The Spreading Collaboration ‘Disease’ & You!

"These are the times that try men’s souls!" This famous quote hundreds of years old by Thomas Paine at the time of the American Revolution could equally apply to the difficulties faced by so many around the world today. And, it is exactly this unfavorable situation, which proves the point that most people are, in fact, externally shaped by the forces in our environment - economic, social, political, military, religious, and other circumstances. One of these counterproductive patterns that is increasingly obvious in my own and others’ daily lives is the multiplying lack of collaboration between individuals, groups, and entities. We see it, hear it, experience it, and are at least indirectly negatively impacted by such unrest that spans our settings - interpersonal relationships, work life tensions, labor-management strife, and political rigidity. But though we are all likely to agree about these realities, what is much less known, let alone acted upon, is a clear understanding about the ‘root causes’ of this spreading social disease as well as the practical solutions available to us to reverse this destructive pattern.

As noted above, the first major root cause of non-collaboration can be discovered in our external environment. Research and personal experience has shown that 80% of us are shaped by it. In more favorable conditions, we are more likely to be collaborative and in less favorable situations, less likely to do so. And, over time, these become sub-consciously acquired behavior patterns in similar circumstances. In fact, this pattern describes a newer client I shall refer to as "Dave" who quickly reverts from being cooperative and pleasant to defensive and non-communicative in less favorable situations.

The other root cause is explained by our personal make-up. This often interacts with our perception of a situation/condition. Just today I observed this in a problem-solving meeting where "Marc", like most people, demonstrated a negative, fear-driven pattern based on a perceived threat where in similar situations I’ve seen more positively-motivated individuals focus on what needs to be done to solve the problem and while seeking and offering help to do so. Another dimension of our personal make-up that explains our collaboration orientation is the natural tendency to be more of a "relater" with others (like "Maria") versus a person who seeks to "control" people, situations (like "Donna"). And, a third and final dimension of our make-up involves our personal beliefs/values—most people in less favorable situations being characterized by either a win-lose or lose-lose pattern , not an all-win one (like "Jeff") which is found among less than 20% of the population.

You might be asking why is it important to know which cause might drive a person to be non-collaborative? Because by knowing this it can help us identify the types of solutions, including development actions, to build this personal strength. For instance, "Paul" is a person whose collaboration rises and falls based on whether he gets and stays focused on common goals and benefits (for himself, others, and his company). And, "Lisa’s" collaboration has required her to learn and be disciplined in putting effective teamwork practices into action to complement her strong individual talents and drive for success. Finally, "Claude" is an individual who has had to learn and consistently use all-win problem-solving practices to prevent and resolve conflicts with people and groups.

Perhaps the most practical, highest impact way to build collaboration is by establishing an environment that requires it as a key belief and practice for building and sustaining a winning culture with all stakeholder groups, both internal and external. This is a process I discovered years ago before ‘shared values’ became a popular trend. By focusing on our mutual self-interests for cumulative gains from genuine synergy, people can approximate the best in others and not the worst which is a by-product of non-collaboration.