Beyond Borders: Fostering Collaboration and Trust in a Tech-Infused World

"Building a successful company is not a solo act. It requires the collective wisdom and effort of a team. Trust is the currency that powers effective collaboration." Robin Li, Co-founder and CEO of Baidu.

Creating an environment where people work well together and feel confident in each other fosters collaboration and trust.

In simpler terms:

𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: It’s like teamwork – people joining forces to get things done. When there’s good collaboration, everyone works smoothly like a well-oiled machine.

𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭: Trust is like a strong bridge between people. It’s when you believe in others, rely on them, and feel safe with them.

It is tough to perform it physically, even harder to maintain it if team members are working remotely.

I will share my personal stories on remotely fostering collaborative and trust - using technologies!

My personal experience in the last 8 months to foster collaborations and trust using technologies:

We need to create multiple projects with new stakeholders, having a google drive to view the requirements is not enough, we needed a communication appl and a system that is able to provide a workflow, assign responsibilities and track progress.

3 technologies I uses:

1) WhatsApp: established group chat and conversation 24/7 - no worries on time zone.

2) Google Drive: sharing of documents timeline and requirement on the project and recording of progress.

3) Miro: adding in various template, including Kanban framework to better communicate and watch progress.

It was a headache while hunting for the correct software to execute out the plan.

My breakthrough was when make the decision to use "Miro Board" to fulfil the requirements.

It was tough in the beginning as introduction and education was require for the members to except this new system.

Members were redundant to use the new system as it is foreign to them, i have to patience educate and show them the system for a couple of meetings.

Board history makes it easy for tracking and knowing who the stakeholders are. Importantly, it is time stamped, showing accountability.

Foster collaboration and trust can be challenging when the team are based overseas, with consistent effort and goals, these are some rewards that I have observed:

✔️it encourages an honest and clear communications

✔️it develops a resilient and persistence mindset, embraces setbacks.

✔️recognised individuals' abilities and celebrate individuals' achievements

To foster collaborations and trust, a team leader can also consider the following unconventional approaches:

➡️morning gym workout before work!

➡️lunch time mobile game or PlayStation games as a team. Try Scavify!

➡️weekend hiking, tree planting or laser tag games. Plant a tree!

➡️join a course, learn, and get certified together. Can start with LinkedIn , LinkedIn Learning.

Books I recommend on effective leadership to foster teamwork, collaboration and trust:

1. "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team" by Patrick Lencioni

2. "The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups" by Daniel Coyle

3. "Leaders People Love" by Chuen Chuen Yeo 杨荃荃

[Content originally published on LinkedIn Collaborative Article below] 👉 👉 👉 Read on to find out what are the 3 considerations for Foster collaboration and trust: What are the best ways to keep remote team members productive and focused? (linkedin.com)

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Mike Sim

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