I’ve written so extensively on the need and benefits of collaboration over the past few years, that I felt unsure about the title of this very simple blog. But the intent is a simple reminder of the ‘why.

The ability to work collaboratively in terms of workplace skills sits right alongside critical thinking and problem-solving.  

But here is my shortlist of reasons to collaborate

Speed of innovation and diversity of ideation

The stage is set for collaboration when purpose and vision are shared. This doesn’t necessarily mean that there is agreement on the roadmap and milestones. Vigorous debate, disagreement, defensible positions and aggregation of ideas should emerge. But when there is a unifying purpose, co-creation through collaboration will happen.

Stakeholder alignment

The diversity of a collaboration should represent a healthy cross-section of the stakeholder ecosystem ensuring alignment. Borrowing from traditional stakeholder mapping that may include power/influence axes.

Flexibility of the collaborating team

As collaboration improves, so too does the collaborating team’s ability to handle the sudden change. This may mean frequent pivots to ecosystem changes.

Accelerated business/impact velocity

Again, with a unified vision, the collaboration builds strengthened thinking to deal with ongoing challenges. While the collaboration alone will not accelerate the required impact, with the appropriate commitment to action, it provides a critical cornerstone.  

From next week, look out for a weekly blog on building powerful and meaningful online communities.

Janice Scheckter, CEO of Indigo New Media calls herself a collaboration activist and believes that the problems of South Africa and many other countries could build a collective of heuristics that drove solutions.