
• People-Oriented Communication: If you have a people-oriented communication style, you prioritize building relationships, fostering open dialogue, and considering the well-being of team members. Focus on active listening, seeking input, and showing empathy.

• Recognize and adapt: Understand team members' communication preferences and adjust your approach accordingly. Balance task-related discussions with building relationships to create an inclusive and engaging collaborative environment.
• Encourage open communication: Create an environment where everyone's voice is heard and respected. Foster open dialogue, active listening, and constructive feedback.
• Foster a blame-free culture: Encourage team members to take responsibility for mistakes, learn from them, and focus on finding solutions rather than assigning blame.

#2 Objectives Alignment:

• Clearly communicate objectives: Clearly articulate the team's goals and objectives, emphasizing their alignment with the organization's mission. Ensure that team members understand how their individual contributions contribute to the overall objectives.
• Establishing Clear Goals and Roles: Clearly defined goals and roles are essential for effective collaboration. Collaboration becomes more streamlined when team members understand their individual responsibilities and the team's collective objectives. Engage in conversations with team members as both a group and individually to understand their personal goals and aspirations. Find opportunities to align their objectives with the team's objectives, promoting a sense of ownership and commitment.

• Establish regular communication channels: Set up regular team meetings, both in-person and virtual, to discuss progress, address challenges, and share updates. Encourage open and honest communication during these sessions.
• Define team goals: Clearly communicate the team's purpose, objectives, and expected outcomes. Ensure that team members have a shared understanding of the desired results.
• Clarify individual roles: Clearly define each team member's role and responsibilities. Align roles with individual strengths and expertise to optimize collaboration and avoid duplication of effort.
• Foster cross-functional collaboration: Encourage collaboration across different departments and teams to promote diverse perspectives and leverage collective expertise.

#3 Leadership Approach:

Your preferred leadership approach when collaborating with others influences the dynamics within your team. Consider the following leadership styles:

• Authoritative Leadership: In this style, you provide clear direction and make decisions independently. You set high standards and expect team members to follow your lead.
• Participative Leadership: In this style, you involve team members in decision-making, encourage their input, and foster a sense of ownership and empowerment.

• Assess the situation: Evaluate the task's needs, your team members' expertise, and the level of autonomy required. Adapt your leadership approach accordingly, balancing authority and inclusivity.
• Building Trust and Psychological Safety: Building trust is the foundation of successful collaboration. When team members trust one another, they feel safe expressing their ideas, asking for help, and taking risks. 
• Lead by example: Demonstrate trustworthiness, integrity, and transparency in your actions and communication.
• Promote a sense of belonging: Create opportunities for team bonding and social interactions to foster camaraderie and build strong relationships.
• Recognize and celebrate achievements: Acknowledge and appreciate team members' contributions and successes. Celebrate milestones, both big and small, to boost morale and motivation.

#4 Learning Orientation:

• Emphasize learning opportunities: Encourage team members to seek learning opportunities, whether through training programs, mentorship, or knowledge-sharing initiatives.
• Promote a growth mindset: Foster an environment where mistakes are seen as opportunities for learning and experimentation is encouraged. Emphasize the importance of personal and professional development.

• Foster a learning culture: Encourage knowledge sharing, cross-training, and continuous learning within the team. Provide resources and opportunities for professional development.
• Encourage reflection: Regularly engage in reflective discussions with team members to identify lessons learned, best practices, and areas for improvement. Celebrate successes and promote a culture of continuous learning and growth.

#5 Adaptability:

• Embrace change: When faced with change, demonstrate openness and flexibility. Encourage team members to embrace change as an opportunity for growth and innovation.
• Foster resilience: Help team members develop resilience by providing support, acknowledging their efforts, and creating a safe space for taking calculated risks.
• Resolving Conflicts Constructively: Conflicts may arise within any collaborative setting. Managers must address conflicts promptly and constructively to maintain a positive work environment.

• Communicate effectively: During times of change or ambiguity, provide clear communication to keep team members informed and aligned. Encourage open discussions and address any concerns or challenges that arise.
• Encourage open dialogue: Create a safe space for team members to express concerns and perspectives openly. Facilitate respectful discussions to find common ground and resolutions.
• Mediate conflicts: If conflicts arise, mediate to facilitate discussions and guide the team toward finding mutually beneficial solutions. Encourage compromise and understanding.
• Provide constructive feedback: Offer feedback to individuals involved in conflicts, focusing on specific behaviors and their impact on collaboration. Encourage growth and learning from conflicts.

Coaching Questions to Help You Upskill

Improving your collaboration and influencing skills takes time. Here are six self-coaching questions to ask yourself regularly

• What is my communication style? How does my communication style support collaboration? How does my communication style hinder collaboration? Uncovered some work to be done? Read over this Guide to Working With Diverse Communication Styles
• How do I align my objectives with the objectives of others?
• What is my leadership approach?  How does my leadership approach support collaboration? How does my leadership approach hinder collaboration?
• What is my learning orientation? How does my learning orientation support collaboration? How does my learning orientation hinder collaboration?
• What is my adaptability style? How does my adaptability support collaboration? How does my adaptability hinder collaboration?
• What does my team need me to start, stop, or modify to improve your collaboration approach?

By recognizing your preferences and applying appropriate strategies, you can foster a collaborative work environment, promote productivity, and achieve shared goals with your team members. Remember to remain flexible, listen actively, and continuously assess and adjust your approach to support effective collaboration.

Additional Resources to Upskill

• 9 Types of Nonverbal Communication
• Hbr.org: Eight Ways To Build Collaborative Teams
• BetterUp: 18 effective strategies to improve your communication skills 
• TED: How To Listen Really Listen To Someone You Don't Agree With

• TED: 10 Ways To Have A Better Conversation
• TED: 5 Ways To Listen Better
• The Power Of Listening