I was delivering two business events last week at Salford and Manchester Met Universities and the topic of collaborative working was top of the list. The very reason that their delegate businesses had been brought together for their growth & innovation progammes was to harness the power of them working together and sharing ideas and experiences.
Why share that story? Because it might be assumed that this How To Guide is only about little businesses hanging out together for support & friendship in a way that big business doesn't bother with. It could be thought that working together isn't considered powerful or important by academic institutions or leaders of bigger organisations.
But research tells us that working together is more than a friendly coffee or a small business skills swap. It's a well recognised learning and development tool for leaders of any business and is used specifically as a success strategy by award winning business programmes all over the UK.
What is so significant about working this way? It's been shown again and again that leaders of businesses (of any size) feel isolated and alone in their decision making and thinking. They also quickly suffer from the kind of blindness that happens when no one challenges your perspective or offers an alternative angle. Personal, lived experience of anything is always more powerful than the academic, so sharing this way gives insights that outshines most other 'education'. Working together also opens out thinking development - meaning that our thinking is also less fixed and practices being open, agile & creative. I sat in a room of largely male leaders (often less likely to share personal impact in this environment) of large organisations last week and as they reflected on their 12 module growth programme, they sited the biggest impacts of working together had been the relief of not being alone in their challenges; the realisation that they could lead in a new way; the opportunity to share their concerns with people who weren't connected with their life; the unexpected insights that learning from others had delivered.
Now that we know that working together really matters and has tangible results, let's dive into what that might look like for micros business and some ideas and tips to make it happen in your business.
Build co-working into your strategy. If collaborating with other businesses is part of your plan from the start, then your mindset is primed for listening, learning & sharing. This helps avoid the mindset that you're on your own as a micro business owner and that you must just hunker down and try to manage on your your own with Google/your partner/mum as your only friend & advisor.
Build collaboration & sharing into your everyday. Imagine if your business was a gorgeous team of people that all worked in a fabulous room together with unlimited time and support to boot? Imagine having someone to quickly ask when you're stuck in your own head with an idea or challenge? This is what you can create by tapping into a community, little gang, group chat with like minded folks. Why struggle and worry with a decision, when people who can help are right there. Who are your day to day check in people? Can you list a few 'go to' folks that are actually part of your team? These people are essential.
Invest time & money. Thinking about a 12 month stretch, how often would you benefit from gathering with others to learn, work together or step out of your business to look in with new perspective. Working 'on' your business is a vital part of business success. The reverse happens when we only work 'in' it. Think in terms of how many days you will set aside for working on your business, what those days might look like and what budget you want to attach to that. It could be a specific business day, the hire of a room, lunch out or simply the cost of stepping away from the desk.
Seek variety. Although it's tempting to co-work with people in your own sector or who do things like you do, it's surprisingly illuminating when you work with businesses that are totaly different from yours. So often I have seen manufacturers work alongside coaches or HR experts work with publishers who have created huge insights for each other.
Get specific help. Do you have one area of your business that drives you nuts or makes you fearful? Perhaps marketing is your nemesis or you get stuck on digital know how? Why not set up a little working group on just those topics? You could form regular working gatherings that niggle out Insta content or digital skills swaps to share out how to make things work. Investing time and effort will create confidence and help you avoid wasting time trying to work it out with the dog for company!
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