“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” - African Proverb

We have a huge problem in North America.  Our society has placed such a value on independence and going it alone that we have come to a place where it permeates the very fabric of our everyday lives.  Despite the increase in technology connecting us we are more socially disconnected than ever. Studies have proven that “adults who are more socially connected are healthier and live longer”.

I probably spend more time than the average person thinking about this as the company I lead is entirely virtual.  For the last four years I’ve spent time really thinking about what it means to collaborate, to connect, to building a team.  Does the physical distance between two people really equate intimacy? The obvious answer is no. Just observe any couple stuck in a car together on a road trip while in a fight if they felt “close” during that trip. :-)

What I have learned is that our ability to work with others and collaborate is what actually makes the difference.  Yet, I am finding that more and more people are adopting fiercely independent behaviors that are negatively impacting both success in their personal life and in their work life.

The first time I encountered this was years ago when I assigned a project to a young professional.  I told them “You asked for the project. It’s yours. Go get it done.” What I never said was “get it done alone”.  As the work began to flow back it had major logic errors, gaps of information that was critical, and failed to capture the goal.  When I provided feedback and challenged the work I was met with fierce protective resistance and a protest that said “BUT you told me I owned this project!”  I remember being genuinely confused.  Since when did owning a project somehow exclude proper requirements gathering and collaborative work?

I sat that employee down and explained “It is not only to be done BY you but THROUGH you.”  It is impossible to get quality work completed without a second pair of eyes.  Writers know they cannot edit their own words.  Musicians seek collaboration for its benefits.  If we want to go far, we must understand that owning our work means we own the facilitation and collaboration process that goes with it, but it can never be done completely alone.

 I chalked the experience up to inexperience of that individual and thought it was behind me except that I find it is a recurring theme that I have to undo in many employees.  As new employees cycle into our world I am reminded they are coming out of cultures that “say” they believe in collaboration and innovation but then reward the opposite.  Managers operating from a place of fear want to be able to point the fingers at an employee if a project doesn’t happen the way it should.  Employees are not innocent here either.  Unbeknownst to them they have adopted an ego and a desire to prove they don’t need anyone to get THEIR job done.  Except, what you can be certain of is the likelihood of producing mediocre work rises when you are the only person involved.

 Still, when presented with this proof there are many who argue that a collaborative approach is slow, that consensus doesn’t equate to competitiveness, that they must move fast. These statements also show the inexperience of the person in leadership. The question I ask to these individuals is “Since when does facilitating collaboration mean giving up your leadership?” The answer is it does not.

 Remember “It does not need to be done solely BY you but facilitated THROUGH you.” 

This means that as the leader of any initiative you are guiding the conversations.  In healthy projects there will be a fair amount of discourse and as a leader you must learn to get comfortable with the fact that someone will always be disappointed by your decision. Always.

 Early on in my career I found myself leading a project that included 30 fierce and powerful professionals.  Each group represented a various division in our global company and nobody wanted to give up territory or power on a number of critical items.

 My job was to navigate these waters and somehow chart a path that meant we would finally get some traction on the project.  After a long meeting one of the divisions left extremely happy while the other four left accepting of the decisions but I would not have described their frame of mind as “happy”. Yet, we still worked together.  I still guided the collaboration and was able to get the group (even though some were grumbling) to move forward.  This is an important thing to remember as you lead. So where do you start?

Whenever I work on a task, no matter how big or how small, I do a quick inventory that looks like this.

• Who are the key stakeholders that are interested in this project?
  A stakeholder can be someone:

• With proprietary knowledge that we need. Such as a frontline service person who will actually have to implement the recommendation to a customer or a top salesperson in the company that understand how prospects see the product.

• That will have their workday impacted by the project in some capacity.

• That will be asked to participate in the development of the project.

• Who are my Subject Matter Experts that need to look at this with me?
  Whether it is a small task (like a simple budget or email out to staff) or a large complicated build, you must be thinking about who around you can provide you with invaluable intelligence.

• Who will I send the outline of my work to for review?
  There is not one thing I work on that I don’t involve my team on for points of clarity and recommendations. Sometimes I will even ask for an opposing view intentionally.  When you start with the premise of who will be involved with the review you also identify who you need to ask questions of during the process.

When I present this to people who have only worked independently their first reaction is always one of distaste. They see it as unnecessary because they just want to get started on the work.  What I have learned is this entire exercise (depending on the size of the task or project) is always proportionate to the level of effort.  If you have a task that will take 1 hour to complete, take five minutes to ensure you have quickly covered off the work.  I’ve worked on complex projects that required months of planning for years of delivery.  Stopping to regroup and plan is always the main differentiator between success and failure. If you don’t have all the intel you need then you may be going down the wrong path. That is a costly mistake for everyone.

In every case, planning up front and working together has saved time and allowed us to go far without having to double back and redo work.

Remember, just because something is asked OF you does not mean it has to be done solely BY you but rather is to be facilitated THROUGH you!