Skillful collaboration helps teams achieve more.
Welcome to our Followership blog series. As an organization, we have always focused on what it takes to be a great leader, but even great leaders must sometimes follow. That’s why we’re excited to hear from Sharna Fabiano—a coach, educator and followership expert—about what it takes to succeed as a follower and how mastering followership skills can help you flourish in team settings.
Skillful collaboration allows a team to invent, develop, produce, and achieve more than any one person could on their own. We need one another to do our best, and collaborative skills prepare us to work with others effectively and productively. These skills build on the connection skills we explored earlier.
Collaborative relationships require dedication, because no one knows for sure exactly what’s coming next. Two steps forward doesn’t necessarily guarantee a third. The same approach you’ve used in the past may not work in a new setting. In order to work well with others, we need to be able to show up and do our part, but we also need to be able to adjust to our teammates’ personalities as well as unpredictable circumstances.
Collaboration Skill 1 - Delivery
The skill of delivering quality work on time is often taken for granted. In fact, it’s a measurable proficiency in itself, and it corresponds with the leadership skill of efficiently coordinating the team’s work. Whether you’re completing a group project for school, playing on a sports team or being a member of a club, your efforts have a very real impact on others and on the larger goal.
Responsibility is a celebrated leadership trait, but the truth is every member of a team must be equally responsible for accomplishing the work day-by-day and piece-by-piece. It takes focus and stamina to get it done. Here are some strategies that can help you improve your ability to deliver.
Eliminate Distractions
I know this may seem like a losing battle, but simple changes like closing a door, wearing ear buds (or taking them out) or putting your phone in airplane mode to turn off the internet for periods of time can give you an extra productivity boost!
Frequent Breaks
By the same token, it’s important to give yourself frequent breaks. Studies show that many short breaks are better than fewer long ones. Set a timer and give yourself a 5-minute break for every 25-30 minutes of productivity. This keeps your mind fresh. When you take a break, be sure to also stand up, stretch and move around rather than zone out on your phone.
Collaboration Skill 2 - Flexibility
We all have our preferred method of getting stuff accomplished, but developing flexibility allows you to stay productive even if you’re working outside of your comfort zone. Being flexible means you are willing to shift and do what is needed to help the team or project move forward even if it wouldn’t normally be your first choice.
Obviously, there are limits to how much extra work you can realistically take on or how far outside of your expertise you can go, but being committed to the goal or shared purpose of your team means being willing to rise to the occasion and stretch yourself when your team needs you.
Say Yes
If you feel reluctant to help out when unusual needs come up, trying saying yes without overthinking it. Trust yourself to figure out how you can help. (Alternatively, if you typically say yes to everything and tend to take on too much, try saying no instead.)
Location Change
If you’re able to, try doing your work in different locations (in your room, at the library, at the kitchen table, at a coffee shop). Notice how these different locations impact your energy and productivity. You might find—in being flexible about where you work—that you discover a great place to get more done.
Collaboration SKill 3 - Patience
Efficiency is often associated with speed, but pushing ahead with an idea no matter that cost may not be what’s best for the team or the teamwork process. Acting on your impatience can actually create setbacks.
By contrast, simply being willing to wait can create a more calm team environment and ease any tension in the group dynamic. For those of us who like to go-go-go, the strategies below can help to slow down while remaining strategic.
Gratitude List
If you’re having trouble being patient with a certain person or group of people, make a one-minute gratitude list about them specifically. This may be a challenge if you’re feeling frustrated, but if you can do it, it’s almost certain to shift your attitude and allow you to be more patient when you have to interact with that person or those people. If you can’t think of anything, make a general gratitude list for yourself, and then try again.
Accept the Unknown
There are times you will simply not know how long something will take, and in those moments, impatience often creeps in with thoughts like, “I should know how long this will take,” or “I should be able to do this faster.” Shut down the “shoulds” and you will conquer impatience. When you notice these thoughts, try thinking to yourself “I don’t know, but it’s okay that I don’t know. I’ll keep doing the best I can.”
Collaboration skill 4 - Boundaries
For many of us, this skill is one of the most challenging to practice because it tends to trigger feelings of fear—fear that you’ll upset a friend or teammate, fear that it’ll cause an argument or fear that you’ll lose something important to you (a spot on team/in a club or other opportunities to be included). Nevertheless, boundaries are important for your wellbeing as well as the healthiness of your relationships. Here is one simple way to help set boundaries.
Quick Write
How do you even know if you need a stronger boundary? Take 10 minutes to think about and write down your answers to these four questions:
When, where and with whom do I really want to say no, but I say yes anyway?
When, where and with whom do I start to feel drained or tired?
When, where and with whom do you tend to complain or feel resentful about “having to do” something?
When, where or with whom do I long for more time for myself?
The first step to establishing healthy boundaries is identifying where you need them. This simple exercise may reveal changes that could help you contribute to a team more sustainably.
Remember, being a follower doesn’t mean being weak or passive, and effective collaboration requires that we feel our best and can give our best to our team. Healthy boundaries make that possible.
By Sharna Fabiano
Sharna is an artist, educator and certified coach who trains teams and organizations on leadership and followership. She has also established two dance schools and directed her own performing company. She incorporates her insights from the world of social dance into her work on the leadership/followership dynamic. Learn more by visiting her website.