True Attributes of a Project Manager: Collaboration

Collaboration is more than just working together. It’s an active, intentional process that we usually chalk up to asking a colleague for brief input and moving on. This is where things get murky. It’s important to clarify the difference between superficial collaboration and true collaboration:

Superficial vs. True Collaboration

Superficial Collaboration

This seems like collaboration, and it’s easy to pass off as such. This version feels or looks like collaboration but doesn’t change the outcome. Superficial collaboration can look like:

• Someone asking for feedback to check the box, but they’ve already decided what they’ll do.
• Team members staying in their own lane and only seeking help when they’re stuck.
• One person dictates direction while others merely react (validation disguised as feedback).
• Only sharing updates on a need-to-know basis.

This is not sustainable for project teams. Over time, team morale drops, ownership weakens, quality suffers, and problems accumulate.

True Collaboration

True collaboration is baked into the process. It improves the work and builds trust. It looks like:

• People shaping work together from the start.
• Everyone understanding they why, not just their piece of the what.
• Success being defined collectively. Wins and failures are shared.
• Ideas being challenged and improved through real dialogue.
• Team members feeling free to question and propose ideas. They won’t be written off.

This is where project teams win and project managers become indispensable. It leads to better decisions and a better working environment. People are more likely to take initiative and have the freedom to innovate which usually leads to better outcomes.

What Collaboration Looks Like in Practice

Project managers who foster true collaboration combine effort, knowledge, and accountability to deliver a better outcome than any one person could alone. They know projects are most successful when people are working together. They bring level of enthusiasm that motivates and energizes the team. They get the right people involved and use their creativity to solve problems.

No one person has all the expertise. The best project managers recognize and lean on each team member’s individual strengths to create a collective advantage. This allows them to transform a group of individuals into a team capable of delivering more than the sum of its parts.

Exceptional project managers create a collaborative environment by:

1. Getting the right people involved. They know what the project entails and therefore which people they’ll need to accomplish goals. They can look ahead and anticipate the expertise required for each stage of the project.
2. Creatively solving problems. Encouraging the co-creation and free sharing of ideas opens the door for creative solutions to problems from a variety of perspectives. Everyone can influence outcomes, not just validate them. When everything depends on one brain, it’s a problem.
3. Leveraging individual strengths. Quality improves when tasks align with the best-fit capabilities. When tasks and decisions match skills (not hierarchy), teams move faster and take initiative.
4. Encouraging feedback. Project managers should invite input, listen actively, and adjust when needed. It’s their job to make sure everyone is heard and ideas are challenged respectfully. Innovation usually thrives when things are brought into question.

The project manager sets the standard for collaboration. As they lead, others will follow. The more they try to control situations and outcomes, the less likely their team will be to lean in and make things happen. They must guide their team to work together and be an active participant themselves without demanding control. It requires a certain level of trust, both in the team and in themselves, that they’ve done their best to build an environment where their team is empowered.

How to Cultivate Collaboration

Collaboration is built. It doesn’t just happen. Here are some practical ways to encourage and model collaboration for project teams:

1. Run meetings that encourage participation, not just reporting. Ask open ended questions (“what are we missing?”) and create space for all voices to be heard.
2. Get everyone on the same page from the start. Use visuals (roadmaps, RACI, workflows) to make things clear and make sure everyone understands the scope of the whole project, not just their role. At its core, collaboration depends on a shared purpose.
3. Invite input early. Ask the team to help shape plans and decisions so they have an active role. Participation leads to buy-in.
4. Build trust. Show appreciation, avoid blame, and be open about challenges.
5. Remove roadblocks. Step in and help the team clear obstacles quickly so they can keep making progress.
6. Act and speak as a team. “We” language is better than “you/them” language.

A team’s collaboration style reveals far more than how people work together on tasks. It exposes underlying dynamics of authority and openness that shape the team’s culture. When collaboration is healthy, ideas flow freely regardless of hierarchy, and decisions are made based on the best information, not the loudest voice or highest title. Team members feel safe to challenge assumptions and propose alternative solutions.

Collaboration is a Test

We often talk about collaboration as a professional competency, but at the core, it’s a test of courage and trust. True collaboration requires the willingness to share unfinished ideas, admit uncertainty, and let others influence the outcome. It demands that people temporarily set aside their ego and even their version of “the right answer” in service of a stronger shared result. That’s uncomfortable. It’s much safer to work alone and maintain the illusion of certainty and authority. But that’s not how projects succeed.

The best project managers prioritize collaboration because they know the collective potential is greater than what any one person could accomplish alone. That’s the power of true collaboration: It doesn’t just improve the work. It elevates the people doing the work.

At Trenegy, we guide organizations through any major project that requires technology, process, and people changes. To chat with our team about this, email info@trenegy.com.

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See more:

True Attributes of a Project Manager

True Attributes of a Project Manager: Boldness

True Attributes of a Project Manager: Curiosity

True Attributes of a Project Manager: Ownership

True Attributes of a Project Manager: Initiative & Tenacity