For Women in Business Collaboration is Not…

We talked earlier this month about what collaboration is. We shared some great insights from some of the women in our community. This article is all about what collaboration is NOT and once again we called on our community for their views and opinions on what our theme for the month is not.

I’ve always found it a useful practice to look at what something IS and then what it is NOT when I am trying to truly understand something that is broad or open to many interpretations. We share what collaboration IS earlier this month. This time we focus on all that it is NOT.

For women in business, collaboration is not…

From our community:

Shaina, the Business Mystic, started us off with “A one way street. A collaboration should be beneficial to both parties!”

Yes. Yes it should be! True collaboration is mutually beneficial and supportive to all participants.

Tiffany, the Body Love Alchemist, joined in with ” Collaboration is not a one-size fits all.”

There are so many ways to collaborate successfully. Assuming that there is a right or wrong way to collaborate, especially in the world we live in today.

Marisol from Sol Reflections added a couple of great points to the conversation: “Collaboration is NOT power struggles and competition. It’s not suppressing your genius. It is NOT passive.”

There is definitely a lot of truth to each of these points from Marisol. Collaboration is not about asserting dominance or control over someone or something else. If it becomes that, then it’s not true collaboration. It’s not about playing it safe and not contributing your brilliance and gifts.

Community member Abi added “If you and your audience don’t learn, it’s not collaboration”

This is so important! When collaborating, both parties should walk away with something new, whether that be new knowledge or a new connection.

It’s safe to say we have a great understanding of what collaboration is NOT, especially for women in business. If you’re curious to read about our view of what collaboration IS, I invite you to check out this blog post too 🙂

I’d love to hear from you about what collaboration is NOT to you! Drop us a comment below.