Doing a good job makes humans feel good. Helping others makes us feel good. We take great satisfaction in being able to solve problems for people. A 2011 study on altruism confirmed the theory that we feel good by helping others, not because we are trying to avoid negative circumstances, but because behaviours like fairness, cooperation, and reciprocity are intrinsically rewarding (2011, Jamil Zaki and Jason Mitchell). This ‘dopamine high’ is what we tap into when we encourage collaboration amongst teams – the belief that they will all feel a great sense of satisfaction and accomplishment at a job well done, when the desired results are achieved.
Great collaboration is key to the success of any organisation when delivering projects or change. Fostering and cultivating positive working relationships between business stakeholders and product delivery teams is vital because the pace of change is faster than ever. In many organisations, these two ‘factions’ often suffer from having a poor working relationship, to the detriment of a project and its objectives. It can be ‘us’ versus ‘them’ and may seem as though they have opposing goals. Resolving this conflict and breaking down those barriers to identify common and shared objectives will ensure both teams align to a common goal and work collaboratively to achieve it. The whole team will then share a great sense of accomplishment when an outcome is achieved, and they will use that experience to propel them forward to the next goal.
Creating and cultivating these team and people dynamics is gold to any organisation. It requires considerable expertise in developing rapport across multiple cross-functional stakeholders.
This ‘Collaborative Delivery’ is valued at Aspira and we are proud that many of our experienced talent can bring this skill to our clients, thereby helping them to deliver successful projects through growing effective relationships and creating collaborative environments and approaches to project teams.
The next time you are considering a project, think about the human side and build the people first. Get the mix right, give them the tools they need and the ongoing reinforcement, resources and learning to continually improve every aspect of themselves and the project. If it’s done well, perhaps they can all then share in the collective ‘high’ when it is successfully delivered.
We at Aspira are here to help, For more information on how Aspira can help you with all your project management needs, contact us on info@aspira.ie or call +353 21 235 2550.
Author: Maria King, Project Manager, Aspira.