Collaboration

  • Collaborates with other members of formal and informal groups in the pursuit of common missions, vision, values, and mutual goals
  • Places team needs and priorities above individual needs
  • Involves others in making decisions that affect them
  • Draws on the strengths of colleagues and gives credit to others’ contributions and achievements.
Proficiency Levels – What it looks like
Being Developed
(BD)
Basic
(B)
Intermediate
(I)
Advanced
(A)
Expert
(E)
Participates willingly by supporting team decisions, assisting other team members, and doing his/her share of the work to meet goals and deadlines Takes initiative to actively participate in team interactions Actively solicits ideas and opinions from others to efficiently and effectively accomplish specific objectives targeted at defined business outcomes Consistently fosters collaboration and respect among team members by addressing elements of the group process that impedes, or could impede, the group from reaching its goal Identifies and improves communication to bring conflict within the team into the open and facilitate resolution
Informs other team members about client-related decisions, group processes, individual actions, or influencing events Without waiting to be asked, constructively expresses own point of view or concerns, even when it may be unpopular Openly encourages other team members to voice their ideas and concerns Engages the “right people,” within and beyond organizational boundaries, by matching individual capabilities and skills to the team’s goals Openly shares credit for team accomplishment
Shares all relevant and useful information Ensures that the limited time available for collaboration adds significant customer value and business results Shows respect for differences and diversity, and disagrees without personalizing issues Works with a wide range of teams and readily shares lessons learned and credit for team accomplishments Monitors individual and team effectiveness and recommends improvement to facilitate collaboration
Utilizes strengths of team members to achieve optimal performance Considered a role model as a team player
Demonstrates high level of enthusiasm and commitment to team goals under difficult or adverse situations; encourages others to respond similarly
Strongly influences team strategy and processes

What it Doesn’t Look Like

  • Emphasizing personal agenda or achievements
  • Attending meetings without being prepared, or productively participating in discussions
  • Completing your work or making decisions without considering the impact on others
  • Displaying limited consideration for the ideas and contributions of others
  • Having to be right or acting overly assertive or aggressive

Questions to Consider

  • Am I displaying the courage to speak up and share ideas as well as the consideration to listen to others?
  • What questions can I pose to encourage others to share their ideas, especially opposing ones?
  • How do I respond when I disagree with idea? Do I get defensive and judgmental or am I open and curious?
  • Am I successful in creating synergy with all others? Who could I establish a more productive working relationship with?
  • How do I respond to conflict when working with others? Are there currently issues that need to be addressed and resolved so we can work together more productively? What steps can I take to address the situation?

Learning and Development Activities

Choose one or two activities that support your preferred learning style

Select activities by learning style
Doing Listening Observing Training Reading

(By clicking on the symbol, those activities relating to the learning style will appear)

Doing

Suggestions for activities you can do on the job
Self

  • Choose words that are neutral; words that don’t challenge, or sound one-sided. Use phrases that encourage the exploration of possibilities and create space for the other to “save face”. Focus on the problem not the person. Show your willingness and desire to work together.
  • Consider your participation in meetings. Work to place a check mark beside each of the following:
    • Assess the outcomes of your interactions with others. Are your interactions typically:
      • win-lose (you get your way);
      • lose-win (the other gets their way); or
      • win-win (the collaborative solution is better than what either was initially proposing).
    • Use courage to speak up and demonstrate consideration by listening, to move all your interactions to win-win.

    • Recall your most recent experiences with conflict. What did you do well? What got in the way? What themes or commonalities exist? Determine the causes of unproductive performance then determine and rehearse a better approach to use next time.
    • Be prepared
    • Contribute your ideas
    • Present any opposing ideas in a helpful manner
    • Encourage others to share their ideas
    • Ask questions to seek clarification
    • Notice how others are responding
    • Support decisions

With Peers

  • Author Stephen Covey taught us to “seek first to understand, then to be understood.” Practice the discipline of asking and listening with curiosity, instead of judgment, and observe what you learn.
  • Meet formally and informally to stay connected on related work. Share any breakthroughs or obstacles you are encountering and encourage others to do the same. Display a genuine interest and appreciation for their contributions. Positive rapport can enhance synergy.
  • Next time you are in a conflict with another, move forward by finding something to agree upon. Common goals, priorities or problems are a good starting point. If you can’t agree on a point, agree on a procedure to move forward.

With your Manager/Team Lead

  • Seek feedback on how effectively you are interacting with others. Request examples of what are you doing well, and what could you do instead to be more effective.
  • Practice a conversation you need to have with a peer to improve working relations. Ask for any recommendations for improvement.
Listening and Observing

Here are some ideas that can be pursued on the job, with some coordination. Use these reflective questions to gain more from your learning experience:

    • What are three key things I have learned from this experience?
    • What will I do differently in my work as a result of this experience?
  • Think of someone you consider an effective team member. Observe and listen to how they interact with others. Ask what they do to develop collaborative working relations, and how in the past they have turned a negative situation in to a positive and productive one.
  • When watching a movie or TV show, observe the interactions between in characters. Recognize interactions that are win-win, win-loose and loose-win. For interactions that do not start at win-win, but achieve this position, notice what occurred to create the positive shift.
Training Programs

UBC Training Programs offered through Organization Development and Learning

  • In-Powering People & Teams
  • Thrive: Make Constructive Use of Differences in Personal Style
  • Emotional Intelligence

For UBCO course offerings, please visit the Events page. http://web.ubc.ca/okanagan/facultystaff/events.html
Consider working with a coach following training, to aid in anchoring your learning: http://www.hr.ubc.ca/coaching/

Reading

Choose to read one or two of the books listed below. Consider the reflective questions to enhance your learning:

    • What are the key points the author is making?
    • What are three key things I have learned from this reading?
    • What will I do differently in my work as a result of gaining this knowledge?
  • Staff

  • The Handbook of Conflict Resolution: Theory and Practice; (2004), M. Deutsch, P.T Coleman and E. Marcus; Jossey-Bass. Covers a broad range of topics including information on cooperation and competition, justice, trust development and repair, resolving conflict. Includes chapters that deal with language, emotion, gender, and personal implicit theories as they relate to conflict.
  • Teamwork is an Individual Skill: Getting Your Work Done When Sharing Responsibility; (2001), C. M. Avery, M. Aaron Walker & E. O’Toole Murphy; Berrett-Koehler Publishers – Learn the individual skills vital to the success of every team.
  • Working Relationships: Using Emotional Intelligence to Enhance Your Effectiveness with Others, Revised Edition; (2008), B. Wall; CPP Inc. Focusing exclusively in the power of emotional intelligence (EQ) to influence success regardless of job type, level of education, or scope of responsibility. This book offers a classic toolkit for mastering the personal characteristics and social abilities of EQ.

Managers/Team Leaders

  • Cross-Functional Teams: Working with Allies, Enemies, and Other Strangers; (2003), G. M. Parker; John Wiley & Sons (US) Provides concrete advice and inspiration to team leaders, team members, and senior management. This book provides a tool kit of assessment surveys, worksheets, checklists, and even sample training programs to help launch and sustain effective teams.
  • The Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything; (2006), S. M. R. Covey; Free Press. Challenges our assumption that trust is merely a soft, social virtue and instead demonstrates that trust is a hard-edged, economic driver – a learnable and measurable skill that makes organizations more profitable, people more promotable, and relationships more energizing.

Additional Questions

Please contact your Human Resources Representative with any additional questions.

Summary of Links

http://www.hr.ubc.ca/coaching/
http://web.ubc.ca/okanagan/facultystaff/events.html