LinkedIn Article was written by Steve Davis.

tl;dr

During a recent reflection, I noticed that our collaborative relationships have been built correctly. With the right foundation, all collaborative relationships can be successful.

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If you have been following along with any of the Bio::Neos company posts, or gotten a chance to chat with me recently, you probably already know that we have had a pretty exciting summer. Bringing three summer interns into the office in person brought some energy and conversation that made it start to feel like 2019 again. We found several opportunities to have some fun as a team, and we made some really cool advances on several client projects. And just as we have been doing for the last few years, we continued to put effort into internal improvements both individually and as a team. The fresh perspective from the interns gave us a valuable source of feedback and an opportunity to reflect on many things including our team culture, processes, and more. As we took a step back to reflect on what makes Bio::Neos a great place to work, we also took the time to explore the approach we take with our clients and we learned a few things from this exercise. In particular, reflecting on our projects helped me to identify critical aspects that I believe lead to the most effective collaborative relationships when embarking on a new and complex technology project.

Mutual respect

• Mutual respect is the cornerstone of any successful relationship. When all stakeholders in a collaborative relationship recognize and appreciate the unique expertise and perspective that the others are bringing to the table, great things happen. Without this mutual respect, friction, miscommunication, and avoidable missteps occur. Holding each other in high regard and appreciating the time, energy, and commitment given by everyone will lead to positive results and create an environment that brings everyone’s best thinking forward.

Long term involvement

• In my experience, the best relationships are able to grow into long term commitments. I recognize that in order to form an effective working relationship, there needs to be some initial smaller efforts with checkpoints and milestones that provide both parties with time to reflect on the value generated by the relationship. However, short projects without planning and preparation for longer engagement often seem to generate more questions and requirements than can be effectively addressed during the originally planned time frame. To setup a technology project for success from the start, plan for a long term engagement with a collaborative partner but set clear expectations about what needs to happen during the initial efforts in order to confirm the longer time frame. (And mutually discuss the exit plan with your collaborator before you kick off the work).

Flexibility

• If the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that it is important to always stay flexible. Seems like now more than ever, anything can change at any moment! When working on complex technology projects, this is especially true. The idea that inspired the project may transform into something new, requirements change, new technologies emerge and older ones sunset, and any great idea generates many more. Flexibility is important, but also a balancing act. It is important to support adjusting to important changes while staying focused and resisting the urge to chase down every new idea. The best technology projects build around collaborative relationships will allow for changes when truly necessary, but will stay focused until some of the original goals are accomplished.

Transparency

• Open communication is essential! I have found it most useful to have weekly check-ins with clients. This allows time for questions and updates and involves them in every step of the process. Transparency with failures and frustrations is important as well. It’s not always easy to share, but it’s always better to be upfront about anything in the process that is not working and finding a way to fix things together. And critically, this communication must be open both ways so all parties can share feedback and opinions without reservation. Keeping this line of honest communication open will allow the relationship to thrive even through obstacles in the road. 

You business has unique needs, strengths, and goals, so what makes an effective collaboration for your group might not be the same as what has worked best for us. Also, not every technology project needs a hands-on collaboration. Some projects have such clearly defined requirements there is much less flexibility that is needed.

I wrote this article for anyone that is thinking about starting a new relationship, or evaluating an existing one (especially with a technology partner) in the near future. I hope it got you thinking about the important considerations that you should keep in mind. A collaborative relationship with the right technology partner will leverage the technological perspective of your partner against your expertise, amplifying your ability to do life-changing work. The right collaborator will not blindly do what you request, they will challenge you and put forth their own opinions so that you can critically evaluate all aspects of your work and pick the most valuable path forward. In a successful collaboration, both sides will bring their best thinking to the table, every time that you work together. True collaboration can be hard at times, but in my opinion, it is worth the extra effort. 

If you want to connect to talk with me about your thoughts on what makes collaboration the most effective or anything else: contact me. I’m always up for a conversation.