Up-Close with Chin Teik: Collaboration is State of Mind

Up-Close with Chin Teik: Re-Think
Collaboration is State of Mind

Questions to begin this episode:

1.   Do you believe that everyone is built to collaborate?

2.  Are you an independent achiever who likes the control that you have on your own results? 

3.  Are you an interdependent collaborator who wants to contribute to a group’s results? 

4. How do you collaborate 

To collaborate or not starts in your mind. 

 Many leaders and managers assume that everyone is built to collaborate. Many believe that setting aside a day to collaborate or asking people to collaborate or advocating teamwork will automatically produce collaborative results. With this episode, I hope that you re-think for multiplier impact.

6 Paradigms of Human Relationships - The Challenge to Collaboration

Based on who we are and where we come from, the 4Es (Education, Experience, Exposure, Environment)  shape our six paradigms (mindset) of human relationships: win-win, win-lose, lose-win, lose-lose, win, win/win or no deal

Collaboration requires:

1. Mindset, 2. Character. 3 Relationships, 4. Framework, 5. Agreements

Summary: 1. Awaken the mind, 2. Provide reasons & results for shift from independent achiever mindset to interdependent collaborator mindset, 3. Provide the culture, resources and support in equipping for collaboration.  Get the mindset right first before equipping for the capability to deliver extraordinary results. 

Transcript

Collaboration Is State of Mind 

Questions to begin this episode:

1.     Do you believe that everyone is built to collaborate?

2.     Are you an independent achiever who likes the control that you have on your own results? 

3.     Are you an interdependent collaborator who wants to contribute to a group’s results? 

4.     How do you collaborate? 

Hi my name is Chin Teik. Thank you for pausing from your busyness to listen to my language and I hope that you have a clearer picture on collaboration after I unpack “collaboration is state of mind.”

To collaborate or not starts in your mind. 

 Many leaders and managers assume that everyone is built to collaborate. Many believe that setting aside a day to collaborate or asking people to collaborate or advocating teamwork will automatically produce collaborative results. With this episode, I hope that you re-think for multiplier impact.

 6 Paradigms of Human Relationships

Based on who we are and where we come from, the 4Es (Education, Experience, Exposure, Environment)  shape our six paradigms (mindset) of human relationships: win-win, win-lose, lose-win, lose-lose, win, win/win or no deal

1. Win/Win - People can seek mutual benefit in all human interactions. Win-win is a frame of mind and heart that constantly seeks mutual benefit in all human interactions. Principle-based behavior.
2. Win/Lose - The competitive paradigm: if I win, you lose. The leadership style is authoritarian. In relationships, if both people aren't winning, both are losing. 
3. Lose/Win - The "Doormat" paradigm. The individual seeks strength from popularity based on acceptance. The leadership style is permissiveness. Living this paradigm can result in psychosomatic illness from repressed resentment.
4. Lose/Lose - People become obsessed with making the other person lose, even at their own expense. This is the philosophy of adversarial conflict, war, or of highly dependent persons. (If nobody wins, being a loser isn't so bad.)  This is sometimes equivalent to “compromise”. 
5. Win - Focusing solely on getting what one wants, regardless of the needs of others.
6. Win/Win or No Deal - If we can't find a mutually beneficial solution, we agree to disagree agreeably - no deal. This approach is most realistic at the beginning of a business relationship or enterprise. In a continuing relationship, it's no longer an option.

Win-win means agreements or solutions are mutually beneficial and satisfying. Win/Win is based on the paradigm that there is plenty for everybody, that one person’s success is not achieved at the expense or exclusion of the success of others. It’s not your way or my way; it’s a better way, a higher way.

The above 6 paradigms of relationships reinforce why collaboration is state of mind. 

 Thus if your mindset is not around interdependent collaborator/contributor, you will require a mindset shift as well as being equipped to become an interdependent collaborator. I have an action-learning workshop - high performing teams - that does that.

Collaboration requires:

1. Mindset, 2. Character. 3 Relationships, 4. Framework, 5. Agreements

• We need to awaken to the fact that success or failure, collaborate or compete starts with the mind. Start to assess your relationships based on the six paradigms. 
• Character is the foundation to collaboration/win-win and require following character traits of integrity, maturity (courage & consideration) and abundance 
  • To establish trust in relationship there must be integrity and what your beliefs are on “win”. That belief is driven by either an abundance or scarcity mentality (see mind again). That mentality – abundance or scarcity comes from a deep sense of personal worth and security. Think Maslow hierarchy of needs. We also require maturity which is balance between courage for self and consideration for others which is the foundation to the 6 paradigms of human relattionships.
• When there is a relationship of trust and the emotional bank account balances are high, there is much greater probability of a successful productive interaction. Relationship is one of the key element to effective stakeholder management. The stronger the relationship, the more positive cooperative energy is focused on understanding and resolving issues.
• Capability to collaborate for repeatable behaviors for predictable results need to go hand-in-hand with the mindset to collaborate. Provide the framework, process and behaviors to collaborate for multiplier impact.

·       Agreements in terms of performance or relationship to provide guidance and direction for win-win to shift from transaction to relationship. The agreement should include the following elements 

1.     Defined results - what is to be done, when and by whom

2.     Ground rules and guidelines - the behaviors, process and parameters within which the results should be accomplished

3.     Resources - human, financial, technical or organizational support available to accomplish the results.

4.     Accountability - the commit to execute to an agreed standard by each person  

5.     Consequences - what will happen as a result of the evaluation on each individual’s commit to execute

The agreement should be documented  to confirm the understanding between the parties 

Summary: 1. Awaken the mind, 2. Provide reasons & results for shift from independent achiever mindset to interdependent collaborator mindset, 3. Provide the culture, resources and support in equipping for collaboration.  Get the mindset right first before equipping for the capability to deliver extraordinary results.  Have I convinced you Collaboration is State of Mind? 

Thank you for pausing and listening to my language. I wish you well.