collaboration:
act of working jointly
act of cooperating traitorously with an enemy that is occupying your country
I once worked with a woman who refused to use the word collaboration or collaborator. The Nazi occupation of European countries during the second world war relied on the venality and fear of local ‘collaborators’ and, for my work colleague, this invocation of the word had contaminated it forever.
While collaboration has recently undergone something of a renaissance; it’s worth noting that dictionaries still contain its dual meaning. It may be a big stretch to link the optimism that accompanies contemporary collaborative practices with the self interest that marks the behaviour of a traitor in a highly charged political situation; but I argue that the shadow side of collaboration is always lurking and that truly successful collaborators recognise the need to bring an element of design and a dose of self awareness to the table.
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The sessions confirmed my suspicion that the Australian working culture is abysmal at performance feedback. Contrary to the popular stereotype of blunt, frank and open communication, in our workplaces we are, in the main, unassertive, indirect, ironic, passive and excessively accommodating. With some rare exceptions – the people who do the tough conversations for the rest of us.