{"id":21899,"date":"2020-12-30T12:28:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-30T16:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=21899"},"modified":"2021-01-04T19:14:00","modified_gmt":"2021-01-04T23:14:00","slug":"effective-collaboration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/effective-collaboration\/","title":{"rendered":"Effective Collaboration: The Last Goal of Radical Candor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How do you encourage effective collaboration at work<\/a>? How does radical candor help support collaborative relationships?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Effective collaboration allows for better results and a more satisfied team. To get to collaborative relationships, there are seven steps that you should follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep reading for the seven steps for facilitating effective collaboration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Effective Collaboration<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The fourth goal of a radically candid workplace is building a highly collaborative atmosphere and a team that works together to accomplish much more than you could individually. <\/strong>The principle of caring personally is especially important to a collaborative atmosphere, for several reasons. First, it allows you to invite an exchange of perspectives\u2014that is, incorporating another\u2019s way of thinking or doing things into your own way of thinking or doing things. Second, caring interrupts the self-interested mindset of focusing only<\/em> on results. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charging ahead toward decisions and results\u2014without caring about the people you work with\u2014can cause a breakdown in your team. For example, at Google, Scott tried to change team structures and responsibilities drastically, without letting her team in on her decision-making<\/a> process. While her ideas were good, the team fell apart. Because she\u2019d acted alone, her team felt confused or personally targeted by her changes, and some people chose to ignore the proposed workflow. Some people, angry that she\u2019d acted alone in such a drastic decision, even quit her team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accomplishments don\u2019t come from diving into a problem alone, telling people what to do, and focusing only on results. They come from approaching problems and solutions collaboratively, setting your power aside, and focusing on your team members.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Seven Steps<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Effective Collaboration is a long process that should, at some point, involve every member of your team who will be affected by the outcome. There are seven steps to effective collaboration: listening, clarifying, debating, deciding, persuading, executing, and learning.<\/strong> While you want to move your team through the steps quickly, so that collaboration feels like a worthwhile task instead of a burdensome chore, don\u2019t skimp on or skip over any of the seven steps for facilitating effective collaboration. The success of each step builds on the success of the one before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 1: Listening<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Your job as a leader is to listen<\/em> to every person on your team, with the goal of amplifying their voice.<\/strong> You\u2019ll usually resort to one of two types of listening: quiet listening<\/a> <\/em>and loud listening<\/em>. It\u2019s likely that you\u2019ve already adopted one of these listening styles over your lifetime. You don\u2019t need to change your listening style when you become a boss, but you do need to learn how to use your particular listening style effectively<\/em>, and be in tune with how others receive it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 2: Clarifying<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Ideas that aren\u2019t totally clear or well thought-out are likely to be dismissed or rejected when presented to others\u2014your job as a boss is to help your team members clarify <\/em>their ideas for an audience. <\/strong>Your commitment to caring personally is helpful here, because your clarification suggestions will be most effective when you know who your team member is as a person and understand who she\u2019ll be presenting her ideas to. Clarification has two main parts: letting your team member bounce ideas off you, and helping your team member know her audience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 3: Debating<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Debate is an essential step in getting good results. When ideas can be discussed and improved, it leads to better decision-making and easier persuasion of the people who are going to execute or be affected by the decision. <\/strong>Some bosses think it\u2019s better to make decisions on behalf of their team\u2014it\u2019s quicker and avoids the friction that often comes with debate\u2014but not allowing team members to debate and talk through decisions creates distrust and feelings of being \u201cleft out,\u201d which will make it harder to persuade people to future decisions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the boss, you don\u2019t need to be in every debate. However, you do need to foster a healthy debate<\/a> culture among your team. Healthy debate culture<\/em> doesn\u2019t imply debates where there\u2019s no real friction or big ideas to wrestle with. It means that debate is structured in such a way that it makes sense, is respectful, and doesn\u2019t take too much emotional energy<\/a> out of your team. There are six ways that you can help create a healthy debate culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 4: Deciding<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

When it comes time to make a decision<\/a>, make sure the right people<\/a> are the decision-makers. Keep in mind that the most senior people\u2014and you, as the boss\u2014are often considered decision-makers, but they\u2019re not necessarily the people with the best information. Furthermore, know that the people who demand to make decisions shouldn\u2019t <\/em>be decision-makers. They tend to think they\u2019re always right, and the refusal to consider any other perspectives or information leads to poor decision-making. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your decision-makers should be those who are close to the facts surrounding a situation, and thus have the best possible information to make a decision. <\/strong>Good bosses make sure that these people are given the clearance to make as many decisions as possible, instead of creating decision-making processes that favor senior people or higher management. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 5: Persuading<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

It might feel pointless to put effort into persuading people to go along with a decision once you\u2019ve already made it, but it\u2019s critical that everyone who will be helping you execute the decision is persuaded of its value\u2014skipping this step leaves key people feeling unimportant and disconnected. There are three steps to effective persuasion: listen to your audience\u2019s<\/em> feelings <\/em>about the decision, prove the credibility<\/em> of the person making the decision, and explain the logic<\/em> behind the decision. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 6: Executing<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Your job as a boss is to get your team through the steps of collaboration as efficiently as possible, so they have time to execute on their ideas. You can accomplish this by keeping things efficient<\/em> and scheduling execution time. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n