Commentary on several articles that talk about the importance of dealing with human practices as well as the business processes, particularly in the era of collaboration….

“one of the most important factors that leads to genuine collaboration is the perception of agency and self-direction, where people come together voluntarily out of a conviction that collaborating with others is in their mutual self-interest.”

I think it is a symptom of our failing world view that we have created such a deep sense of separation that we even believe there can really be individual gain by not collaborating with othes.

Perhaps ‘gaining by not collaborating with others’ is in fact an oxymoron.

This was the memory evoked by the idea of a process to produce good collaboration. It does sound oxymoronic. Processes involve tried-and-true methods of arriving at the one correct answer. This is convergent thinking. Collaboration involves the creation of possibilities through divergent thinking.

Nonetheless, I believe that we have learned and can continue to learn more about the processes that foster and facilitate good collaboration. The post gives a number of examples, and I believe that we can discover additional important processes that help optimize collaboration.

But, to my mind, one of the most important factors that leads to genuine collaboration is the perception of agency and self-direction, where people come together voluntarily out of a conviction that collaborating with others is in their mutual self-interest. The best example of this is when two people are romantically attracted to each other and voluntarily engage in mutually satisfying activities with each other. Perhaps this is my Western bias, but it seems to me that there is a lot more enthusiasm and creativity when people get together this way, in comparison to arranged marriages wherein elders use their formulas to create what they think are good matches. To what degree will enterprises dare to allow their employees to spontaneously form their own collaborative workgroups, as opposed to putting people on teams according to formulas?

As soon as organisations let go of their unshakable belief in ‘methods of working that can be most easily measured and managed’ then their will not longer be a dichotomy.

The evidence is steadily mounting and the old guard is well entrenched and defending its corner.

Mike