Team collaboration is a powerful force to align a group of individuals to accomplish a common goal in the most effective way possible. Done incorrectly, collaborative projects can feel like a waste of time where people talk more than getting things done.
Collaboration is especially difficult now due to restrictions imposed on movements to stop the spread of the epidemic. It is even more difficult, working remotely. Collaboration is not effective by messaging occasionally and do not have a structured approach to answering questions and driving to the main goal. For collaboration to work remotely one must be clear and strategic about how to collaborate.
Also, time is of concern. Many individuals have extra responsibilities due to epidemic. How do you get team members to come together to focus their time and attention on work?
To be most effective at work, one has to be purposeful about how you invest every minute. Here are some recommendations on how to get collaboration right
Use regular meetings
A regular meeting can be held for brin-storming, setting vision, goals or for strategic decisions. Instead of making this a regular periodic meeting, it would be better to add these discussions to a regular meeting once in a month so that we do not add to a crowded calendar.
Set an agenda in advance and circulate it, giving sufficient time for participants to ponder and make constructive contributions to the discussions. Take minutes of the meeting and circulate it immediately on the conclusion of the meeting.
Share documents
If detailed feedback is required, you may share a descriptive document through a file sharing service and get all the members to contribute and comment on it.
Set a deadline for review, enable tracking, clearly state what is the expectation from the reviewers.
Work side-by-side
You can work side-by-side virtually. It may be a video call and doing work on a project simultaneously with another colleague. This way you can stop and ask for feedback, clarifications immediately. This is especially effective when you have been avoiding a task. peer pressure can be a good incentive to overcome the resistance to take up a particular task.
Message away
Messaging softwares like Slack, teams, Google Chat, Whatsapp are popular. Make sure they are working for you instead of you working for them. Decide the frequency of checking for new messages and stick to it. Do not overspend time on these messages as it will take you away from what you want to do. If this is difficult to do, switch over to calling instead of messaging back and forth as this will give you more control over time and can be completed in one conversation.
The purpose of team collaboration is not necessarily to be available all the time, but it is to ensure that everyone is aligned to team goals and progress towards achieving it as a team. You can collaborate from far if one collaborates with intention and focus.
4 Tips for Effective Virtual Collaboration
by Elizabeth Grace Saunders HBR 2020/10
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