Teamwork Essentials: Stand Out as a Valuable

Team Member
with Shadé Zahrai

Three Powerful Collaboration Practices for Teams

Collaboration is at the heart of teamwork. When done right, the team adds up to much more
than the sum of its parts. Here are three powerful collaboration practices for teams.

1. Continually Clarify Context

Change is a constant. It’s important vital to continually clarify the team’s purpose in the context
of the big picture. Without it, the team fragments.

To help align the team to goals and unlock smoother operations, use the Four-Step Context
Funnel to realign the collaboration.

ORGANIZATION 1. What’s our organization’s purpose?

DEPARTMENT 2. How does our department contribute?

TEAM 3. How does our team contribute?

PROJECT 4. How does this project contribute?

2. The Art of Consultation

Consultation is seen a key principle for achieving unity, cooperation, and progress within a team.
It’s a process of collective decision-making in which all members of the team are encouraged to
participate and contribute their ideas and opinions.

There are three key principles:

I. Non-personalization of ideas. Each member can add to the idea, suggest

alternatives, and scrutinize without people taking it personally.
II. Considerate Candour. Share ideas, questions, and opinions freely yet in a
non-threatening and inclusive way that fosters curiosity and trust.
III. United Agreement. Even if a member is convinced that a decision isn’t the
best choice, it’s better to preserve team unity by supporting the group’s
decision. Of course, common sense has to prevail, and it doesn’t mean the
group proceed with a dangerous decision that lacks integrity.

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3. Paying It Forward
Collaborative teams operate with an unspoken rule that they have each other’s backs. This idea
of “pay it forward” is a social exchange called “generalized reciprocity” (Baker & Bulkey, 2014).
This type of reciprocity is characterized by a sense of trust and mutual obligation and is often
based on long-term relationships and a shared sense of community or group identity.

Why is collaboration at the heart of teamwork?

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How will you help create a team culture characterized by collaboration?

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Reference:
Baker, W. E. and Bulkley, N. 2014. Paying it Forward versus Rewarding Reputation:
Mechanisms of Generalized Reciprocity.” Organization Science (25), 1493-1510.

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