Collaborative Individualism

A formula to generate better value.

In my quest to better understand how to improve teams capacity to generate more and better value, I found this definition that I believe is a good balance between the individual needs and group necessity to build things together.

Collaborative individualism is about the individual commitment in a community and its purpose in order to simultaneously maximize both individual independent action and interdependent cooperation.

It’s individualism because it values on the fullest development of each individual capabilities, and sees such development as a moral responsibility, to “add to the flow”. But the individual does not see the self as the end, in terms of pure self-expression or maximization of wealth, or any other purely individual need. Individuals have a responsibility to contribute to the community that shaped them and they know that cannot flourish without the support and interaction of many people around them. What they do must mesh with what others do.

It isn’t collectivism because collaboration doesn’t succeed if people merely do a job, fill a slot, do what they’re told, conform. It requires, from each, going beyond the job or the slot, applying lessons and skills from a unique life.

Collaboration creates a synergy between private and public, individual and collective, in which the development of personal capacities helps the community to grow, while the development of the community helps the individual to grow.

Collaborative individualism emphasis the need for individuals to work together with others towards a common vision and mission. But it also emphasis their liberation, their freedom from groups, organisations and social institutions. This and the emergence of strategic networks go hand in hand, they are part of the same mindset:

• Reaction against hierarchies;
• Focus on individual competence;
• Search for collaboration.

The collaborative individuals

On my research I found the work “Collaborative Individualism and the End of the Corporate Citizen” from Limerick & Cunnington (1993) from which I got the following resume of key characteristics, competencies and skills of collaborative individuals.

Autonomous

• Use of whatever space is available for making their own judgments and decisions;
• Have the right to make decisions on behalf of everyone;
• Accept the responsibility for acting collaboratively with others in the interests of the organisation as a whole.

This is not only up to the individual as the organisation must allow and nurture this autonomy, building a safe environment with defined boundaries for people to feel secure on making decisions.

Proactive

• Self-driven, doer and ambitious;
• Has a healthy pragmatism with a common business sense and a good knowledge of what the business is about;
• Steady attention to and pursuit of an ideal, and the readiness to act on things in that pursuit.

For this, the individual must feel safe to do what he thinks it must be done. This is also something that the organisations and its managers must work on.

Empathic

• Has the ability to recognise and relate to what’s going on in another person’s mind;
• Promotes understanding and trust.

This is an important skill for managers of modern organisations as they must manage the symbolic, as opposed to an omnipotent presence, since they have less control over the organisation results.

Intuitive and creative

• Focus on non-linear, intuitive, creative, imaginative, innovative, able to think laterally and able to ask “what if?” questions.

This individual characteristic leads to innovation and, from the organisation, it needs a transformational (proactive) over transactional (responsive) leadership.

Politically skilled

• Have the ability to influence others using a compelling interpersonal style;
• Transparent, honest, and sincere with others, must do what they say they will do;
• Able practicing Nemawashi — in Japanese, means an informal process of quietly laying the foundation for some proposed change or project, by talking to the people concerned, gathering support and feedback.

This is very important to guarantee effective political processes between the organisation and its environment that enables discontinuity.

Networker

• Has the capacity to see the broader picture;
• Manage the subcultures with empathetic sensitivity to its values.

Networking is not a random process — it is a purposeful process driven by an overarching vision of the whole and an understanding of its various parts.

Mature

The individual must be mature to be able to do the task of networking throughout very different autonomous systems.

He is no longer able to cling to a specific role within a coherent structure for a sense of identity. Must focus on organisational development strategies that allow to map and understand themselves, their strengths and weaknesses and to continue to learn by self-evaluation.

How to foster individual collaboration

The individual characteristics may not be enough for individual collaboration to work. The organisation and its managers also have a work to do. From a management point of view, here are four steps to foster true collaboration through each contributor (from “The Secret to Team Collaboration: Individuality”, Baldoni, 2012):

1. Affirm the purpose

The central organising principle of a project is the why. It is up to managers to let people know how what the team is doing contributes to organisational success. In other words, managers must provide the big picture.

2. Encourage individualism

A secret to effective collaboration is individual contributions. When people think alike they shut out alternate viewpoints. True collaboration weighs the individual ideas and balances them with what the project needs. In short, teammates build upon the contributions of others to achieve their team goals.

3. Focus on team

Few things will get done without individuals pulling together. Individuals must coordinate with each other as well as cooperate. Sometimes this means that people will pitch in to help a teammate finish a task when their own work is finished.

4. Reflect, together

Reflection is one other valuable ingredient to effective collaboration. The perception may be that reflection is a solo endeavour, but it’s valuable to employ in group settings for team processes improvement.

When reflecting, focus on the how and the why of process (how we do things) rather than purpose (where the team is headed).

Collaborative individualism is the real teamwork, it is essential to getting things done drawn upon the talents of individuals who have a stake in the outcome.

Michael Jordan said:

“There is no “I” in team but there is in win.”

His singular play powered the Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles. But I also remember Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman and Horace Grant from this team. While Michael Jordan was an exceptional player that made the difference, I don’t think he could have done it all alone.