AI is not the answer for team collaboration

Team collaboration is people talking to each other.

Generative AI can speed up some aspects of individual work, but that has never been the part slowing down software development. No one ever says the coding is the slow part. We can all type fast enough.

You can’t prompt your way out of a team collaboration challenge. You might be able to find ideas on how to generate conversations with team members, but you will talk to them to put the AI ideas into practice.

Step away from the keyboard. Talk to your team members. Yes, talking can be hard. It is necessary. It is crucial.

Team collaboration happens when we talk to each other

We must talk to each other on a team. This is how we align our work, and agree on our shared vision. All of the collaboration rules rely upon people talking to each other.

We talk to each other to develop the shared vision of the collaboration. Talking to each other also guides our work to agree upon cadence of meetings. Plus also how and when we do our work together.

Talking together makes the collaboration happen. If we exchange messages and documents, then we are only coordinating our work. The outcome will not be as productive.

You need to talk to each other to determine your goals, and decide upon the outcomes you want to achieve.

Guide your people to talk and collaborate

Lead by example. Talk to people. Work together.

Ask your team members to pair on tasks. Meet with people over lunch too. Show your humanity and they will show theirs too. This is where and how people excel over generative AI.

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