I laughed too loud in a Starbucks in Frankfurt… and it turned into a full-day collaboration with three strangers.

I was 33, on my way to South Africa, with a 12-hour layover in a city where I didn’t speak the language. The objective was simple: Explore!

What I didn’t expect was that the “actors” would show up in the form of three guys from Santiago who invited me to spend the day with them. No plan. No shared history. Just a moment and a yes.

This week’s Thursday Thoughts is a bit different. It’s a story from the vault and a reminder that some of the most meaningful collaborations aren’t planned… They’re noticed.

👉 A Collaboration I Didn’t Plan https://lnkd.in/g8GAu6t6

A question for us all: Where in your life might an unexpected collaboration be waiting… if you were just a little more willing to say yes?

#ThursdayThoughts #Collaboration #Leadership #CollaborativeIntelligence

Most collaboration problems don’t start in the meeting.They start in the mirror.We often think collaboration begins when the right people gather around a table. But in my work with Collaborative Intelligence, I’ve learned something simpler:Collaboration starts with you.It starts with awareness of how you are showing up—your energy, assumptions, strengths, and habits. That’s why the first Building Block of Collaborative Intelligence is always Awareness of Self. Without it, the other skills (facilitation, conflict resolution, transformational leadership, and friendliness to collaborate) are much harder to access.Without awareness, we react. With awareness, we choose.This week’s Thursday Thoughts explores why I always begin here.It’s called “The Collaboration Mirror.”👉 https://lnkd.in/gZBsBa3C#ThursdayThoughts #Collaboration #Leadership #CollaborativeIntelligence

What does French toast have to do with collaboration? More than you might think.

Last year I found myself in a tiny hospital kitchen in the Maasai Mara with six medical students trying to cook breakfast for dinner. The burners were too hot. The bacon came in sheets instead of strips. And the French toast was burning faster than we could flip it. Chaos. So

I asked two simple questions: “What is everyone’s role?” “What is the objective of this collaboration?” The room changed immediately.

This week’s Thursday Thoughts explores a question someone asked me: Is there a difference between working together and collaborating? Turns out there is. Sometimes collaboration looks like a boardroom strategy session. Sometimes it looks like seven people trying not to burn French toast in the bush. Either way, intention changes everything.

Read this week’s Thursday Thoughts: “A French Toast Collaboration.”👉 https://lnkd.in/duWnUvga

#ThursdayThoughts #Collaboration #Leadership #CollaborativeIntelligence