Sadly, there really is a lot of collaboration cargo culting these days. But it's interesting because in the large majority of fields the best outcomes really a

Sadly, there really is a lot of collaboration cargo culting these days. But it's interesting because in the large majority of fields the best outcomes really are in some ways collaborative efforts. The lone genius is actually extremely rare. I'm inclined to say the key to effective collaboration is that it has to be driven entirely by the collaborators, and it is only actively happening for a very small percentage of the time spent on a project. A cargo culting middle manager might think she's helping by setting up hours of meetings with different people to get their "perspective". Those people probably can add value. But the best way to do it is to let the project lead go to them with questions or asking for feedback when they think it makes sense. Management can help by fostering a culture where people are willing and eager to talk to their colleagues when they need help, or to get new ideas. To some extent communication tools can help, but there are other much bigger factors: Don't make people feel like they'll be penalized in performance reviews for not knowing things or needing help. Cultivate a sense of shared ownership of projects and outcomes. Give people maxuimum autonomy over their schedules.