Collaboration Strengthens With Disagreement

Collaboration does not mean lack of disagreement. To the contrary it means there is freedom & encouragement to have divergent perspectives that are respectfully discussed & debated. Not everyone needs to agree on everything, but once the discussion is over, everyone puts their full weight behind the said task/ goal/ process/ decision.

Collaboration is the hallmark of high performing teams. Collaboration doesn't happen by itself. It needs to be curated in families and teams alike. For creating a collaborative culture, whether at home or at work, there is a need to encourage difficult conversations ideally using a consistent framework or vocabulary that's understood by everyone.

Encouraging difficult conversations is about enabling people to bubble up things that maybe be bothering them, even if it maybe controversial or against the accepted norm, and encouraging a debate on the merits of the topic rather than influenced by opinions or emotions or hierarchy. Once this becomes a practice, people are more open to accepting and fully supporting divergent views as 1) they feel heard, and 2) they understand that things are decided on the merit of the matter (and therefore don't take contrary decisions personally).