I’ve just started a new part time contract with an agency I’ve worked with before but with people whom I haven’t worked with prior to this. It’s a lovely team and we’re working together across disciplines already from the first stages of the project. Just the way I prefer to work.
When you work in a team where you know each other really well you also know each others’ strengths and weakness, communication patterns as well as working styles. You know what you can and can’t say. Where you need to tread more lightly and where you don’t. How best to adapt and work with the individual members of the team and what role everyone plays. When you’re new you need to figure all of that out.
As with any new relationship, work or personal, there is a phase where you get to know each other and find out who the other ones are. If you come in as the new member to a team like I’ve just done it’s about finding your place in the dynamics that already exist. Learn how people are used to working as well as trying to gage roles and mindsets. I’m quite fascinated by getting to know these dynamics and one of the great aspects around freelancing is getting visibility and experience with how other people work as well as getting exposed to different types of teams. Not only is this great for learning new ways but also a few things about yourself, how you are perceive by new people and how to make the transition into an already existing team as smooth as possible.
In my last role as permanent we worked very collaboratively across planning, IA, design and development in particular. It’s not something that was in place from the beginning but we built it up over time. With the teams I worked with the most we all knew each other inside out and everyone knew that I’m not one to beat around the bush and that there is no need to tread lightly around me. In fact, I prefer if you don’t.
My dear planning partner and myself could have quite heated discussions, debate back and forth but always end up with something much better than what we started with. She knew that she could be completely honest with me and I knew that I could be completely honest with her. And it was the same with my visual design partner. Though we didn’t have any heated discussions we both knew we could tell the other one if we didn’t think something worked and instead explore it further. None of us were precious about the things we’d done. Sure we might be more fond of certain things than others but in the end the honest relationship that we had ensured that we never settled with something that was just ok, especially not out of a fear of treading on the other ones toes. Instead we challenged each other, worked together for some bits and separately on others and ended up with a better outcome and product as a result.
I like this way of working and firmly believe that it’s this type of working relationships that brings out the best kind of results. I thrive on it and find it incredibly rewarding and as I tweeted the other day:
If I was a plant, collaborative working was water and solo working sunshine, I’d need more water than sunshine.
I love to bounce ideas and sit together with sketch pads around a table and work through thoughts, ideas, and possible executions. I prefer to take my wireframes to the designer, planner or developer and get their opinions. To test things out and to see how they are getting on and if what we had in mind is actually working. During days when I don’t get a lot of this type of interaction I do become a bit like a plant who hasn’t had enough water. But that is me. Working collaboratively is not everyone’s cup of tea, or something that everyone is used to. In teams where it’s not an established way this honest type of working relationship, or even just working together, can be quite challenging in the beginning. Not seldom is there a bit of resistance, hesitance or scepticism around the whole thing. Or an added politeness that means that people aren’t really saying what’s on their mind. It’s the same thing when you come in new to a team. People don’t yet know you, what you’re good at, what you can bring or how to really deal with you. But that can quickly be solved by laying the cards on the table.
Though some people prefer to work alone I do believe that working collaboratively is something that can be taught. It’s about getting to know each other and build good relationships, respecting the individual’s needs. It’s not about always working together but ensuring there is frequent input from different disciplines and early involvement. And I do strongly believe that working collaboratively is what brings the best products, particularly now when we’re moving into slightly new territories and it’s more about getting something prototyped or out there so it can be tested.
Tomorrow – Day 242 | Another trip back home
Image source: www.flickr.com/photos/wwarby/1585700956/in/photostream
