Make Collaboration Happen, Even with Stubborn People

Happy, productive teams may seem like a pipe dream to those who believe all designers are divas, project managers rush timelines, and bosses (or clients) expect the impossible.

Can't we all just get along?

Yes, and Dan Brown is living proof. Over time, the EightShapes team has adopted behaviors, making their work transparent and effectively. Dan has distilled these behaviors into a framework called the "4 Virtues of Collaboration."

Embrace 6 collaborative behaviors

• Hear stories of common reactions that work against collaboration
• Experiment with changing your interpretation and response to common team dynamics

Practice the "4 Virtues of Collaboration"

• See how definition, accountability, awareness, and honesty are influencing your work
• Use the 4 Virtues to evaluate your team's current team dynamics

Assess your mindset

• Consider the three mindsets of great designers: adaptive, collective, or assertive
• Try a collaborative behavior that makes you a little uncomfortable but yields better results

Be honest with yourself

• Identify which challenges you face in personally dealing with other people
• Push yourself to shift from known hesitations to any of the 6 collaborative behaviors

Attend this seminar if you

• Want to learn 6 different behaviors to become more collaborative on a daily basis
• Have to interact with multiple stakeholders as a regular part of your job
• Struggle to answer "who is doing what?"
• Don't want another collaboration tool, but instead a methodology you can actually use

If you want to improve the way you—and your team—interpret and respond to everyday design challenges, then watch Dan's seminar now.

Here's an updated link to the mindset assessment tool.