"Collaborative" as Key Job Skill
28 October 2009 Tweet In a recent New York Times Interview with Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO, a leading design firm, he talked about the importance of testing the collaboration skills of new hires.
Q. What’s your best interview question for job candidates?
A. One question I always find helpful is to ask who they’ve done things with. And if they can very quickly give you lots of examples of what other people did, then you’ve got some hint about how collaborative they are.
If, however, the answer is, “I did this and I did that and I was responsible for that,” and you get no sense of who they worked with and how they worked with them, then I worry. Because then I see somebody who probably isn’t very collaborative, probably isn’t very good at promoting the ideas of others and probably isn’t going to bring talent out very effectively.
They may be very inspirational, they may do brilliant work, but they’re probably not going to actually result in a more capable organization, which is what I’m looking for.
This is a useful heads up for people seeking a new job, especially those starting out in their careers. As more organizations understand the importance of collaboration, they will be shaping their teams to include more collaborative people.
Lokesh Datta
See Related Posts:
- Collaboration = Cooperative Behavior + Assertive Behavior
- Measuring Collaboration Behavior
- If You Can’t Pass the Ball, You Can’t play!
- Enthusiasts to Laggards
- Collaboration Is About People, Not Technology
- The ALL ONE (TAO) of Collaboration
- What about Me, Person 2.0?
- Assessing the State of Collaboration: Return to Essentials
- The What and Why of Enterprise 2.0
- What We Can Do to Improve Collaboration
Reader Comments (4)
Idea for developing diagnostic tools for self-assessment and hiring managers.
After this post by Steve, I started a Q&A on LinkedIn. The question I posed:
Is "collaborative" a key job skill? How would you assess it?
I got some thoughtful answer and I shall post them here with due credit to contributors.
“Collaboration - sounds like something called "team work" (also group work, working with others on a project, assignment, etc.) An interview question maybe "talk about your experiences working in a team, group, or collabroatively with others". What were the results of this experience for you? How successfull was the assignment etc?” by Mark Mervos
“I think that for Tim Brown the idea of collaboration is extremely important in the design industry. Teamwork is about working on a given project for a company with your peers which involves a common purpose, goals etc.
Often (and this is my opinion) collaboration in the design sense means not only 'teamwork' in the pure sense, but also working with other 'design' types outside of your organisation that may offer another skill such as a model maker. Here the essence of collaboration is far more important as not only are they two people from two different firms, their working culture may well be extremely different. Therefore, collaboration is absolutely key in the design lifecycle as both parties need to understand the essence of the work and why they are collaborating with each other. They both need to find the common purpose between themselves and their work.
Maybe, in the scheme of things and on reflection it's just two words with the same meaning and in some industries used in different contexts.” by Samir Sharma
“I like the question about who they've done things with since this gives a behavioral answer.
Another question might be if they would rather a member of a winning team or win a solo event. This gives us more of an attitudinal measure.
We might also want to determine how proactive they are in the collaboration. Also their communication and problem solving skills.” by Ray Seghers
“I am also a big fan of behaviorally based questions that solicit behavioral responses! In our work building competency models, we have used the folowing definition and behaviors for Collaborative:
Definition;
Builds and effectively utilizes relationships and informal influence networks to achieve goals. Shares knowledge and builds trust with colleagues, superiors, and employees.
Behavors;
Takes actions that respect the needs and contributions of others; builds constructive and effective relationships with colleagues at all levels.
Prepares for interactions by anticipating others’ needs and expectations; adapts for individual differences (e.g., social styles) in order to be responsive.
Establishes rapport with people by sharing own experiences, listening to others, and identifying commonalties that create personal connections.
Seeks to understand others through the use of active listening skills; notices and responds to nonverbal behavior.
Develops strong working relationships with critical business partners.
You could use the above to fashion questions about their past performance, as well as create sample situations - future based case studies - and ask the person how they would respond.
Also, take a look at the article on our website, " 3 Keys to Making Difficult Performance Conversations Easy." It was written by our Director of our Performance Management Practice Group, Ms. Jamie Resker. There are some tips in there you may be able to use.
http://www.wsa-intl.com/page/ 324_3_keys_to_making_tough_performance_conversations_easy.cfm
Hope this has been helpful.” by Paul Plotczyk
“You can't collaborate if you can't deal with conflict effectively. So I ask,
- Describe your most difficult work-related interpersonal situation.
- What made it so difficult?
- How did you resolve the situation?
- What did you learn?
Emotional intelligence is the key to collaboration and this is more than being nice, it is getting results while building relationships.
The good new emotional intelligence can be learned. I've added a free library of written and pod cast information at www.porterleadership.com” by Kent Porter
“Quite relevant a question especially in the times when our world has seemingly shrunk for our own advantage and prosperity by virtue of human brain making available to us advanced technologies. This further has enabled human interaction so gracefully that exchange/acceptance/understanding of ideas between people from different corners of the universe is so very possible irrespective of geographic, genetic or cultural differences.
I believe as humans we have been bestowed with the ability to express emotions intelligently and also understanding emotional needs of others which is why we value relationships and are committed to nurture those to further make our lives emotionally stable. I strongly opine that any family/institution or an organization irrespective of size and number is basically based on relationships and strong foundation will lead to profitable business and positive outcomes therefore.
While we talk about smooth relations and associations, the key element here that leads to success is no magical skill but “collaboration skills”, skill that enables us to work with diverse teams, different personalities making necessary compromises to accomplish a common goal. Be it any sphere of our life , personal or professional, effective collaboration skills basically determines your happiness and success quotient. To me every human being from the cradle to the grave has to essentially and effectively collaborate with others to lead a life smoothly and with no too many regrets.
Having said so, I believe if we collaborate well with each other and share a good relationship inspite of the difference of opinion we may have for coming from different school of thoughts, there is all the more possibility of we listening to each other’s ideas and being tolerant thereby to accept each other’s perspectives to arrive at a win-win solution. To me “collaboration skills” is the hallmark of learned and successful people who have managed their relationships with diverse teams and personalities effectively only to get pushed to the path of success.” by Neetubala Raina
No wonder I'm so awesome at my job.
I am basically a living example of how a brilliant person does make a more capable organization (Sorry, Mr. Brown). No really though, the work I do is brilliant because I'm a fluid medium between the brilliant minds of brilliant people, who would ordinarily hate each other's guts had I not been there. I'm pretty awesome.
Also, I really like the word "brilliant".
I posted this question on LinkedIn: What key characteristics/traits do you look for when assessing whether someone is or would be an effective collaborator?
I received interesting responses that I would like to share.
----------------------------------
Vincent Vanderbent, Document Specialist at Cooley LLP, Creative Thinker, Owner of Your Health First!
An effective collaborator contributes her/his expertise for the common goal/good, so I would assess whether the person shares useful information, appears to be holding back, tries to mislead by giving only partial info etc. You could do this in a group setting, or by asking project related questions in an interview format. Give the person a hypothetical situation and observe how (s)he works her/himself through it.
----------------------------------
Tirumalai Kamala, Immunologist, Microbiologist, Organizer
A common goal and similar level of importance or need to attain such goal would be primarily important considerations. Further, sharing credit, ideas, responsibilities, resources and information on a regular and timely basis are other must-have characteristics for successful collaborations. These are qualities that can be assessed by careful analysis of the person's history or by careful questioning.
----------------------------------
Paul Slater, Owner, Mushcado Consulting, Management Consultant and Executive Coach
I'd say that an ability to listen to and appreciate the other party's views and being prepared to discuss and negotiate around topics which both sides (or more than two) may have differing opinions on. For this to happen I believe there have to be two conditions in place. Firstly, there has to be a recognised goal that both sides are aiming at so that when discussion get into difficulties they can re-focus on what they are trying to achieve. Secondly, there must be complete openness and honesty in communication at all times around the issues at hand.
Hope this is of some use.
----------------------------------
Wallace Jackson, Multimedia Producer & i3D Programmer for Acrobat3D PDF, Android Mobile Apps, Virtual Worlds, iTV Design, JavaFX & JavaTV
1. Organized
2. Goal Oriented
3. Knowledgeable
4. Educated at Top Universities
5. International Client References
----------------------------------
Warren Lake, Visionary
1) Feels passionate about collaborating with you and stays committed through the length of the project, or long-term over the course of many projects.
2) Likes to stay in close communication by answering phone calls, emails and instant messages in a timely fashion. Is easy to talk to and get along with, open to new ideas and is a creative brainstormer.
3) Comfortable with using standard methods of collaborating, but is also willing to try out new methods and techniques, and will give them a decent trial period before determining their merits and limitations.
4) Has the time to invest in new pursuits and can work toward long-term goals without requiring instant rewards because he or she is insightful enough to recognize the value of developing collaborative product lines, contacts and networks over time.