How to Promote Collaborative Mindset in Workplace

Collaboration. It’s a buzzword in business that’s been given even more weight by the recent crises. Working together drives success, and it’s up to employers and team leaders to ensure that a culture of collaboration is fostered.

The problem is that businesses often think they’ve created an environment that promotes teamwork. But in truth, they’ve only just scratched the surface. A successful workplace requires updating operations, optimizing processes, and shifting to a collaborative or one-team mindset.

What is a collaborative mindset?

Fostering a collaborative mindset in a company can cause a workforce that is happier, healthier, and far more productive than it would be without a teamwork mentality. Collaboration in business comprises a few elements — workplace culture, goal-setting, and transparent communication.

A collaborative mindset means working together towards a common goal. Individual employees often find themselves alienated from one another because management demands results without supportive leadership. Collaboration at work needs to come from the top.

How To Achieve A Collaborative Mindset For Your Business

Transitioning to a collaborative mindset requires making changes. Here’s how to achieve the desired results:

Acknowledge different communication styles

Clarity, accountability, and active listening are three vital ingredients in a collaborative mindset. There is more than one leadership style and several communication styles. Achieving a collaborative workplace culture depends heavily on the type of leadership and communication in place.

One leadership method is “command and control” leadership, which is as rigid as it sounds. Employers give commands and employees meekly obey. This approach doesn’t promote a collaborative mindset in any way, shape, or form. Instead, it creates a workplace in which employees feel powerless and subservient. Collaborative leadership, on the other hand, focuses on cooperation, communication, and inclusion.

The major difference between these two leadership methods is the type of communication used. In the business world, there are four accepted communication styles. These are analytical, functional, intuitive and personal. Collaborative leadership banks on a communicative mindset. Employers need to know the best style for their teams and how to use these styles.

Communication can bring people together and unite them to work towards a common goal. Each style — analytical, functional, intuitive and personal — has aspects that encourage collaboration. Especially when paired with an assertive attitude.

Analytical communicators value clarity, accuracy, and direct communication. An intuitive style of communication, on the other hand, often looks at the bigger picture. When it comes to cultivating a collaborative attitude in the office, both styles have their place at the table. Collaboration requires open communication, which is only achieved when interpersonal interactions are direct, accurate, and allow everyone to see and understand the overall goal.

Functional communicators focus on the steps needed to complete a task. This style of interaction can be very helpful because it makes clear what needs to get done and how to do it. Collaboration in business relies on transparency and a sense of security that functional communication can provide.

A personal communication style is one of the key ingredients in a collaborative mindset. While leaders tend towards functional, analytical, and intuitive communication, personal communicators value relationships and serve as a connection between individuals. This more emotional approach helps people bridge the gaps and encourages teamwork.

Set collaborative goals

Effective communication only works when a company has a clear vision and measurable goals. When you are trying to move from an individual mindset to a collaborative one, you need to frame processes and goals in a way that invites proactive cooperation.

There is no point in having a goal if employees feel excluded. You cannot expect a team to work together for no ultimate purpose. Setting collaborative goals means setting aside personal goals, yet taking into account the opinions of the team members. This may have a greater and more positive impact on the business.

Employees should be able to access progress reports to gauge whether their contributions are having the desired effect. Having regular check-in groups, even if they’re limited in participants and time, encourages people to build relationships with one another and feel part of the business. The opposite mindset—individual, competitive—makes working together much more difficult, leading to loss of productivity.

Using digital solutions to safeguard records and communicate reduces the physical clutter associated with traditional paperwork. Transitioning to digital does not only speed up report retrievals but also makes the workplace more sustainable in the long term.

Improve engagement rates

Setting goals in collaboration with your team encourages employee engagement. A collaborative attitude is vital for improving and maintaining engagement. The opposite of collaboration — competition — segregates workers and discourages communication. In that kind of atmosphere, employees become individualistic and focus only on their immediate tasks. This, in turn, weakens employees’ engagement rates, as they lose sight of the bigger picture and don’t have a sense of purpose.

Communicating with employees is the number one factor in good engagement. Encouraging teamwork, setting goals, and maintaining transparency allows employees to experience a better emotional connection with their company. This automatically improves engagement rates and encourages a collaborative behavior.

Celebrate wins and learn from mistakes

A competitive workplace culture, command-and-control leadership, and a hierarchical atmosphere create a sense of fear among employees. In these scenarios, employees ultimately fear failure. The fear of committing mistakes may hinder the growth of the employees and the business.

A collaborative mindset is about inclusion, not authoritative and uncompromising leadership. Humans make mistakes, but if they feel able to ask for help, team up with colleagues and focus on constructive criticism rather than condemnation, so-called failures are opportunities for growth.

Collaborative leadership also means that employees are considered as important as employers. Some managers celebrate wins, but fail to give credit when credit is due. There would be no success without the workers who carried out the task. Showing staff that they’re valued fosters a collaborative mindset and helps to bring colleagues together.

Characteristics of Collaboration

Collaboration is important in modern work environments. It draws upon the unique skills, knowledge, and experiences of parties coming together to achieve shared objectives. It promotes productivity and creativity, but also imparts a profound sense of accomplishment for those involved.

As a result, collaboration transforms workplaces into thriving environments where collective success is attainable through cohesive teamwork. The key characteristics of collaboration in the workplace are:

Win-Win

Collaborations in business thrive on shared wins and mutual benefits. The benefits should be clear to both parties — management and employees — and could vary depending on their goals, but not limited to access to new markets, financial rewards, and work satisfaction.

Trust

Individuals are more inclined to take chances and participate in teams when they feel trusted. With trust at the core of every collaboration, it can boost productivity and creativity.

Alignment of goals and objectives

When everyone has collaborative behavior, they are more likely to be motivated, engaged, and productive. Teams must communicate regularly and effectively to achieve alignment. This includes reporting progress updates, discussing any challenges or roadblocks, and making adjustments.

Meetings can be a great way to get everyone on the same page, but only if planned and conducted effectively. This means setting clear objectives, defining an agenda, and assigning roles, such as taking meeting minutes, to capture important points and decisions.

Open communication

Another collaborative behavior is being an open communicator. Team members who communicate openly and honestly with other members, both verbally and in writing, can help establish seamless communication within a digital workspace. It can be done by setting clear channels and actively participating across platforms, such as email, calls, videoconferences, and project management tools.

Accountability

A successful collaboration relies on well-defined roles and responsibilities among team members. Delays caused by a lack of accountability can have lasting effects on the team. Teams are now integrating project management tools into their workflows, which provide visibility into each other’s work and promote project ownership.

Constructive criticism

When team members feel comfortable providing and receiving constructive criticism, it can help to enhance critical thinking skills and improve performance. When giving constructive criticism, it is most helpful to be specific and respectful.
When these characteristics are present in a team, members are motivated to become more engaged, productive, and creative.

Frequently Asked Questions about Collaborative Mindset

Why is a collaborative mindset important?

Having a collaborative mindset contributes to the team members’ growth.
Collaboration exposes individuals to people with diverse skills and perspectives from whom they can learn. When collaborating, people share their knowledge and expertise, helping everyone to grow. Additionally, collaboration nurtures relationships within teams, creating a stronger sense of belongingness.

How does management promote collaboration in the workplace?

The management should encourage teamwork and collaboration in the workplace. These could be exhibited through organizing team-building activities, such as vacations, trips, game evenings, or wellness workshops. These activities help team members establish trust and rapport, which fosters a sense of a sense of unity and increases overall teamwork.

How does a collaborative mindset contribute to organizational success?

Individuals are said to be collaborating when they have a shared vision and work to achieve a common goal. Fruitful collaboration results in more seamless workflows, faster job turnover, and improved decision-making. Additionally, collaboration promotes a positive working environment where team members are accepting of criticism, practice open communication, trust each other, and are comfortable taking ownership of projects.

What qualities does a collaborative person have?

Great collaboration starts with the people. Developing these desired collaboration qualities ensures that one remains a desirable asset for any team. A person with a collaborative attitude has the following qualities:

• Supportive: Great collaborators put the team’s goals ahead of their own. They are supportive, guiding, and appreciative of the efforts and feedback of the whole team. They empower everyone to take ownership of their work and decisions, creating a culture of growth and learning.
• Generous: People with a one-team mindset are generous with their knowledge, skills, and time. They go above and beyond to help others and are committed to helping their team succeed.
• Curious: They identify knowledge gaps and ask questions to fill them. They are proactive learners who are unafraid to admit what they don’t know.
• Appreciative: They value every contribution made to the team and give credit where credit is due. This empowers and inspires everyone to be good at what they do.
• Resilient: Smart collaborators are resilient. They can bounce back from setbacks and are motivated to move forward. They are steadfast to challenges, and accept that change is inevitable.
• Give and expect trust: Great collaborators create a safe space for collaboration. They make everyone feel comfortable sharing their ideas, and they are always respectful of others’ contributions.

Make Collaborations More Productive with Board Portals

A collaborative mindset is truly one of the most successful, healthiest, and productive ways of growing a business from the inside out. While the transition from an individual mindset may take time and effort, it will pay off in the long run.

Online collaboration in the digital workspace is just as important as collaborating physically in the workplace. As the demand for digitization increases, companies need a one-stop board management solution that allows them to manage their virtual teams where they can integrate core team activities, such as conducting meetings, sharing documents, submitting proposals, making announcements, and even voting on important business initiatives.

Achieving a collaborative mindset not only requires leaders to shift their outlook but also to seek solutions that will promote communication and collaboration amongst the team. Convene is a board portal that fosters collaboration, whether in physical, virtual, or hybrid workplaces. Equipped with powerful collaborative features, Convene makes meetings and workflows seamless and productive.

Book a demo with Convene and learn more about our board portal solution.