collaboration

10 collaboration skills every teammate should master

What skills should teams cultivate to make collaboration great again?

Sabina Vardanashvili

• 5 min read

Teamwork has always been, and remains, a key element of getting things done — no matter what industry you're in. Whether you're part of a distributed team, in a hybrid setting, or in the office, smooth collaboration and instant understanding of each other are more important than ever. But teamwork doesn't happen overnight — it starts within oneself and develops through the right skills.

We'll cover the top ten teamwork skills everyone should cultivate to set an example in teamwork and make collaboration great again.

(1) Communication

It all starts with communication. If you lack this skill, working with others becomes a lot harder. What defines a good communicator? Being one means not only sharing your thoughts clearly but also creating space for others to be heard. After all, communication is about understanding what your team needs and making sure you're all on the same page.

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Where to start? Whether through chat apps, emails, or face-to-face meetings, getting your message across clearly helps avoid misunderstandings and drives team success. Does the tool you're currently using serve your communication needs best? When it's the other way around, you could spend hours discussing something and never get to the bottom line.

(2) Attentive listening

As we agreed, communication is more about listening than talking. And not just any kind of listening — active listening. When practicing active listening, you give your full attention to the person speaking, ask questions, and show that you understand. This way, your teammates will know that you care, that their opinions matter, and they will feel more trusted.

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Where to start? Teams thrive when everyone feels heard. There are several ideas, starting with getting everyone to speak up on the call by going in order or creating a backlog with ideas linked to a specific project, so anyone can add to it, estimate it, and have the best ideas discussed on a call and implemented later. Make a collaborative atmosphere happen.

(3) Adaptability

Projects change, deadlines shift, and sometimes new priorities pop up out of nowhere. Things don't always go as planned; we all know that, and we all get used to it. But how to handle these shifts elegantly and master adaptability is something only a few of us know. This skill allows you to go with the flow and adjust to changes without losing focus.

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Where to start? Outside of work: stepping out of your comfort zone by taking on new challenges, learning new skills, or adjusting to different work styles actually works. Being challenged like that will eventually gift you with the ability to pivot quickly when things change at work and keep projects on track.

(4) Conflict resolution

Disagreements always happen. It doesn’t mean your team is bad or that you’re a bad manager. Clashing with opinions is a part of human nature. What really matters is how you handle those disagreements. Developing conflict resolution skills is the answer.

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Where to start? INTEL co-founder Andy Grove once proposed a technique called constructive confrontation. It helps strike a balance between defending your vision and listening to others. You should keep in mind four principles to practice constructive confrontation: timeliness (discussing a problem when it appears), addressability (knowing who to address the problem to), availability of facts and data (communicating without hypotheses, evaluations, opinions, and positions), and intention (finding a solution to the problem, not focusing on the person).

(5) Time management

Working in a team often means juggling multiple tasks and deadlines. Advanced time management skills make it easier to prioritize tasks, manage schedules, and handle deadlines.

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Where to start? Experiment with different planning methods and prioritization frameworks to find out which one fits best. Developing a single workflow will bring transparency to projects and tasks and make collaboration lighter.

(6) Problem-solving

Every project comes with its own set of challenges. That's why being a good problem-solver equals bringing value to any team. Problem-solving means contributing to coming up with solutions and not being afraid to get creative.

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Where to start? Break the problem down into smaller parts. By tackling each part step-by-step, you can identify the root causes, explore solutions with less effort, and prevent feeling overwhelmed by the complexity of the problem as a whole. And make sure you name the problem correctly from the start. A simple technique such as '5 whys' can help dig deeper. Otherwise, the whole process makes no sense.

(7) Accountability

It's about owning up to your work and taking responsibility for your actions, tasks, and mistakes. When every teammate knows that the professional environment is reliable, projects move faster, and trust builds naturally.

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Where to start? Set clear roles and responsibilities from the outset. Make sure they are visible so everyone knows who to address the issue to when it arises. Regular check-ins and open communication also keep everyone on track and encourage them to take ownership of their work.
Orchestra is a powerful collaboration tool that handles context switching

(8) Collaboration

This might seem obvious, but it's worth mentioning: teamwork is about working together, not on your own. That means being open to other people's ideas, giving constructive feedback, and creating frameworks for common ground.

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Where to start? Setting shared goals may be the first step to mastering collaboration. When everyone on the team understands the common objective and their role in achieving it, it aligns efforts and reduces misunderstandings.

(9) Patience

Let's be real for a second — working with others can be frustrating sometimes. People differ in many ways, from work styles and opinions to the ways of doing things. What helps here? Patience.

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Where to start? Give up certain expectations and remain flexible in your work. It doesn't mean letting people slog; rather, think ahead and be attentive to how they work, what mistakes they make, and how often. People work at different paces, and some tasks may take longer than expected. By staying adaptable and giving others the time they need, you contribute to a patient team environment.

(10) Leadership (valuable for all roles)

Leadership isn't just for managers. Leadership is about taking initiative, supporting others, and being proactive. It's about stepping up when needed and helping guide the team toward success.

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Where to start? Be a leader in your domain. Address issues when they appear, look for solutions, not someone to blame, share domain updates with stakeholders, etc. When work is done well in your area, your efforts will be recognized.

How Orchestra develops these skills

If you're on a mission to improve teamwork, Orchestra is a powerful collaboration tool that handles context switching. Teams can also:

  • Create separate spaces for teams and projects.
  • Keep topic-based communication in chats connected to project boards.
  • Communicate more smoothly with built-in voice & video calls.
  • Stay on top of tasks with elegant task boards.
  • Keep projects organized with shared & customizable workspaces.

Once again, teamwork is about mastering skills. When you pay attention to the way you:

  • Communicate.
  • Listen to others.
  • Handle work shifts.
  • Resolve conflict issues.
  • Take responsibility for your tasks.
  • Stay open-minded, patient, and proactive.

You become a great team member, leading by example of how teamwork should be.

Join Orchestra now and discover how much better collaboration and productivity can be

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