To collaborate or work alone: it’s a question that comes up all the time in business, irrespective of the nature of your work. But which option is the best for which type of decision-making and work environments?
I like to ensure a balance of both, allowing myself the solo time I need to work through projects, designs, and decisions. When I work alone, I can often be more creative, thinking through ideas in peace and calmness, and I often find that I come to solutions faster.
Working with a team can be a longer, though no less fruitful process, usually because it allows you more time to brainstorm, talk, troubleshoot, discuss different scenarios, and get input on all the possible outcomes.
What’s important about collaborating and teamwork is putting together a group of people who share the same goal and vision. That’s not to say everyone should follow the same route or be reading from the same map, because then you lose the different perspectives that are vital to the creative outcome. But as long as you’re all agreed on the destination, how you get there makes for a fascinating journey with plenty of detours along the way.
When collaborating, surround yourself with people who challenge your perspective, avoiding the dreaded ‘echo chamber’ where everyone just repeats what they think you want to hear.
Ultimately, if you’re going to explore unchartered waters in the creative process you need a mix of people who bring experience, youth, caution, fearlessness, vision, imagination, realism, practicality, and more, to really open up the horizons for where your business can sail.
Note: The picture is an AI impression of a creative meeting in progress.