The Secrets of Healthy Collaboration

Healthy collaboration and productivity go hand-in-hand when it comes to teamwork. But, how to collaborate? What are the dos and don’ts of it? What’s even more important is bringing that knowledge into practicality.

Take a look at some incredibly useful tips that will make collaboration a big success for your project - 

Avoid collaborating over emails

Healthy collaboration is heavily dependent on the quality of communication. You are constantly discussing milestones, work distribution, progress, reports, etc. To discuss all that don’t rely on email.

It’s impossible to collaborate over emails in a healthy manner because that’s not what emails are meant for. There is no way to sort/systematize things. Go with a collaboration software if you really want to make collaboration success.

Don’t spam

By here, spamming implies loading people with unnecessary information. How many times a day do you receive notifications that have nothing to do with your job or productivity? Send a message or email only to that person to whom it’s intended. Don’t make other people’s inbox overflow with unnecessary mails. Overloading people with information can overwhelm them and rob them off of their productivity. So, don’t spam!

Promote feedback sharing and interactions

Create an environment that supports healthy interactions and regular feedback sharing. Regular interactions and feedback help you recognize a lot of aspects where you can make improvements. Also, a place where team members can initiate discussions allows them to think outside the box and share their creative insight. And you never know, perhaps someone you least expected in the team could come up with a breakthrough idea. A great way to initiate discussions without making people leave their cubicles is to do it via an online collaboration software.

Stay focused 

Every now and then, do stop and check how things are going. See if you are headed in the right direction. Only when you pause occasionally and check on things, can you really make sure that teams are fully focused and that the project is moving in the right direction. When you stop and check, you can identify any derails and fix them.

Avoid over communication 

Promote healthy communication, but don’t overdo it. Make sure to emphasize on key takeaways so that people don’t get lost in so many details that they cannot figure out what was the true point of discussion. This usually happens when meetings are stretched for unnecessary long hours. Attendants are left overloaded with so much information that they fail to differentiate key takeaways from fluff information. You can share the minutes of meetings on a project collaboration software, so people know what the plan of action is.

Keep everyone updated 

As the project moves ahead, let everyone know how things are going. If things are going off-track, make it a point to share it with team. It will give a boost to their confidence and they are more likely to perform better. Even if the progress is not going so great, share that as well and discuss the areas that need improvement. The point is to keep discussing things from time to time.

Collaboration can be challenging. Let’s be honest - it is a challenge, but only until you don’t know how to make it easy. Once you figure its challenges and ways to tackle them - it’s a piece of cake.