# Collaboration Aids Refinement By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2024-01-22 Group work is a litmus test. Some people use an assignment to group work as a pass. They immediately shirk any work. This is known as the free rider problem. Some people quickly assume the leadership role and start doling out assignments. Some people will do what they are told but tend to do only that. Group work has many pitfalls. Imbalances in work, control, and investment are among the most obvious. Many competent people do not like group work for these reasons and others. They avoid it when necessary and work their way through it. However, group work does provide a unique opportunity. Group work allows for collaboration. Several aspects are essential for true collaboration. First, the members of the group must have respect for each other. Second, they must trust that the other members are invested in the group’s performance. Once these rudiments are established, collaboration can aid refinement. Ideas are seldom formed in their final form. Refinement is often needed to improve the clarity of the idea and increase its precision. Usually, this comes from asking questions and revealing assumptions. Through this process, the product is improved. This is different than the cliché more heads are better than one. That statement is used generically to sell group work to skeptical participants. Assembling a group without respect and trust will often fall short of what could have been accomplished by its smartest member working alone. Too many absurd compromises will make for a mediocre product. When respect and trust are present, the product will almost always be better when authentic collaboration occurs. Part of success is finding those with whom one can create work that is better than what one creates alone. When one does this, it is a strong basis for solidarity and excellence. #### Related Items [[Work]] [[Teams]] [[Personality]] [[Respect]] [[Authenticity]] [[Trust]] [[Collaboration]]