Mastering Collaboration: Make Working Together Less Painful and More Productive

From the Preface

Why I Wrote This Book

My inspiration for writing this book was watching well-intentioned, capable leaders say all the right things about collaboration and teamwork, only to fumble when trying to pull it off. They express the need to get wider perspectives on initiatives, to improve cross-functional teamwork, to change their order-taking cultures, but in the end they reveal a predefined solution and ask, “Any questions?” Some leaders simply shove a team together into a conference room with a problem to solve and hope for the best. Or, they bring in outside consultants to make the magic happen, and it does, right up until it comes time to take the ideas back inside and it all falls apart. Leaders may think that they love collaboration, but many just don’t know how to embrace it.

Because it’s so important, getting “good” at collaboration can’t require an overnight shift in the way an organization operates. I’ve witnessed, and interviewed others about, huge “transformation” efforts within large, established organizations where the natural environment isn’t conducive (or is downright hostile) to working across silos that can be controlled independently.

Attempting to change that environment wholesale is likely to fail since there are too many antibodies you have to contend with.

Startups have an advantage in that they have less inertia in the culture and its approach to working together. But even these organizations can resort to just executing on known problems, deferring more complex questions until tomorrow when the company will be (hopefully) more stable, only to find themselves just as stuck when that day comes. Startups carry a level of pressure that favors independent action just as much as large companies.

Instead of trying to change an organization’s whole culture, then, this book aims to arm you with knowledge and tools to succeed in a grassroots scenario where you can build acceptance of working differently by demonstrating results, not by selling a process, methodology, or value system. For those who lead or support efforts to bring people together to solve a problem, you should look to create a space within the organization where a team or teams can bring their diverse talents together, with the right support.

Who This Book Is For

This book is for anyone who needs to bring people together to diagnose problems and explore solutions—from product managers looking to get buy-in for product roadmaps, to engineering leaders looking to support development teams, to students learning to work in groups.

Whether you’re looking to support a large-scale initiative or just want some tips to reduce team friction, this book offers practical advice, guiding principles, and simple tactics that you can use to master collaboration.