We’re all taught that sharing is caring, and teamwork is important as early as Kindergarten. But as we grow and mature a lot of us stray away from this, choosing a more independent route. Especially if you are an overachiever or a workaholic, you may feel that others are dragging you down in your pursuit of goals and success.

While knowing how to work solo is a talent, being able to delegate and collaborate are two skills that are often taken for granted. After all, it should be simpler when there’s more people to handle a job. Or is it?

In the office, collaboration has been known to develop employee skills, speed up solutions, and increase efficiency when done properly. So, with that knowledge out there you can bet employers will be using this tactic more and more. And, with 35% of the United States’ workforce being freelance, having the ability to play well with others is more important than ever.

But how do you manage it when you need to work directly with your co-workers, or go through the gauntlet known as the approval process with freelance work? We have some tips.

Set Goals.

Knowing where you’re headed is always important. And believe it or not, when working with a group, your idea of the end goal could look very different from everyone else’s. It’s important to determine what your shared goal is from day one of working together.

>Create Roles.

The worst thing that can happen in a group scenario is for people to not know what they’re doing. While it can be tough to assign roles, it needs to be done. This way you won’t be risking stepping on each other’s toes. Roles also create a more individual experience within the group which can lower stress levels.

Plan, Plan, Plan.

Like the goal, how you’re getting there is equally important to be on the same page about. Set out a timeline and meet regularly. You may each be going off on your own to complete individual tasks, but checking in will ensure that you are all doing what is expected and finishing at the same time.

Communicate.

Goals, roles, and plans will get you nowhere if you can’t talk with each other. If you feel like no one’s communicating, take it upon yourself to be the communicator and get them going. Once you are regularly talking you’ll build a pattern and your group will be stronger and produce better results.

Conclude

Before you hand in your assignment, make sure you have the time to do a good postmortem. The last thing you’ll want is to report to your employer and find out something went wrong on another part of the project at the last minute. Give yourselves the time to go over everything with a fine-tooth comb before you consider yourselves done.

You’re in it for the Long Run

If this is your first group assignment in the professional world, we can promise you it won’t be your last. Keep these tips in mind and you’ll be prepared for whatever your employer or client throws your way. <>

Working with others can be tough but anything that is properly managed will be properly executed. And as always, confidence is key. We believe in you!