top of page

The Future is Collaborative - my TEDx talk

Updated: Nov 26, 2024

Well, TEDxWhiteRock was a success and I absolutely loved being up on the TED signature red carpet. The weather was terrible but that didn't stop us from enjoying 7 talks from White Rock locals and me (who used to be a White Rock local).


Talking on stage feels like home to me so that was great fun - the lights, the cameras, the audience - "I'm ready for my close up..." You'd think I missed my calling to be an actress, but no. Memorizing my "lines" was far more challenging than I anticipated. The image here is a collage I created to help me memorize my content knowing that there would be no slides or notes to help me (Yikes!)


Before the video is released (it takes up to 3 weeks to go through the TED editing and publishing process) I thought I'd share my script... so without further ado, My TEDxWhiteRock "The Future is Collaborative" script from November 16th, 2024:



Proposed Title: The Future Is Collaborative

Speaker: Stacey Olson-Steele

Throughline:  3 Big Ideas to Make Collaboration a Success


In the last semester of my Visual Arts degree, we were given a group project. 


Ugh…!


I don't know about you but I like working independently. It's less complicated and I have full control of the outcome. There’s nothing wrong with that until we need to work together.


During that project, I remember my hackles rising, my fists clenching, and my whole body solidifying into a wall of anger and frustration. 


I'd like to tell you that we turned things around and created something wonderful. But no. We were WAY too concerned with our own creative ambitions.

We ended up presenting individual assignments and I swore off teamwork FOREVER.


I'm Stacey Olson-Steele and as an Organizational Development professional. I help teams work together better using research-based organizational design theories. I've been studying teamwork my whole career. After my son was born here in White Rock, I started thinking more about human potential, community, and collaboration. Today I'm excited to be here to share why I'm convinced that collaboration is the future. 


Over the years I've worked with great teams… not so great teams, and everything in between. And yes, working with other people IS hard.


Even more so since the pandemic, because we're confused by the rules of engagement. Even the best of us fumble navigating equity, diversity, inclusion, mental health, truth and reconciliation, just to name a few. We're more afraid of teamwork now because of all the potential social landmines! 


And let me tell you, there have been times when I've wanted to pack my gear and head for the backcountry. But my dream of living a life of solitude in a rustic little cabin in the woods is severely hampered by the fact that I am a terrible cook. I KNOW I need people.

And that's the crux of the matter, isn't it?


We NEED others. No one person has all the skills and all the answers. 

And, it goes even deeper than that... 


Humans are wired for connection yet DIS-connection is so rampant in our society that in 2023 the US Surgeon General published an Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community. 


One study found that lonely employees are absent 5 days more each year than their non-lonely counterparts. The researchers estimate that loneliness costs US employers $154 billion each year. 


Disconnection is costing us - in more ways than we realize. 


So, we know we need others. We know we crave positive connections. We know that positive relationships are good for us AND good for business. 

So, how do we make working together a success instead of a failure? 


First, let's start with what makes a great team since obviously, collaboration happens with other people. To understand that, we can look at Project Aristotle. 


You might remember back in 2012, Google wanted to crack the code of what made a great team. They studied data from 180 teams over several years. 

All that data and only two patterns emerged. 


TWO. 

The only things successful teams have in common?  

1, they give everyone a turn to talk, and 

2, they show each other empathy. 

That’s it.


So that’s what makes a successful team, yet, collaboration is so much more than a great team. 

What's the secret to tackling challenges and solving problems together? 

How do we move from a team that produces, to a team that innovates?


The answer? 

By letting go of expectations. 


We need new ideas to mix and simmer with other ideas, which doesn't happen when our ego is focused on one specific solution. 


I am convinced that collaboration can take us beyond simply working together to a place where we can harness our collective human potential. 


And when we do this, everybody benefits. Humanity flourishes. 


Ok. To recap, collaboration all starts with 3 big ideas: 

  • invite everyone to contribute, 

  • support one another, and 

  • let go of our ego and expectations. 

Now, let me share a few stories to bring this into reality. 


My first professional job. I was the assistant in the web department of CHUM TV - a national media company in downtown Toronto. I worked with a team of 30 people building websites for channels like Much Music and CityTV. 


It was the dot com era when everything was new and innovative. We were all equal pioneers on these projects so everyone’s opinion mattered. Even mine - the young, inexperienced assistant. 


If I received a complaint from a website user, I would bring it to the web developer and we would brainstorm solutions together. I wasn’t excluded from participating even though I didn’t have any fancy tech skills. In that group, my voice was respected and heard. I belonged. 


In that job, I learned that everyone deserves an equal opportunity to contribute because you never know who will have the next idea that leads to the solution.


My favourite team was a group of 7 women. We still keep in touch even though we no longer work together. 


Something that helped create the strong bond we still have today, is sharing 1 good thing at the end of every weekly meeting. It didn’t have to be work-related, it could be anything. If I was in the depths of an overwhelming project, my good thing was usually simple like, “I heard my favourite song on the radio that morning.” Sometimes what we don't say speaks louder than what we do say. 

Other times my win was significant and we all cheered. Like when I finally got the printer working again! 


In that job, I realized that sharing good news united us. It gave us an opportunity to show support for each other and stay positive through the tough times. Because sometimes even a small win is monumental. 


That project in university? It failed so miserably because we couldn’t make the leap from being a team that cooperates to a team that collaborates. We couldn't stop ourselves from white-knuckling the project steering wheel. And our giant egos were in the driver’s seat. Things were so intense that we wouldn’t even have noticed if there was food in the room. 


Letting go of expectations is definitely easier said than done so it helps to remember the whole reason we collaborate. Which is to create something greater and more amazing than what we alone could ever imagine. 

So when I say, let go of expectations, I mean that we all need to set our egos aside and open up to possibilities. It’s the synergy of the group that creates the magic of collaboration. 


I recently became a fan of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra from New York. They are an amazing example of successful collaboration. They've been around for 50 years, produced 70 albums and have won several Grammy awards. 


All without a conductor. 


For 50 years there has been no leader to tell the musicians how the music “should” sound. When I watch them practice online, I notice they share ideas, listen to each other, and try new things.


What they do is not magic, but what they create together - absolutely is.


And don’t we all want to make beautiful music? Whether you’re a business executive, an HR leader, or a community member on a committee, wouldn’t it be great if your team was focused on innovating solutions with the inspired passion we see in musicians?


So next time you're faced with a collaborative project like I was, I hope you’ll try these 3 big ideas to make your collaboration a success. 


Because when we do these 3 things, we enable our collective potential to flourish. 

  • Invite everyone to contribute, 

  • Support one another, and

  • Set your ego and expectations aside in favour of… possibilities.


And, if you're still on the fence, I recommend you bring food.


The future is collaborative.



Comentários


Connect

Link to my Pinterest feed

Kamloops, BC
Canada V2E 2P2

1-604-626-9427

Collaborative Lead Training Co. is proud to live and work in the unceded territory of Secwepemcúĺecw near Tkʼemlúps te Secwépemc, where people have been living, working, and building community since time immemorial.

Copyright 2024

Collaborative Lead Training Co.

Created via Wix.com

bottom of page