Thursday, April 23, 2015

Effective Collaborative Work

There is no greater feeling than when a group accomplishes important work and together exclaim, "We did it!"

That sense of coming together to effect a meaningful, common goal is life enriching in so many ways.

Think of a time when you had the chance to work on a team that really made a difference.

Team is quite different than individual pursuit since team recognizes and maximizes the synergy of each others' perspectives and efforts rather than racing one another to the finish line.

As I think about this today, I'm wondering about the constructs that support team and those that support contest or race? As we teach children and work with colleagues, which constructs lead us to the We-Did-It sense of accomplishment vs. the I-Won! achievement?

I read a quote this morning that prompted my thinking is this regard:

"This is a fundamental view of the world. It says that when you build a thing you cannot merely build that thing in isolation, but must repair the world around it, and within it, so that the larger world at that one place becomes more coherent, and more whole; and the thing which you make takes its place in the web of nature, as you make it."  - Christopher Alexander, architect

So as I move forward toward greater collaborative work, I want to think about how that work is rooted in the deeper context of where I live and work. How can my efforts woven with the efforts of those I work and live with architect learning and living that matters to the team, those we serve, and others ("the web of nature.").