Thea Singer Spitzer - The Power of Collaboration

Praise for The Power of Collaboration:

Thea Singer Spitzer has spent years getting under the bonnet of some of the worlds most successful companies. Across the tech sector we see how collaboration can bring together ambitious individuals to become more than the sum of their parts. Spitzers Silicon Valley Approach to Collaboration shows how this dynamism accommodates individuals while uniting them in a shared purpose. The Power of Collaboration will be useful to anyone who wants to implement these strategies as it comes packed with useful examples and exercises to make it happen.

Russ Shaw, founder of Tech London Advocates and Global Tech Advocates

A helpful set of tools to deliver quality collaboration in any organization. The viewpoints and experiences of other companies was especially impactful!

Amy Hanlon-Rodemich, EVP, People Success, Milestone Technologies

The Power of Collaboration is a how-to manual of Dr. Spitzer's transformational methods for improving collaboration across organizations small and large alike. Her book is filled with insightful gems that will make those applying them reach greater levels of teamwork.

Darrell Blegen, Chief Product Officer, Finagraph

Powerful Insights from Silicon Valley to Successfully Grow Groups, Strengthen Alliances, and Boost Team Potential

The Career Press, Inc.

Wayne, N.J.

Copyright 2018 by Thea Singer Spitzer, PhD

All rights reserved under the Pan-American and International Copyright Conventions. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter invented, without written permission from the publisher, The Career Press.

THE POWER OF COLLABORATION
COVER DESIGN BY JEFF PIASKY

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DEDICATION

We awaken amazing power when we come together to create something even better than we could on our own.

Although I am the sole author of this book, it is the product of much collaboration.

I owe a huge thanks to each of the 28 generous Silicon Valley leaders who willingly shared their time and thoughts, displaying just the sort of collaboration that was the topic of our conversation. This book would not be nearly as robust without their imprint.

Special thanks are owed to two people who demonstrated the meaning of collaboration in their willingness to go above and beyond to help me make connections with some of the leaders with whom I spoke. Those people are Mike Glass from Microsoft and Anne Hausler from Merit Resource Group. Each of them dug deep into their networks to connect me with leaders who personify collaboration. I am indebted.

Several other colleagues and friends deserve special mention. Ruth Nathan, a renowned author, assisted me in evolving general philosophies into practical concepts as we exercised our minds along with our bodies. Gail Finger was a professional sounding-board, someone with whom I could pilot-test ideas and my articulation of them. John Midgely added immeasurably with his perspective as an avant-garde leader. Eileen Zornow was invaluable in taking my ideas and turning them into graphics that did a great job of telling my story. Chuck Freedenberg has been an advisor to me for years. His thoughts on early drafts of this book helped crystalize my thinking.

Thanks to Marilyn Allen, my agent, who astonished me with the speed at which she found a willing publisher for my thoughts. Thanks, also, to the team at Career Press for believing in the importance of this story and helping get it out to the world.

Rosalind Warren is an accomplished author and editor extraordinaire. To call her my editor, though, would markedly understate the role she played in bringing this book to its current state.

Roz undertook this journey in a professional capacity. That wasnt the case with my husband, Craig Spitzer. He knew (better than I) what I was getting myself into in signing this book contract. What he may not have known was the degree that it would affect his life as well. He went along this journey with amazing grace, even though it was my dream and not his. Not only did he go along, he was actively involved every step of the way, often leading. Craig used his immense store of creativity to help me transform concepts into polished models. He used his sophisticated wordsmithing abilities to smooth and clarify my writing. And he did so much more.

To those others whom I am not calling out by name, I also owe a debt of gratitude. I hope you will understand and forgive not being named, and know how much I value and appreciate each of you.

Imagine eight musicians who are members of a renowned jazz ensemble diligently working on a new musical piece. If you could listen in on each of them individually, you would hear highly competent musicians, each practicing his or her part and sounding quite good.

Then they get together and, suddenly, something captivating happens: You hear and feel the piece come alive. Its no longer just several skilled performers. Their instruments blend into one rich, unified voice. The musicians are in unique dialogue with each other. Its musicality.

Imagine those artisans making up a workplace team. Imagine that amazing collaboration coming together as an iPad... or TurboTax... or a winning basketball team. Our jobas employees and as managersis to combine our individual and team efforts to make music like that.

Graphic by Eileen Zornow

If they do a terrific job, that music group might transport their audience... or win a Grammy. Similarly, that workplace team might make a lot of consumers, employees, and shareholders happy. If not done well, collaboration is a blueprint for a mediocre product or even a failed one. This failure is all too common in organizations. Individuals and teams may be extremely competent in their area of focus, but if they dont collaborate well with others, the final product will suffer.

During the last several decades, much progress has been made to foster better workplace collaboration. Nevertheless, getting people to work well together remains one of the tough issues that keeps both managers and individual employees up at night. We need to do better. If we continue to use existing tools, we only make incremental strides in addressing this snarly problem. We need a new model.

Throughout the course of my nearly 30-year management consulting career, Ive developed a number of specialties. Some came about because organizations needed help in those areas. Others were passions of mine. My expertise in collaboration is a confluence of both company need and my own passion. Ive helped employees in many companies, across numerous industries, achieve more by working better together. I have received awards for collaboration programs I helped create at both Microsoft and telecom giant GTE (now known as Verizon).