In a rapidly changing environment, the most important prerequisite for collaboration is the ability to listen. Who needs a deaf expert? In order for experts to work together, and in order for them to tailor their output to the context, they have to listen to each other and to themselves. In order for this to happen they must release mental capacity by making their own job easier:
- Get better at what they do
- Simplify their task
Getting better.
Experts spend most of their lives getting better at what they do. Getting better at what you do can be accomplished by practice, and by ensuring that your job fits with your skills. This can be accomplished by practice, but also by careful attention to complimentary skills when compiling a group. Make sure people have tasks that fit well with their individual expertise!
Making it simpler for you.
You can simplify your own task and simplify the job for your team-members. Simplifying your own job can be done by breaking it down into logical groupings; each chunk addressed in the most economical fashion and at the right time. Proper timing can save a lot of effort.
Repetition is needed in order to fully understand what elements can be eliminated without sacrificing the objective. Repetition and simplification. This requires deep understanding of the task or the steps required to accomplish the task. In essence, this requires strategic thinking about our own work and how we prioritize our efforts.
Most experts are too busy to listen. If she completes a job quickly, more work is automatically assigned -- preventing the expert from listening.
Making it simpler for others
You can help others release mental capacity by improving how you communicate. By sharpening your message and spending time on the logic, the storyline and the intent of your message, you can help others spend less time grasping and responding to you. This makes them better equipped to listen, and their response will be more appropriate for the context in which the team is operating.
You can also simplify your collective tasks by standardizing how you communicate, a technique often found in consulting firms and multinational corporations with many people involved. I recently did a the workshop "Prepare, Produce, Present" for 15 management consultants in Hungary teaching them a standardized method for making presentations. The response was overwhelming; they now spend less time making the presentations, and their clients spend less time absorbing their presentations. The result? More time to listen, and with that, the added sensitivity needed to ensure that what you provide is matched with the context. Who needs the perfect dress if it doesn't fit?
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