Collaboration is one of the greatest assets of a productive, positive workplace. In fact, according to statistics, more than half of all workers in the U.S. report that their job relies on collaboration. Despite this, many professionals feel that they do not have the tools they need to effectively work with their colleagues. How can you bridge this gap and encourage your employees to work alongside each other? Collaboration is a balancing act, and it’s not always easy. You must first identify the obstacles that stand in the way, including the following six potential barriers.
Your Culture Isn’t Collaborative
1. You hold back on affirmations. Collaboration is a vulnerable process. It requires transparency and open-mindedness, and these traits can only be cultivated in an environment that’s affirmative. To this end, you must share positive reinforcement with your staff members and encourage them to share their ideas at every available opportunity. Even if their ideas don’t come to fruition, you should always respond positively to effort.
2. There is no avenue to share ideas. You know that different members of your team have different personalities and different communication styles. Some people are eager to speak up, and others may be hesitant. For those that fall into the latter category, you must ensure that there is an avenue in place to share ideas without judgment — like a morning meeting shout out, for example.
3. Other team members discourage ideas. Sometimes, even if you implement a judgment-free opportunity for idea-sharing, other team members will say and do things that feel discouraging. It’s important to nip this behavior in the bud and remind your entire staff to welcome their colleagues’ ideas and encourage feedback.
You Lack the Tools to Collaborate
4. Remote work is getting in the way. Although remote work has many benefits, it can thwart collaboration. You need a platform that makes communication simple. Look for a platform that facilitates this and enables collaboration across teams. When your teams do collaborate, you should reward their efforts and recognize the progress they make.
5. You micromanage employees. Sometimes, you might overuse the technology you have at your disposal and unintentionally micromanage your employees. When this happens, you thwart their ability to reach their potential and negatively impact productivity and engagement, too. Let your staff manage themselves to the greatest degree possible.
6. You don’t manage documents effectively. You should also pay attention to your document flow, as this can interrupt collaboration, too. When you’re editing a document, it may be easier to do so in Word. After the edits are complete, you can use an online Word-to-PDF converter to convert the document to a file type that’s better suited to collaboration.
Boost Productivity With the Power of Collaboration
Collaboration is a powerful tool to accomplish tasks, build professional relationships, and strengthen teams. It can be difficult to achieve, though, if your workplace lacks the culture or resources to effectively sustain collaboration. You can mitigate these obstacles and set your company up for success by following the aforementioned tips. Most importantly, you should be sure not to micromanage your employees, and you should carefully manage your document flow. With the right environment, you can create a workplace that fosters cross-team collaboration, idea sharing, and open-minded communication.
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