Effective entrepreneurship is all about fueling creativity through collaboration, and yet lots of aspiring business owners are stifled by the hold-ups that occur when working together with others.
Thankfully there are lots of ways to overcome common collaborative conundrums, so let’s take a look at just a few of the most important considerations and solutions.
Timing is everything
In the current climate, entrepreneurs will likely find themselves communicating and collaborating with teams that are geographically dispersed, even if they share the same goals and are working under the same brand banner.
This is actually an advantage when it comes to building momentum behind a project, since by managing responsibilities well and taking time differences into account, you can ensure that team members in different time zones are able to pass the baton onto their colleagues elsewhere, rather than there being hours of inactivity.
Of course you also need to ensure that there is enough overlap in schedules so that individuals can share ideas and provide updates, but being attuned to the power of good time management can certainly streamline your entrepreneurial efforts.
Data sharing should be done securely
Distributing digital assets to permanent team members and freelancers is obviously important to ensure efficient collaboration, but you also need to do so with a view to keeping your mission-critical data well protected.
This is where choosing the right DAM software solutions is vital; you have to pick platforms which allow you to limit access to data according to need, rather than letting anyone who comes in contact with your business have unfettered access to every last byte. And of course in doing so, you can share data securely without compromising in terms of convenience or efficiency.
Rivalries are unhelpful
While a bit of healthy competition is no bad thing in the business world, it can be a stumbling block in a start-up, especially if team members feel like they need to focus on their own individual performance and projects, rather than contributing to the collective goals of the organization.
This is also useful when it comes to overcoming complications that arise as your firm grows and develops; people need to feel comfortable raising concerns and highlighting deficiencies, rather than perceiving these as problems that others need to overcome because they are too caught up in pushing forwards with their own workload independently.
Collaborative feedback is better than complete reworking
If a piece of work from an employee or a freelancer is presented to you and it is lacking something, avoid the temptation to make the amendments yourself without explaining what you would like changed.
Collaboration is all about being willing to give and receive feedback, working towards the ideal goal of a creative project in conjunction with others in a way that does not exclude them from your decision-making.
Even if you do feel the compulsion to micro-manage as many aspects of your business as possible, talking this through with those who work alongside you will lead to a far smoother experience in the future.
Communicating effectively is about more than sending emails
Email is an excellent way of getting in touch with others, but it is not the be all and end all when it comes to efficient collaboration.
If a particular topic or project pain point would be better served by a video meeting or a voice call, then do not be afraid to schedule one in.
Ultimately you should be able to find the right balance when collaborating, but it is only through being flexible that you can realistically make improvements to the processes you have in place.
