Extremely successful business professionals in the volatile business world of 2018 get it. The rate of
change, the dynamic markets, the geopolitical issues, the amount of information coming at us, and the lack of sleep are all colluding to make our lives as difficult as possible. It goes without saying that if you really wanted to – and didn’t need to eat, sleep, or enjoy time with your loved ones - you could answer emails, work on projects, and develop innovative ideas 24 hours a day, seven days a week and still barely make a dent on the big list of things to do.
One of the interesting things that I’ve observed over the first seven months of 2018 working with leaders from many different companies and industries to develop their business acumen and leadership skills is that more and more, there is no such thing as a pure individual contributor any longer. One of the byproducts of existing in the digital age is that it seems everyone is part of a complex, virtual team either led directly by a “people leader” or led directly (or sometimes indirectly) by a process leader. And many times, it’s both!
Being part of a team where collaboration is an essential element of success becomes even more challenging when there is a lack of physical resources and a lack of time. It has also become apparent to me that many leaders and contributors are severely challenged with being efficient in accomplishing strong business results because they aren’t managing time very well. In observing leaders and contributors that are not successful, I see once big culprit; the inability to anticipate the needs of others in a collaborative business environment.
After thinking about it and sharing ideas with leaders I trust for insights, I’ve come up with a name for a new skill that should be very important to us all; “Collabitation”. Collabitation is defined as collaboration + anticipation. It’s an important skill because when executed well can yield extremely positive results. Here are five things that you can do starting today to “collabitate” the needs of your team and in support of your goals and objectives:
Start with the Outcome and Work Backward to Build the Pieces
Collaboration and anticipation are both grounded in the ability to work together and understand what needs to be accomplished in a step-by-step method. By starting with the end in mind and anticipating the needs to the collaborators through the entire process including key stakeholders such as customers, you will be much more efficient.
Prioritize with Others in Mind First
The people you are collaborating with aren’t typically sitting around doing nothing all day waiting for the next email from you to come in. They are as busy, if not busier than you are. You can’t expect them to be ready for you when you are ready, so you must be able to prioritize your tasks with others in mind first so that you can then prioritize your tasks to collaborate with others who will then align their tasks hopefully in way that is a win-win for all.
Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late
People who are great at Collabitation plan early and anticipate the challenges and issues of projects and tasks well before there is a crisis and things become out of hand. Ten minutes of anticipation can save hours of heartache further down the road.
Understand the Styles and Needs of People You Collaborate With
Different people have different styles and people who are great at Collabitation understand different styles and can adapt the work and their leadership styles to the people they are working with. If there is one key takeaway from this blog post is that anticipating the needs and behaviors of people you collaborate with will be your most significant return on invested time.
Provide in the Moment Feedback
The final element of Collabitation is providing “in the moment feedback.” What I’ve learned and observed is that people who collaborate and anticipate, change their behaviors the more they get real and timely feedback. It’s not going to happen the first few times, but after more than five strong feedback conversations, behaviors will definitely change for the better.
In summary, the concept of Collabitation isn’t really new; it’s been in front of us for many years. Unfortunately, the skills and tools needed may be neglected and foundational leadership and business acumen skills can close some of the gaps.
