CollaboRelate

“This collaboration stuff is a load of junk - why on earth would I want to go through all the hassle just to help someone else out?” This is a common attitude in today’s society. After all aren’t we supposed to be:
• Individual, free thinkers, who are in control of our own destiny?
• Accountable for our own actions, and rewarded as a direct result?
In the age of the entrepreneurial, cowboy, capitalist this attitude had merit. However, with the shift to the information age, global economies, and a plugged-in 24/7 society the emphasis now becomes maximizing human capital not just physical or investment capital. We move now from independence to interdependence as being the prime mover.

Still skeptical? You should be. The shift towards collaboration is all about establishing meaningful, effective relationships – thus the title of this post CollaboRelate. Relationships are an investment and an exposure to vulnerability, which is a naturally uncomfortable situation. The major benefits come when the relationship provides a benefit to all parties and the effects are focused on the long-term gain, but this only happens when all involved can communicate openly in an environment of trust, and mutual respect. In today’s society that focuses on immediate gratification, quick fixes, and satisfaction of desires, the concept of investing in a relationship with others that takes time, effort, frustration, and often short-term disappointment, this seems like a foreign concept.

Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn – Ben Franklin.

The primary resistance encountered from people relating to collaboration is that they do not want to go through the effort to change. If we look at learning as a process that will bring about a change in the way we think or act, then Ben Franklin’s quote seems particularly descriptive of today’s society. The benefits of collaboration, or interdependence, can be huge: time compounding; learning from the smartest and best thinkers in an organization; working smarter instead of just harder; and a shift from just being effective, to being effective and efficient at the same time. The price that must paid for these benefits is communication and vulnerability.

This sounds like it should be simple, but with the pressures of time, standards, accountability, and the need for immediate results it becomes very difficult to look past the immediate hurdle to focus on the finish line. Fear takes over, and we become so afraid of falling on our face and concentrate so hard on right now, that we forget about what’s right. Are you ready to move from ignorance to knowledge? From independent to interdependent? From just effective, to effective and efficient? Make an investment in others and you might just find that the biggest beneficiary – is you. If we say we are life-long learners this really means we are life-long changers. Change your perception, and you can change your world!