… the natural space of collaboration
Though the individual person is the basic element of collaboration, and organisations are actually systems built around a purpose that cannot be achieved by one individual alone, what immediately comes to mind when talking about collaboration is
The Team
Since human beings are social animals they long to be part of some kind of community. We grow up in families, we become members of peer groups. Every employee finds him- or herself in an organisational structure called team (though at times they may be not very collaborative), every start-up starts with a team (even if they have only one founder who had the initial idea).
So to talk about collaboration without talking about teams is impossible.
When you think of a team as a group of people working together in one space at the same time, surely that is still the prevalent model. However, what we see more and more are teams that are dispersed across continents, time zones, and cultures, linked together “only” by the task at hand and more or less sophisticated technology. In fact, you might be part of a global team, and the person sitting at the next desk is not at all an immediate coworker for you.
What is your team?
What challenges do you face regarding collaboration
— within your team and outside of it?