I could never quite put my finger on the true definition of the term because it was always getting mixed in with 'cooperation' or simply 'working together'... and I'm sure a lot of us know how painful group projects can be without proper collaboration.
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Randy Nelson sums it up quite nicely.
It shouldn't be about simply praising/putting down people's ideas, but building on the contribution to others while also making them look good and running with them.
Randy Nelson's example of the rain and umbrella really nails it.
Actor 1 says that it is raining.
Actor 2 could have reacted and exclaim, "What are you talking about? It's not raining indoors."
OR he could go along with Actor 1 and say, "Well that's why they gave us umbrellas!"
It's that playful sense of running with an idea to 'create' opportunities instead of stopping them.
Apathy cuts off possibility.
What really hit me about this was that this reminded me of why I enjoyed drama class in high-school so much. When we would improvise scenarios like dialogue, we would not only try to be creative with how we deal with the scene for ourselves, but we would actively try to create interesting predicaments in order to give another group member an opportunity to play around with it. Share the spotlight. Don't hog it. We are there to amplify each other, not compete for attention. The good thing about drama class was that it forced us to learn this because if we didn't play off of each other, the whole performance would collapse and everyone loses.
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I recently watched the American Film Institute's Master Class: Art of Collaboration with John Williams and Steven Spielberg. The talk was about their collaboration for the past four decades as Composer of Musical Score and Director.
One of the parts that really stuck out was when Spielberg describes how sometimes he would shoot a sequence and feel that he can't wait to show it to John. It wasn't because he had some specific music in mind that he wanted John Williams to score. It was because he couldn't wait to see how John would go about writing sound for the scene.
Spielberg knew that the shot would be something that Williams would be excited to compose to.
Celebrate the fact that there are multiple creative minds in a collaboration.
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This leads to a few possible kinks.
There must be a sense of trust among the collaborators. One of the many boundaries to true collaboration is fear. There is the fear of losing the original vision amongst a sea of ideas, the fear of 'butchering' your initial vision, or even the fear of competition in credit.... is this simply the ego talking? What would happen if you let your idea loose? Would you have gotten the idea to blossom as well or as quickly if you had kept it to yourself?
More often than not, what comes out of it is surprisingly intriguing because not only could you find loopholes in your vision faster, but that person can bring their own experiences to the play area. You know it's working when all parties are able to let go of their ego (not dignity. big difference) to try things and yet stay courteous and respectful to each others' visions.
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I keep looking back at my immaturity in highschool where many times I feel that I was trying to be the center of attention for no good reason. That kind of glory never lasts.
The most gratification came when I shared the stage with friends. It certainly took a while to realize why, but I'm glad that it finally dawned on me.
I won't actively wish to be an 'interesting' person.
The world is already full of 'interesting' people, but not that many are 'interested'.
I'll be striving to be a part of those that are curious.
To observe. To listen. To ask. To invoke.... while staying thoughtful and considerate.
Whether I am.... is not for me to judge.
It is for me to do.
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