Project e-Tip of the Week: Collaborate; Really Collaborate

by Hal on April 28, 2004

in PM practice, tips

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Too much of our time on projects is spent working alone. Programmers code by themselves. Estimators estimate by themselves. Architects detail alone. To make it worse, many companies have erected closed spaces — offices with closed doors, cubicles with 6′ walls — and other impediments for making collaboration the usual practice. Project work so often requires innovation and learning. Both occur in a social context. That context is collaboration.


The Project Reformer's e-Tip of the Week
025: Collaborate, Really Collaborate

Whether you believe two are smarter than one, or three are smarter than two, all but trivial projects depend on more than one person to complete. Large projects might number in the thousands of performers. Why isolate people from each other. Learning and innovation are both social processes. Judgement also benefits from broad perspectives and experience. Here are 5 questions to get you started to make collaboration your habit:

  1. Who could help me with this?
  2. What do I have to offer others?
  3. What new ways can we meet on a regular basis?
  4. How can we stay in tune with each others' changing project work?
  5. What can you do to be more responsive to each other?

Share this e-Tip with your team at your next meeting. Use the five questions to generate actions you will take as a group. Revisit how you are doing each time you meet.

The Project Leaders' Studio™

©2004 Hal Macomber | weblog.halmacomber.com | e-Tip Archive | PDF | Submit Tip

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