Five Essential Habits for Collaborative Teams

I'm often a bit suspicious of lists that promise “the answer” to complex questions. They are a bit like the rear view mirror that reminds us that things may appear smaller than they are. Such lists can leave us with the impression that problems and dilemmas of good collaboration a simpler than they are. After all, human beings are living systems and living systems are highly sophisticated and complex. Since collaborative teams are a collection of human beings it only makes sense that groups are equally complex by nature. Nevertheless, simple lists can be helpful and in that spirit, I offer here Five Essential Habits For Collaborative Teams, gleaned from both being a member of collaborative teams, and consulting to help them to become more effective. Layers of skills and coordinated behaviors work together to enable collaboration. These five habits can be practiced with all kinds of teams, those that meet in person, in virtual spaces, and in blended spaces that combine virtual and face-to-face elements.

Download my entire paper at Radical-Inclusion