If we give children any tools, collaboration skill is probably one of the best tools we can give them. To be able to effectively collaborate with others makes you must greater than yourself--great collaboration skill gives your work breadth, depth and reach.
How can we hone our collaboration skills? Who around us has terrific collaboration skills? Why do some have better collaboration skills than others?
Sports
I do believe that those who played in effective team sports programs had the opportunity to develop good collaboration skills. Team sports of any kind has the potential to teach collaboration skills in effective ways. Most private schools make playing a sport an obligation, and I think that's a good idea if there is a good range of sports to play, since team sports have a lot to teach us.
Clubs, group activities, service
Engaging in clubs, group activities and service work can teach good collaboration skills. It's a good idea to regularly collaborate with others around an interest or service greater than yourself. This kind of nobel, valued, and/or shared pursuit has a way of leading positive collaboration. One of the best experiences of this that I experienced was during my last year of teaching when a group of literacy, classroom, and special education teachers met to figure out the best possible plan to improve every child's reaching strength and interest. We came up with a great plan and the students made wonderful progress. That goal which held deep value for all of us gave us the best possible reason to collaborate well, and as part of that collaboration we played to each other's strengths which made us a strong, successful team. Similarly when my son was in high school he worked for The Food Project, an agricultural group that grew food for local citizens and food organizations. It was a super purpose that fostered optimal collaboration amongst the diverse students that worked there.
Observation skills
If you take time to sit back and think about the skills you have that foster best possible collaboration and those that stymie, challenge or stifle collaboration, that will help you to hone the positive collaborative skills while eradicating the negative collaborative qualities.
Keep the mission upfront
Good collaboration will likely thrive or at least survive if the collected mission is positive and valued by all in the collaborative group. For example, I'm working with a team now on a tough collaborative project, a project with a meaningful mission. There's many points of view and significant disagreement, but in general, we hold the mission in sight and that keeps the collaboration going. Keeping the mission upfront is a key to good collaboration.
Trust
For good collaboration, you have to trust each other. You also have to be trustworthy. It's important that any words you speak or actions you do are those that you feel comfortable sharing with the world, because in reality, there are rarely secrets that remain secret. For example, once a long time ago a disgruntled worker who used to work with me shared some untruths about the workplace, untruths that shed a bad light on our work. Yet, though I don't know the exact words spread, I do know that while I worked with that individual I didn't share any information that I would worry about if shared with a larger group--I was thoughtful about my words. To be thoughtful about your words helps to build trust. In hindsight with regard to that situation, however, I may not share as much information with people I don't know that well and people that may not be trustworthy.
Strengths-based collaboration
It's easy to find fault with one another when collaboration sours. A first reaction is to blame one another, and that's a reaction you have to steer clear of. One way that you might steer clear of blaming is to use a strengths-based approach which means an approach where you constantly remind yourself of what the collaborative team members bring to the work rather than what they don't bring. Focusing on each other's strengths builds more positive capacity for the entire team.
Know yourself
In every collaborative team, members have weaknesses. If you know yourself, you can be open about your weaknesses as well as your strengths. For example, once I was asked to do a task for a collaborative team. The task was related to one of my weakest work skills. I clearly expressed that weakness and watched my colleagues sigh relief--they knew it wasn't a good task for me. On the other hand, however, you may express your weakness and willingness to strengthen that by taking on the task. That all depends on multiple factors related to the team.
Be transparent
Secret conversations among some, but not others, typically leads to a breakdown with collaboration. Yet, that often happens. It's good to create a code of conduct for collaborative teams as well as for yourself and stay faithful to that code of conduct. When codes of conduct break down, collaboration breaks down too.
Learn collaborative skill as children
Families can encourage as much collaboration as possible from children's earliest ages. Treating family as a team helps to build the collaborative skill of all family members. This approach profits from shared responsibilities, goal setting, regular meetings, time for fun and conversation and helping one another in as many ways as possible. Also as part of the family team, building respect for each other's similarities and differences also is a terrific collaborative skill to learn from an early age.
Collaboration skill is essential to good living. It's not an easy skill, and if you don't get an early start on this skill, it may be more difficult to gain later on, but not impossible. Collaborative skill matters when it comes to good living--it's a skill we all need to prioritize. Onward.