Does your team speak the language of collaboration?
These are words you hear on healthy teams that are successfully executing their plans:
- I was wrong.
- Let’s think out loud on this…
- I think the idea you’ve offered is the one we should go with.
- I can’t see what you see. And we’re not leaving until we make a decision. Let’s debate this further.
- They deserve the credit.
- I’ve got your back.
- I need help on this.
Some say you’d be crazy to utter such words, because they reveal a weakness; they show a vulnerability of which others will take advantage.
But what they don’t share is that the “others” of which they speak are the competition. If we don’t speak the language of collaboration, we are all weak.
Resist the system that wants to dumb us down and diminish the value we all inherently possess. By using the words consistent with collaboration, we demonstrate to ourselves that we hold a higher human standard; and we tell others that we’re serious about performing at levels that exceed the talents of the few.
Say what can be said. Demonstrate what collaboration sounds like.
