Idea Incubator 8: Ignite Creative Collaboration

As important as ideas themselves is giving yourself and others the opportunity to have them. A single creative idea has many roots. The more creative, the more roots that add depth, separating the good from the great. Creating an environment to create requires the mental space to marinate combinations that unite experience, skill, and imagination—both yours and each colleague that you work with. Setting up this environment is responsive to what there is to work with—a variation of “play the hand you are dealt.” To figure out the cards that you hold, explore the ingredients.

Marti Barletta advises about collaborations, employees, and is a master at blending capability with market receptivity. Entrepreneur and author, she studies how markets behave and how to set up a process to reach them. When contributing to my book she addresses managers:

  “Experience is the first criterion for gauging a promotion. The second is a candidate’s drive. The third is skill (where women excel the most). These three elements need to be recognized.”
—Martha Barletta, author and contributor to Women who Win at Work

The tone of your group or company begins with you. Learn to recognize these elements. Try this audit first on yourself and then for each key team member. The mesh of these capabilities should be complementary and unifying.

 How much experience do you and each contributor have for the major creative functions in your business? List:
a. creative function
b. experience
c. qualifications needed

  What skills do each possess and which are needed for each major creative function?
a. task
b. skill
c. source to acquire

  How can you advance your plans most effectively with the team you have?
a. Task or goal to achieve
b. barrier to address
c. challenge to overcome
d. motivation of contributor

  Compile ideas for each initiative and key team member that can expand performance and/or development.

  Prioritize initiatives by potential and realistic chance of success. Choose the one that is the most viable and plan implementation.

When you understand the complexion of your group, a sign post that you are on the right track is when the initiative sparks a momentum. Like playing a piano and discovering the harmony in an unusual chord.
Most creative projects of a wide-reaching size need the blend of several contributors. There is too much for any one person to do or know. For example, I realized the hard way that I couldn’t single-handedly start a magazine; I needed at least three people with a varied backgrounds. Similarly, when I had ten employees, I could handle larger projects. However, how I managed those employees meant whether or not I made a profit.

What team composition can best address your creative challenges? How can you blend their experience, skills, and dedication with your own?

See the developing series of Idea Incubators.

Tags: advice, business, collaboration, creative, creativity, Idea Incubator, Liane Sebastian, Martha Barletta, wisdom