Open to Collaboration

You’re passionate about your work and like to think that you’re open to all perspectives, as well as your employees’ needs. Getting along and working together can be an asset to your company. Teams that encourage each other earn higher profit and better customer-satisfaction ratings, according to a study in the American Behavioral Scientist journal.

“You have to be open and collaborative and you can only do that when you are respectful and show other people that you are genuinely interested in understanding their perspective,” says Sheryl Connelly, manager of global trends at Ford Motor Company.

Here’s how to be respectful, honest and collaborative:

Consider other’s feelings, encourage a team member’s new ideas and don’t let yourself get into arguments, says Examiner.com.

An open door policy sometimes is not enough. Provide an open forum, let each employee speak their mind with no fear of retribution and listen to what they have to say, suggests Selfgrowth.com.

Working on a collaborative project? The Alchemy of Theatre: Essays on Theatre and the Art of Collaboration advises to extend your personal ego into the ego of the project as a whole, allow everyone to have their moment and seek out ways to combine your talent with someone else’s.

Bonus PINK Link: Clearing your head of outdated notions of power is only half the battle. Here’s how to become a better leader.

PINK Profile: Connelly shares her success secrets – and how she motivates her team with a gorilla video.

By Muriel Vega

“It is the mark of a superior mind that can disagree without being dsagreeable.”
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