describe the barriers to collaborative problem solving

7 Most Common Collaboration Barriers And How To Overcome Them

February 1, 2023

The benefits of effective collaboration

How would you define collaboration? Is it simply the act of working together towards a common goal? Undoubtedly, this is the basic definition, but collaboration is something more than just this. It’s a chance to gain new insights, share expertise and find new inspiring ways to solve problems and deliver efficient solutions.

Effective collaboration is what makes teams and companies grow . Without it, any project will take ages to complete and the results will not be satisfactory, to say the least. In this day and age, good collaboration practices are a must also due to the growing popularity of remote work. As companies employ people based in different locations, they need to make sure teams have good conditions to collaborate effectively and stay productive.

Even though it’s so important to take care of successful collaboration, it’s also extremely challenging. There are many difficulties that may get in the way and they are not to be underestimated. What are the problems that can occur and what how to overcome them?

Common collaboration problems

Interpersonal problems.

Teams consist of people who are often very different from one another and whose points of view and mindsets may vary considerably. This, in turn, can lead to conflicts, which may severely disrupt effective collaboration. It is completely normal that people who work together are not always best friends. They may have different personalities, working habits as well as varying levels of emotional intelligence. The thing is, that none of the above should interfere with their collaboration .

Open communication is the key to solving any interpersonal problem. Team members should have the habit of discussing issues that arise on a regular basis rather than wait until it’s too late. Of course, it’s important to know how to form teams so that they are well matched, but it’s not possible to avoid these kind of difficulties altogether. That’s why it’s helpful to give team members opportunities to confront their points of view and never let any conflict remain unresolved.

Dispersed teams

Since remote work is growing in popularity, apart from the numerous benefits of the solution, there are also barriers to collaboration. Teamwork in dispersed teams is challenging and requires a clear set of rules and appropriate tools to increase efficiency. It might be the case that the flow of information is not working properly or that team members don’t communicate as much as they should through virtual meetings. This, in turn, can result in projects taking longer than anticipated and being a source of many frustrations.

There are many things that should be taken care of for dispersed teams to collaborate effectively. A very important one is undoubtedly an efficient collaboration tool that should facilitate the team’s work. Ideally, it should be a task management tool, which allows to follow the workflow on a regular basis and be able to keep up with any changes, but it should also enable smooth communication in real time. Both of the features are available in TimeCamp Planner, a two-in-one collaboration tool.

Indecisive decision-makers

It might happen that there are too many decision-makers at once or that they find it difficult to provide solutions. Also, sometimes those in charge have very different views and opinions . As a result, the whole process gets chaotic and no one really knows what to do. It can either lead to delayed deadlines or numerous changes along the way. Or both.

This problem is quite difficult to overcome, because decision-makers are usually those in charge of a project or even the whole company and it’s them who should actually set rules and provide improvements. But it might be the case that decision makers are, for instance, stakeholders. In such a case a good solution is to facilitate the decision process by proposing ideas and asking them to choose instead of having them say what to do. If decision-makers are product or project managers – well, then it’s time to rethink if they are the right people for the role.

Working in silos

This problem is oftentimes mentioned in the context of small companies, but it quite often affects big organisations as well. What is it, actually? It’s a situation when certain departments or teams do not share information with others in the company. Instead they believe it’s best to work in their little silos and don’t make the effort to collaborate across teams and share the responsibility. It results in lack of productivity, repeating the same tasks by different people or teams and reduced efficiency.

To overcome this problem, it’s vital that the communication between teams is taken care of. It’s also important to make sure that everyone in the company is on the same page and has the information they need. For team leaders and supervisors, it’s necessary to coordinate work in an efficient way and communicate with one another. The next step is to assign tasks to specific people and teams and give everyone a chance to see the big picture. A good way to organise everything is to make use of efficient task management software.

Too many people involved in a project

The phase of project planning is very important for all the next phases. The work should be estimated accurately , when it comes to the budget, time and the people involved. To encourage streamlined involvement and ensure efficient resource allocation, a referral code system can be implemented for team expansion or external consultations. It might be the case that there are too many people participating in a project. The workload is not accurately distributed and the team members are not as productive as they could be. Also, the roles and responsibilities might not be as clear as they should. Not to mention the communication among the people involved, which is additionally difficult when there’s too many of them.

The most important thing is to be particularly thorough at the very beginning of a project and put enough effort into planning the workflow. Also, it’s vital to make sure that the workload is accurately distributed as the project goes on. If, at any point, there’s too many people involved, it might be necessary to reconsider the roles and responsibilities and maybe introduce some changes. Another solution can be to use a project management app to optimize workflows within a team.

Now you know the most popular barriers to collaboration and how to overcome them. What problems concerning collaboration do you come across? Share in the comments and let’s look for solutions together!

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Pawel Kijko

10 common collaboration challenges and how to overcome them

10 collaboration challenges

Poor leadership
Miscommunication and poor flow of information
Lack of unity around goals
Poor engagement among team members
Lack of collaborative infrastructure
Collaboration overload
Imbalanced distribution of work
Collaborative inertia
Distrust and disrespect
Lack of tools

Building a collaborative workplace culture and engaging in joint work can be incredibly rewarding. But a myriad of factors can get in the way of good teamwork, so it’s important to be vigilant and guard against them.

Here are 10 common collaboration challenges that executives and employees face.

1. Poor leadership

Effective collaboration starts at the top — with senior managers and C-suite executives. If you don’t model a culture of teamwork and collaboration, how can you expect everyone else to get on board?

Some common examples of poor leadership include

Micromanaging employees instead of inviting them to work together to create solutions
Failing to coach employees for collaborative work and delegate effectively
Nurturing groupthink rather than encouraging healthy debate
Prioritizing your own ideas instead of letting the collaborative process play out

Leaders must use their authority to create an environment that empowers individuals and breaks down divisions between team members and departments.

2. Miscommunication and poor flow of information

You can’t openly share ideas, process feedback, gather input, and debate different approaches if you don’t communicate well. Misunderstandings, misinterpretations, and gaps in correspondence can put team members on different paths.

Incidentally, modern communication technologies are often part of the problem. When people communicate digitally — through email or instant messaging, for example — they can’t read body language, facial expressions, or tone of voice to assess meaning and intent.

What’s more, if someone doesn’t copy the right people on an important email or sends out the wrong version of an evolving document, colleagues will operate under different assumptions — and that will breed confusion.

3. Lack of unity around goals

A shared, common purpose with clearly defined goals motivates strong collective action. Every collaborator needs to know their role and each participant’s tasks, priorities, obstacles, expectations, and responsibilities to effectively combine forces. Otherwise, you risk developing different agendas and solving contrasting problems, which can quickly fragment a team effort.

4. Poor engagement among team members

For collaboration to be successful, all parties need to be invested in the collaborative process. They have to want to work as a team.

Many people are protective of their ideas, unwilling to relinquish control, and uncomfortable with the conflict that often comes with collective projects. We don’t like saying, “I don’t know; what do you think?” — especially members of senior management — and we often struggle to trust others to do a good job.

What’s more, some of us feel we work more effectively alone, don’t want to take responsibility for other people’s failures, or simply don’t believe in the value of a particular project as much as others do.

5. Lack of collaborative infrastructure

Physical barriers between departments can present huge hurdles for collective work. If a building doesn’t feature common areas, meeting rooms, and breakout spaces that facilitate engagement, it’s more difficult to interact.

But what if your team isn’t in the same building — or even the same state? With the rise of remote work, businesses can no longer rely solely on a well-designed office to encourage collaboration.

Technology — videoconferencing software, project management platforms, and file-sharing apps — can help bridge communication gaps both within and between departments.

6. Collaboration overload

As essential as workplace collaboration is, it can also be an incredibly time-consuming endeavor, requiring patience, effort, and energy you may not always be able to give. If your schedule is already packed, the request to assist, offer input, attend meetings, and respond to emails can quickly overwhelm you — causing collaboration overload .

Before long, employees have to work extended hours and sacrifice work-life balance. They’re permanently distracted, stressed to the point of burnout, and unfulfilled in their jobs, which can ultimately lead to high turnover.

7. Imbalanced distribution of work

Top performers often dislike teamwork because they frequently end up carrying most of the project while others coast along. (In fact, only about 5 percent of employees provide 20 to 35 percent of high-impact collaborations .)

If employers don’t give people credit where credit is due, these valuable employees can quickly become resentful and quit, resulting in companies losing some of their best people.

8. Collaborative inertia

If no one is directing the focus of collaborative efforts — and if participants are too preoccupied with people-pleasing or having their own voices heard — discussions can go in circles.

Similarly, if people have conflicting views and are unwilling to bridge gaps or “argue” constructively, work can quickly stagnate.

For workplace collaboration to be worthwhile, it needs to produce something valuable. If it doesn’t, it can waste precious time and resources.

9. Distrust and disrespect

No matter how aligned you are on goals and objectives, it’s pretty much impossible to work with someone if there’s any distrust or disrespect — whether it’s mutual or one-sided.

That’s why it’s important to prioritize hiring people who demonstrate respect, character, teamwork, and ethics. These people are much more likely to do their jobs well and get along with others.

You also need to make sure you provide a welcoming space so all employees feel comfortable bringing issues to your attention. After all, the more you know about a colleague conflict — and the earlier you know about it — the faster you can resolve it.

10. Lack of tools

You can create a pleasant, collaborative workplace built on mutual trust, transparency, and respect, but if you don’t have a secure online workspace to share data and information, you’ll continue to face many of these challenges. You need the right tools to accomplish tasks, meet deadlines, and safeguard data like a well-oiled machine.

Luckily, thanks to software like Jotform Teams , you can combat all of these collaboration challenges.

With this powerful workplace collaboration solution, you can

Build workspaces for each team, allowing them to access and edit all shared forms, reports, tables, workflows, and other documents from one central location
Assign roles to each team member so everyone knows their responsibilities and expectations
Generate data-driven reports with a click of a button
Sign, share, and request documents
Improve visibility and accountability without leaving the platform
Collect, view, and analyze your team’s data and forms from any device — offline or online

It’s easy to combat inevitable workplace collaboration challenges with the right software and strategies. Effective collaboration helps you streamline processes, improve communication, increase productivity, and, most importantly, boost profitability across your organization.

It’s also a great way to create a positive environment full of motivated employees who genuinely enjoy working together — especially if you use tools like Jotform Teams to keep everyone aligned and organized.

Photo by Jonathan Farber on Unsplash

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