How to improve team collaboration by working “Together, Alone”
Together Alone may sound counterintuitive, but this method is a key to more inclusive and effective collaboration.
Imagine you are in a meeting or workshop and it is important to get input from the whole group.
When participants are asked, "what do you think about this topic?":
extroverts randomly shout out their ideas
others remain quiet and may not contribute at all
everyone‘s ideas are contaminated by those they have already heard from others, especially if it’s from a senior
in the chaos, many ideas are not heard or forgotten
We’ve all experienced these sorts of problems in meetings.
Why work Together Alone?
you have a diverse team with different skills and perspectives, and you want to gather insights from the whole group
this method is inclusive, everyone participates
all ideas are captured and visualized
all ideas are considered objectively on their merits
groupthink and bias are reduced
How to work Together Alone?
working Together Alone means we're together (in person or online) working on the same problem at the same time, but independently without discussion
working Together Alone could mean writing ideas on sticky notes, researching ideas, or sketching concepts
Note & Vote: this is an explanation of a simple but powerful exercise using the Together Alone method
Tip: play suitable background music to prevent the silence from feeling awkward
Working Together Alone allows all participants to participate and create ideas individually and freely.
✅ clean, unbiased ideas are generated
✅ all ideas are captured and visualized in some way
✅ Together Alone promotes a safe space for all to contribute
✅ ideas can be shared anonymously, or participants can present their ideas
Resources
Background music: Here’s a link to AJ&Smart’s Spotify playlist, curated for working Together Alone
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