Successful Collaboration

McGehee argues that successful collaboration takes commitment and discipline.

Discipline to:	Analyze openly Listen effectively Ask questions and clarify Avoid prejudging individuals or ideas
Commitment to:	Work to understand and accept diverse points of view Move ideas to actions and follow through with commitments Communicate as a team Support others in your group Make team decisions with objectives in mind, even if decisions are hard

Consider the following questions:

• What are some of the organizational shifts you have experienced in your workplace in the last five years?
• How have these organizational shifts affected the way you approach your work?
• Why do you think working in teams is an effective business strategy?
• Can you have teamwork without collaboration or collaboration without teamwork? Share some examples from your experience to back up your position.

Login to the Interactive Community and under the Folder Collaboration - Collaboration and Teamwork post your thoughts on the relationship between teamwork and collaboration.

Click here to access the article Workforce Collaboration: A By-Product of the Technology- Driven Marketplace, by Tracy Gibbons and Randi Brenowitz. This article provides an overview of how the workplace is changing with the use of technology combined with collaboration.