Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
SlideShare a Scribd company logo

TMA World MindLines: Collaboration Defined

•
•
TMA World
TMA World

What do we mean when we talk about collaboration? How does it differ from words with a family resemblance like ‘cooperation’, ‘coordination’, and even ‘teamwork’

1 of 6
Collaboration Defined TMA World MindLines
Collaboration Defined Let’s get down to basics What do we mean when we talk about collaboration How does it differ from words with a family resemblance like ‘cooperation’, ‘coordination’, and even ‘teamwork’? Let’s start with a broad definition of collaboration: People with different skills and perspectives co-creating ‘something’ that none of the individual members could have created alone.
Collaboration Defined The ‘something’ could be anything from new understandings about a problem or solution, a new process or product or event. As Michael Schrage says in his book Shared Minds: …there is nothing routine about it. Something is there that wasn’t there before. So how does this differ from related terms? Cooperation: Is about saying and doing things that make making working with others an agreeable and constructive experience. However, cooperation can simply be compliance.
Collaboration Defined Coordination: Is about all the parts of a system working together efficiently – each part knows what to do, when to do it, in what order, and where the output needs to go next. It’s about efficient and effective relationships between the parts, but like cooperation it may not produce anything that wasn’t there before. Teamwork: Is about working together to achieve a shared purpose, but teamwork itself doesn’t necessarily reach the level of ‘collaboration’. Some teams might be geared toward achieving relatively routine, non-surprising outcomes. You want the team to comply with policies, procedures and processes rather than collaborate and create.
Collaboration Defined That said, in today’s complex environment cooperation in which new and unexpected challenges occur frequently, a good degree of coordination collaborative effort is likely to be necessary teamwork in most teams.
To learn more about how TMA World can help your organization, please contact us at enquiries@tmaworld.com or visit www.tmaworld.com

More Related Content

TMA World MindLines: Collaboration Defined

  • 2. Collaboration Defined Let’s get down to basics What do we mean when we talk about collaboration How does it differ from words with a family resemblance like ‘cooperation’, ‘coordination’, and even ‘teamwork’? Let’s start with a broad definition of collaboration: People with different skills and perspectives co-creating ‘something’ that none of the individual members could have created alone.
  • 3. Collaboration Defined The ‘something’ could be anything from new understandings about a problem or solution, a new process or product or event. As Michael Schrage says in his book Shared Minds: …there is nothing routine about it. Something is there that wasn’t there before. So how does this differ from related terms? Cooperation: Is about saying and doing things that make making working with others an agreeable and constructive experience. However, cooperation can simply be compliance.
  • 4. Collaboration Defined Coordination: Is about all the parts of a system working together efficiently – each part knows what to do, when to do it, in what order, and where the output needs to go next. It’s about efficient and effective relationships between the parts, but like cooperation it may not produce anything that wasn’t there before. Teamwork: Is about working together to achieve a shared purpose, but teamwork itself doesn’t necessarily reach the level of ‘collaboration’. Some teams might be geared toward achieving relatively routine, non-surprising outcomes. You want the team to comply with policies, procedures and processes rather than collaborate and create.
  • 5. Collaboration Defined That said, in today’s complex environment cooperation in which new and unexpected challenges occur frequently, a good degree of coordination collaborative effort is likely to be necessary teamwork in most teams.
  • 6. To learn more about how TMA World can help your organization, please contact us at enquiries@tmaworld.com or visit www.tmaworld.com