1.
THE ART OF
COLLABORATION

2.
Melissa Sassi
Chief Penguin, IBM Z
Student & Entrepreneur Experience
@mentorafrika

3.
SO, WHAT IS
COLLABORATION
ANYWAY?
It's the art (yes, art) of working together in a team to create
something or achieve a goal together.

4.
IT REQUIRES
LEADERSHIP
Teams that collaborate acheive
greater results, more access to
resources + rewards &
recognition.

5.
4 SKILLS
TO
MASTER

6.
1.ACTIVE
LISTENING
1. Pay attention when others are talking & try not to
multitask.
2. Try understand what others are saying & clarify
when needed...maybe even paraphrase to make sure
you got it.
3. Engage positively during the conversation, verbally
& nonverbally, without judgement.
No interrupting
4. Remember what has been communicated to you &
make them feel valued & heard.

7.
2.EMPATHY
1. Try to understand their perspective, feelings, wants,
goals, objectives, aspirations & painpoints from their
eyes & their shoes.
2. Check your assumptions at the door & ensure you
are not being judgemental or biased based on your
own understanding of the world or the situation.
3. Do not be afraid to show your own vulnerabilities.
Shaing your own feelings while still keeping yourself
in check can build trust & bring out our own
individual humanity.
4. Actively ask others for their perspective & truly take
it into consideration with an open mind while
showing patience.

8.
3.PROBLEM
SOLVING
1. Take action & do not be afraid of speaking up or trying to
identify solutions when challenges or roadblocks arise.
2. Identify what has occurred to cause the problem and
stakeholders involved. Put your critical thinking skills to work.
3. Do not feel you need to go it alone, Remember the importance
of collaboration and the saying that there is no "i" in team.
4. Understand the best and worst case scenario so you can create
an effective plan that includes the steps, owners, timing, and
dependencies. Be a proactive problem solver with accountability
to get things done. Measure & report progress.

9.
4.ACCOUNTABILITY
1. What's your big, wicked goal in life? Write it down. Knowing
your lofty goals will help you recognize the big picture you're
after.
2. Set mini-goals broken down by day, week, and month. Stick
to them.
3. Reward yourself when you rock the world. Be kind to yourself
& continue to do things to boost your self-esteem. Remember
your strenghts & focus there. Your chapter 5 shouldn't be
compared with someone else's chapter 50.
4. Prioritize and communicate what can and cannot be done
while seeking feedback from peers, customers, leadership, and
take it to heart without judgement. Keep an open mind on
where you could do better to achive your goals and those of the
team.

10.
Melissa Sassi
Chief Penguin, IBM Z
Student & Entrepreneur Experience
@mentorafrika