Thriving together...the collaboration (r)evolution

I've always felt a little uncomfortable with competitiveness. And now more than ever I'm questioning its value. In my latest article, I reflect on the dawning of collaboration over competition, and the value of togetherness in building resilience and maximising impact. I also confess to fighting the urge to go overboard on the use of the letter C (catalyst, collaboration, competition, care, community...I could go on!)

 Or doing an acrostic poem for COLLABORATION

C - community

O - opportunity

L - listening

L - liberation

A - authentic

B - breathtaking / ballsy?

O - openminded

R - regenerative

A - augmenting

T - transformative

I - integrity

O - optimistic

N - novel.

But in the end, I hope its a balanced, optimistic and thought provoking little dollop of an idea to brighten your day. And if you have any better acrostic poem ideas, I'd love to read them in the comments! Please sign-up to the Human Hub at https://lnkd.in/gR3Nnsru for more fun and thoughtful conversations! 

Catalyst = a person or event that causes great change

Or...perhaps a series of events and a dawning realisation that we need to change the way we think and act from the ground up. And, a ripple effect that starts with individuals and gains momentum through communal action to catalyse significant shifts.

Beyond Competition

I have a love-hate relationship with competition. 

• On the one hand, I know that for many people, competition is motivation, it is drive, it is success and entertainment.
• On the other hand, competition is self-doubt, it's changing your intent to win, it causes sadness and sorrow.

I think that competition may have had its day.

We can no longer hide beyond competition as being our rationale for decisions. Yes, we are an effect of evolution, but that doesn't mean we're still having to fight each other for dominance or fight other species for dominance.

On the planet, I think we've our place is well known - dominant and damaging. Good sense and science have proved than humans are all the same as each other, regardless of geography, skin colour, sexual orientation and all those other things that have been used in a competitive sense to create ‘other’. 

And increasingly it is becoming obvious that we’re not really dominant.  Rather we are dominating.  With unanticipated, unintended and ignored consequences on the very biodiversity and balance we require on to survive.

Unleashing Collaboration

Collaboration and cooperation on the other hand are on the ascendancy.  Collaboration involves harnessing the power of collective ideas and actions. Inherent within it are concepts of inclusivity, innovation, and long-term impact.

By working together, we are bound to have our eyes opened to different perspectives and solutions, and we bring to bear strengths to implement those solutions which alone we would not have access to.

And often we find that this fosters synergy as a bi-product, with our combined efforts create outcomes that are greater than the sum of our individual impacts.

How often have you found that to be true? Working with others who are all making shifts in their own spheres of influence at the same time as you are, and BOOM, a catalyst occurs and something bigger than expected happens.

Under the Surface…reflecting on resilience

Collaboration by its very nature also enhances resilience. Resilience is the ability to retain your sense of self (or your organisational purpose and vision) regardless of adversity, or the need to adapt and shift to changes and challenges.

By involving multiple perspectives and diverse expertise, collaborators can better anticipate and respond to unexpected obstacles or changes in the external environment.

Plus, you have people around you to recognise the strain on you, provide support and motivation. 

 The personal impact of collaboration is not feeling alone. 

 Loneliness is an increasing challenge for physical and emotional health.  Feeling connected and a sense of community belonging is an antidote, a light in the darkness.  

Breaking barriers and igniting innovation

By working together, individuals and organisations can tackle complex problems without burning out, retaining their resilience by benefiting from the synergy and strengths of others.

But this will take conscious and active breaking down of existing barriers – whether these barriers are linked to geography, industry, organisation or system. 

Take the concept of the traditional organisation – we talk often of ‘silos’ between functions (customer-facing, corporate) or between hierarchies (leaders, individual contributors), or between competitors (other organisations). 

Yet in times of stress and emergency, we also see the dismantling of those barriers for a common purpose.  Witness the rapid responses between government, non-profit and private sector when the Covid-19 pandemic hit. 

So we know it can be done. 

And we know, outside of emergencies, the limits on the abundance we have taken for granted for so long are increasing. 

So we also know it must be done.

What will it take for decision-makers to consider the opportunities for collaborating for service provision to like-customers, for sharing scarce resources and capabilities to achieve common outcomes?

Do we need cataclysm and competitiveness to act as catalyst?

Or can catalysts be co-created, through collaboration and increasing our resilience?

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