Team Collaboration: What Hijacks It

When bringing together individuals with diverse strengths, perspectives, and work styles, establishing cohesion and seamless team collaboration doesn’t happen automatically. Without care and intention, dysfunction can sneak in, or conversations can be derailed in ways that hold groups back from tapping into their highest collective potential.

Common hijackers of collaboration include focusing too heavily on individual status or credit rather than shared outcomes. For example, withholding constructive feedback for the sake of politeness or not showing genuine curiosity about differing worldviews, experiences, and approaches among team members can quickly mitigate teamwide collaboration efforts.

For high-performance teams to collaborate seamlessly and maximize their collective talent, they must proactively address potential issues that can hinder teamwork. This starts with building trust and psychological safety among team members.

Leaders must foster a culture where each person feels comfortable being themselves and can express ideas openly without fear of embarrassment, marginalization, or having their contributions rejected or devalued. When all team members feel safe to engage in frank yet constructive discussions, collaboration flows more organically even among very different personalities.

With radical self-awareness and communication as guiding principles, collaboration can flow organically — even among very different personalities — so long as collaboration focuses on openness, empathy, and a genuine commitment to understanding. When hijackers creep in, they can be spotted early and neutralized or redirected collaboratively, allowing teams to move forward stronger than ever before.

Of course, maintaining harmony takes continued effort, but for leaders who put in that work consistently, the level of innovation possible when a team truly gels is incredibly rewarding.

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