Collaborative Creativity and Leading High-Performing Teams.

• What is Collaborative Creativity: the process of working with others to accomplish a shared goal in an innovative way. Working on projects independently, conversely, can limit the amount of feedback you receive during the creative process, leaving out other perspectives.
• Areas it applies to in business:
  • Leading a sales team, development team, or other high-performing teams.
  • Leading virtual teams. How do you collaborate if you are not together physically?
  • Collaborating on product development or business planning.
  • Business partnerships.
  • Business incubators and accelerators.
  • Skunk Works Projects (read more about the origins and principles of Skunk Works Projects: Inc. Magazine Article)
    • “There is a tendency today, which I hate to see, toward design by committee–reviews and recommendations, conferences and consultations, by those not directly doing the job. Nothing very stupid will result, but nothing brilliant either.” – Kelly Johnson
• The Beatles: Get Back – a 2021 documentary series directed and produced by Peter Jackson available on Disney +. It covers the making of the Beatles’ 1970 album Let It Be and draws largely from unused footage and audio material originally captured for the identically titled 1970 documentary of the album. The docuseries has a total runtime of nearly eight hours, consisting of three episodes between two and three hours.
  • What can we learn from this documentary about collaborating on creative projects and leading high-performing teams including:
    • The creative process. How does it happen? In particular, how does it happen when two or more people are working on something together?
    • The dynamics of a high-performing team. What environment is needed to foster creativity?
    • Great high-performing teams rarely stay together a long time.
• How does it work between business partners?
  • The challenges of two “visionaries” working together.
  • Tips for collaborating effectively?
• Becomes more challenging, and relevant, with leading virtual teams of highly talented and high-performing professionals (some or all team members are outsourced contractors).
• What are some of the keys to leading High-Performing Teams (in sales for example)?
  • Clear vision and goals, and alignment on that vision and how to get there.
  • Clear understanding of the “rules” – how do they succeed?
  • Providing an opportunity to grow and create. To leverage their talents to the fullest.
  • An entrepreneurial environment. Allow them to work independently on projects that they can own and that will reflect their distinctive creative stamp, yet also collaborate with people they trust and respect.
  • Trust and respect.
  • Ability to make an impact.
  • Provide regular honest and constructive feedback.
  • Feeling valued and belonging.
  • Understand what motivates them individually.
  • “Artists want to control how their ideas are generated, shaped, and executed.”
    Source: Article “Collaborating with Creative Peers” from Harvard Business Review
• Challenges of effective Collaborative Creativity:
  • Creative and high-performing people are generally much better at giving ideas than taking them.