2 Lessons On How to Succeed In Collaborating

I'm not fond of baggage carousels at airports.

I hate the long wait.

Bags falling off bends.

And the worst?

I spot a bag that looks like mine.

I toss it over to read the label and discover it's not.

Ugh.

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In one specific trip, I planned to solve this by taking a uniquely colored bag with me. I asked the helper at home to "bring out bags with different colors" from our storage. One by one, she presented options but they were the wrong size or color.

After I rejected a dozen, she asked: "What specific color are you looking for?".

"Just something that stands out.", I replied.

"Huh, why?" she asked with a puzzled look.

I explained "the problem" & suddenly a light bulb lit over her head.

"Why don't you take a regular bag and I can tie up big, glitter ribbons across the handles. You'll be able to spot it from a mile."

She tied one up for me and it was perfect. I was impressed.

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Lessons:

1. Collaboration is often conflated with delegation and task distribution.

It's really about sharing the goal with the entire team & giving them a safe space to voice ideas. PMs must learn to leverage collective brainpower.

2. If the solution is getting complex, then you're probably over-complicating it. Step back & change your angle.