What do we mean by ‘act naturally’? Some people have a natural ability to work in a collaborative way, in the spirit of partnering as part of a team, with shared objectives. Others feel more comfortable working as they always have done, ‘business as usual’.

Collaborative working is all about putting aside aspects of negative culture sometimes associated with traditional working, let’s say parking ‘business as usual’. We get started with the goal of improving the quality of project(s), outcomes and programmes by working as an integrated team, as equals founded on these shared goals, ensuring best value to all involved, and in particular, the end user.

Learning together through the collaborative approach adopting techniques such as workshops, cluster & task group working, can help build the trust and respect for each other as equals.Learning together by having objectives, a plan developing new skills develop naturally, will enable – the project (or programme) to be delivered in an enjoyable but productive way.

“Tell me and I’ll forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I’ll understand” Old proverb

It is not a bolt on process that adds no value. You have to work hard right from the start, with better communication, clear roles and responsibilities and improved planning and control of the project risks. By using the skill sets of the collective team, experience cascades down as the project grows and the team build a better understanding of the projects requirements. The fundamental part of any project start must be to understand the “Business Case” How the parties and organisations work together in a mutually positive way through relevant activities, can encourage and build moral (managing change through the planning and integration of the team) from top to bottom. Better risk management and managing the process of change is also an important factor to successful project outcomes.

There comes a time when you start using these skills on a new project or programme – and slowly but surely this becomes the normal approach for you and your team.

Guess what? You start to ‘act naturally’ in a collaborative and partnering way.