Collaboration: Why “We” is Better Than “Me”
Teamwork and collaboration are common buzzwords in the business world. These concepts are easy to talk about but hard to truly implement. And in an increasingly remote world, an environment of collaboration requires adaption and an open mind.
In 2020, when our work lives got turned upside down, we had to revisit how our team interacted, finding a new balance in the world of Zoom meetings and Slack messages. Working together effectively is essential for any team’s success, including everything from workplace happiness to final results.
What Does It Mean To Be Collaborative?
Teamwork and collaboration start with the environment of your workplace. Every little action adds up to show your team members what your collective values are. So how can you tell if you’re prioritizing collaboration effectively?
Group discussion is encouraged
When people feel free to speak up and share their perspectives, it reflects an open and welcoming environment. In an online world, you may need to prompt people to speak or send more signals that their ideas are valued. Some signals can get lost when looking at a screen or your employees may be more conscious of speaking over one another.
Individuals are accountable for their contributions and focused on the end result
Most projects include people from multiple disciplines coming together. Great collaboration occurs when each of the contributors is accountable for what they bring to the table, responsive to suggestions, and invested in the final product. When everyone has bought into a project, you’ll have a project that no single person could’ve accomplished on their own.
Feedback goes both ways
Regular check-ins for feedback are ideal for establishing an open, productive environment. Leaders should identify areas of improvement for individuals and the team as a whole. Be sure to take this time to request feedback from team members, both for yourself and for the business as a whole. While it may take a while for an employee to warm up to being able to provide helpful feedback, they can provide insights you won’t discover on your own.
Tips On Encouraging More Workplace Collaboration
Hold team brainstorms whenever you can
Brainstorming is something of an art. In the best brainstorms, you can feel the energy in the room, generate tons of ideas worth exploring, and help creative team members recharge. When beginning a new project or struggling for ideas on your own, suggest having a brainstorming session with your team. During the brainstorm, keep the conversation flowing, encourage the shy people to share some thoughts, and take notes!
Create opportunities for collaboration
In an office setting, an open floorplan or a hybrid working environment can foster more conversations between employees. Online, leaders have to be a little more intentional about recreating shared spaces where employees can sound off. Add time to your meetings to talk about inspiration, ideas, or even a highlight of the week. Make sure you have a designated slack channel for inspiration or random thoughts. And most importantly, ask your employees what ideas they have for creating a collaborative atmosphere!
Explain your critiques when appropriate
When giving feedback on creative work, mentioning the end results or why you’re asking for a chance can make the critique more productive. For example, instead of stopping at “increase the font size”, say something like “we want a stronger sense of hierarchy in this graphic, so let’s make the headline larger”. This technique is doubly effective. You’ll get your point across and the creative may even come up with a better way of accomplishing your goals. They’re also likely to take a lesson from the project that they’ll apply to future work.
Collaboration At Liquid
So how do we capture our creativity through collaboration? Here’s a look at what we’re up to on a weekly basis:
Time to share personal and work highlights in our team meetings
We start off our Monday meetings with stories from the weekend. Towards the end of the week, we recap our favorite project we worked on and why we enjoyed it.
Brainstorms to begin projects; online collaboration to keep it going
We love to brainstorm! When we’re beginning to get the feel for a new client, naming a brand, or creating a game plan, we meet online to make it happen. After the meeting ends, we start executing steps to make our ideas a reality. Through Google Drive and Monday, our online workspace, everyone is always able to share their thoughts at any stage.
Partnerships with clients
We don’t just collaborate with our team members – we also take our creative energy to client meetings! When presenting new ideas or work, we make sure to share the reasoning behind everything. We’re lucky to have great relationships with clients that trust us to make their marketing work.
Interested in working with a collaborative creative team? Liquid Creative is a full-service marketing partner for businesses of any size. Contact us if you’d like to hear what we can do for you! If this workplace sounds like fun, check out our Careers page and give us a shout, even if you don’t see a current listing that suits your talents.
