Collaboration Is NOT A Spectator Sport: 7 Steps To Get Off The Sidelines And Create A Great Collaboration

It is early in the morning and you just woke up with that new great idea; the one that makes your heart and mind race at the same time.  The one that makes you grab your pad of paper by the bed or maybe even your computer so you can get it all down before you lose it.  You want to capture it all before the fleeting thoughts of the NEXT BIG THING float from your mind like the last wisps of a cloud before it evaporates.

This is not just any other Idea

This idea is IT; you can feel it.  Never mind that you have had dozens, perhaps even hundreds of great ideas in the past.  This one is different and you are different. But how can it be different, what is different about you?   This time you are going to include a partner, a collaborator.  The two of you together will brainstorm and make this idea really work. AH, now you know you are REALLY on to something.  Perhaps having that ideal partner, that person who can see your idea and help shape it and move it forward, will be the key to making THIS idea the IDEA to move your business forward.

Now you have two ideas.  THE idea and now the new thought of the ideal partnership and what that would mean.  Your mind begins to race with all kinds of questions, “How do I get started?”  “Where do I find a partner?”  Or perhaps “Am I ready for this?”   I have asked and answered all of those questions with very successful results.

Every Collaboration begins with a desire

One of my favorite collaborations began with a desire to write a book.  I had begun THE BOOK and although I had great passion around the subject matter, helping women working from home, and, at the time, had almost 5 years experience, something was missing.  It wasn’t as much fun as I thought it would be.  The words weren’t flowing and I had many other projects I was working on.  So as many GREAT IDEAS do, this one sat on the shelf, just waiting for the right someone to come along.

I was still sitting on the sidelines waiting.  And that book sat there waiting.  However, that right partner, Mary, did come along in 2006 and THE BOOK idea was taken off the shelf and was transformed into something even better, into the book “Stop Spinning Plates: How to Lose Your Balance and Become a Thriving Mother.”

Something bigger is born when you begin to collaborate

Now the “idea for a book” changed along with the vision of the collaboration. It grew into a a great friendship, numerous speaking engagements and workshops and many great people met and helped along the way. It continues to help many people, men and women, today.   That is one of the great things that can come out of collaboration; something bigger and better than you ever could have imagined.

You can’t just be a spectator and wait

For sure, collaboration begins with YOU.  To make collaborations work, you must take an active role in making it happen.  Now, that sounds like commonsense and it is.  Yet, how many times have you sat back and just waited for something to happen.  Today is the day that you can step forward and make it happen.  Here are some tips to get you started.

1)      Get clear on what you want from your project or idea first

2)      Create a list of what you want in an ideal partner

3)      Find a partner that shares similar values

4)      Identify what strengths each of you are bringing and leverage those strengths

5)      Discuss what each of you wants from the partnership

6)      Create a combined clear vision of your outcome

7)      Determine an open and honest method of communication and accountability

This is exactly what I have done every one of my collaborations (and there have been many).   I also have supported many other business owners in the process of effective collaboration for their projects.  If you want to collaborate, take action NOW, stop sitting on the sidelines.  Get clarity and follow the steps above so you too can create something incredible.

If you want help creating a strategy for your next collaboration, sign up for a discovery strategy session by emailing me at sue@thrivingentrepreneur.com with the subject line-strategy session.  Look forward to connecting with you.