Making repeat collaboration work

Harvard Business Review editor, Andrew O’Connell, asks “Does Repeat Collaboration Really Kill Creativity?” The short answer is that it can. Yet as O’Connell points out, there are collaborations that can remain highly creative for a long time.

Creativity can be pursued simply for its own sake. This is often the case in art. Creativity can also be the first step in solving a hard problem. This application of creativity is innovation and it happens in two phases. In the first phase the team must generate many possible solutions by leveraging divergent thinking. In the second phase they must select the best of the possible solutions through the process of convergent thinking. What makes creativity and innovation successful is diversity. The kind of diversity I’m referring to is that which enables collaborators to contribute to their team’s pursuits of creativity and innovation. For a software development team it’s a diversity of technical experience. For a basketball team it’s a diversity of playing experience. For a jazz ensemble it’s a diversity of musical ideas and musical elements such as instrumentation and styles of music. In each case diversity increases the possibility of generating great ideas or solutions while also increasing the success of ruling out the weak possibilities and selecting the best one.

Changing collaborators can be an easy way to increase diversity. This is why many jazz musicians are not content to always play with the same people. They will constantly search for new collaborators, inviting them to perform as guest artists with their existing ensembles or engaging with them in new ensembles. The most creative jazz musicians will make it a point to work with musicians who have instruments, playing styles and musical approaches that differ from their own. They will even collaborate with artists in other disciplines such as dance and the visual arts. It’s also entirely possible to get the same diversity with a constant set of collaborators if those people are open to new ideas. Good jazz musicians are constantly listening. They do this not just on the bandstand but by listening to live performances and recordings. They absorb it all and incorporate what they like into their playing. Effective software developers are constantly learning about new technologies and techniques. They benefit greatly from studying other solutions and prototyping their own.

Having great ideas is not the only ingredient for success. You must be able to put them into practice. A great basketball player not only knows lots of different plays but can execute them. The downside of changing collaborators is that you can lose the synergy that a strong team has developed. Every time you bring someone new into the mix you have to take several steps backwards, rebuilding the trust that is necessary to enable a team to take risks without compromising the health of their activity. The ideal situation is one in which you can establish a strong team of people who are open to constantly learning through an exchange of ideas. Such a team can continue innovating over the long term. It’s good to spice things up from time to time by introducing new collaborators either temporarily or permanently but you don’t have to find a whole new team to work with if you’ve got the right people. As always, people are more important than process.