I truly believe that the impact of collaboration is invaluable. We do need each other to make a difference.
The mundane experience of collaboration exists when there is a working together to achieve a common goal. Collaboration is facilitated through project management practices and principles, typically involving a designated team with assigned roles, responsibilities, and tasks. This approach allows a sharing of resources, ideas, knowledge, experience and network. This strategy [should] be a mutually beneficial relationship but can also exist as a supporting approach.
I find that being a freelancer has frequently brought be into co-creating spaces, joining individuals, organisations or companies. I have had the privilege of working with various individuals and organisations doing amazing work within their communities. I have also observed that collaboration cannot be sustainable if there is no good foundation and an intentional approach to building and maintaining relationship.
The measure in which collaboration continues is largely dependent on good relationship.
I like to keep the following in mind when navigating multiple collaborations:
we need to be intentional in building good, long-term relationships
to sustain collaboration we also need to be respectful of the project boundaries and collaborator boundaries
we need to ensure that there is progress, even slow progress
we also need to reevaluate project commitments and business relationships from time to time
There is no copy and paste formula for sustainable collaboration. I think you do need to find synergy, and business chemistry when starting a collaborative journey. There needs to be a tug to the vision you are submitting to, and room to offer productive support.
Often, and especially as a freelancer, you find yourself joining the mission of another organisation when you will most likely have your own. If there is an initial hesitation or clash with the values, vision or mission of that organisation (and/or individual or company) there is a higher probability of certain conflicts and frustrations presenting themselves down the line. Conflicts and frustrations are not planned but to some degree can be expected and should not hinder or disrupt the project to a detrimental degree.
I should caution you to not be hasty with your commitment before getting to understand the inner workings of a certain organisation (or company). This could look like:
spending time with your team and the 'hosting' organisation
getting to know your project manager, and exec team involved (CEO, Managing Director, Department Manager etc)
researching the organisation and following their projects
observing organisational culture
asking lots of questions
request reports from previous projects
It is not always possible to spend months getting to know individuals or a team but you can identify what is not for you by asking a simple question, does this align with my values and belief system? I sway more to the conservative extreme when it comes to making business decisions about good partnerships. I weigh the cost according to what I feel I can uncompromisingly and confidently advocate, share on my CV, and openly tell people about.
There are various types of collaboration that exists within the working world, let's unpack a few:
1. Team
Where all collaborating partners know each other and are typically employed by the same organisation (or company). They could be one department or representatives from different departments. The team will have defined roles already, a team leader, tasks and deadlines. There is a shared responsibility and recognition in this approach.
2. Community
This collaborative approach involves a shared interest, or goal to transform a local community, "The goal is often to share knowledge and learn, as opposed to completing a task together" (Herman,2023). While I do agree with Herman here, I think that community collaboration serves a greater purpose. It is also to share resources, partner in funding proposals, host workshops, host celebration days, work on task-orientated projects and essentially to build an ecosystem. This collaboration also invites members of the community to contribute.
3. Ecosystem
This type of collaboration explores the relational intent of individuals, organisations and companies on a global scale. The idea is to build bridges to share knowledge, skills, experience, status, connections, resources and so on. The big picture is to maintain business relationships, have consistent project (or ideating) progress, and to contribute towards a macro problem starting on a micro scale. Ecosystems exist to adapt to the greater need. You often find that there is always something similar out there and maybe a few people trying to do their 'similar but different thing' well. This translates to scattered resources and many models constantly going through the same project cycles to advance slowly where collectively the progression and impact could be greater in an ecosystem.
"A business ecosystem is the network of organizations—including suppliers, distributors, customers, competitors, government agencies, and so on—involved in the delivery of a specific product or service through both competition and cooperation. The idea is that each entity in the ecosystem affects and is affected by the others, creating a constantly evolving relationship in which each entity must be flexible and adaptable in order to survive as in a biological ecosystem" (Hayes, 2021).
The opportunities to ‘do together’ are endless.
Happy Collaborating!
References:
Hayes, Adam (2021) 'What Is a Business Ecosystem and How Does It Work?', Investopedia. Available at:
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/business-ecosystem.asp (Accessed 7 April 2023)
Herman, Milton (2023) '8 Types of Collaboration to Use in your Digital Workplace' Lumapps. Available at:https://www.lumapps.com/employee-experience/types-of-collaboration/ (Accessed 7 April 2023)
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