Are we All equally disappointed?

MOVING MOUNTAINS COLLABORATIVELY.

Everyone has encountered struggles in collaborations, in which we give, take and compromise. Sometimes we are left with the feeling that the compromise is at the cost of the quality and possibilities of the project. Are we all equally disappointed? Collaboration is an everyday practice, ‘the situation of two or more people working together to create or achieve the same thing’. As designers we collaborate with each other, with stakeholders, users, technology, materials and even more.

by Yulan van Es

Collaboration starts with a shared goal. A goal you aim to achieve by joining your knowledge and skills, with the help of trust, mutual respect, good communication and well-defined goals. This is indeed the case when we are looking at collaboration between humans. Personally, I do not think collaboration is just that. There are different levels of collaboration, also between different bodies of materials, methods, spaces and more. All bodies participate in ecosystems, in which all they all depend on each other for their existence. This dependence defines the power and agency that exists within the collaborations. Power and agency we should be aware of in our own collaborations.

When you are formulating the research question for your project, it is valuable to compare your individual definitions of the terminology used. These definitions are likely to vary, even with terms like “home”. How do you define home? Is that the same definition your colleague would give to home? Your and my definition of collaboration will most likely vary as well. Moving mountains in your projects will turn out to be easier when you are moving the same mountain.

In collaboration not only our knowledge and skills come together but also our needs and values, and with that our expectations. Conflicts can arise from differences in needs, values and expectations between collaborators. A conflict often originates from lack of communication about these needs, values and expectations. You will not have a conflict about something you do not care about. Such differences, and the lack of communication, are key to not meeting each other’s expectations, which leaves us with the feeling of not accomplishing the best outcome. Instead, these differences in experience and background are the most valuable parts of our collaboration. In a world where everything changes at high speed, I believe interdisciplinary collaboration will be key for innovation. So, let us try starting new collaborations by communicating to each other what our needs, values and expectations are and our (preferred) ways of working. Exchange your individual manual. This helps in managing the expectations you and your collaborators have. Formulate each other’s assets and limitations within your project to show new and maybe unexpected possibilities for collaboration.

And? Are we equally disappointed? We care. 3