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

If trust quietly left one of your collaborations today, how long would it take you to notice?

Trust isn’t missing from the Building Blocks of Collaborative Intelligence. It’s not listed on purpose..

This week’s Thursday Thoughts tackles a question I hear often: “If trust is so essential to collaboration… why isn’t it a Building Block?

”Because trust isn’t the ingredient. It’s the outcome. We don’t lose trust loudly. We lose it in avoidance. In sharp energy. In meetings that feel “off.”

👉 Read here: https://lnkd.in/gkwTX6VV

#ThursdayThoughts #CollaborativeIntelligence #Leadership #Trust #Collaboration

Imposter Complex isn’t just personal. In collaborations, it affects the whole team. People:-Hold back ideas.-Avoid leadership.-Stay quiet when their voice is needed most.This week’s Thursday Thoughts explores how imposter complex shows up inside collaborations and how trust can transform it. To do this justice, I reference the brilliant and wonderful Tanya Geisler, CPCC👉 At the Edge of Not Knowing https://lnkd.in/gFh4JHrNCheck out Tanya Geisler's website here: https://tanyageisler.com/#ThursdayThoughts #Collaboration #Leadership #ImposterSyndrome #CollaborativeIntelligence #impostercomplex

"How am I supposed to act “professional” when everything else is clearly changing?"

Many people feel the tension between business as usual and the deeper transformations happening around us. It can feel like we’re expected to smile, post, perform, and say “I’m good”… even when something inside us knows that’s not the full truth. This week’s Thursday Thoughts explores that dissonance through a Collaborative Intelligence lens:

*Why self-awareness is the starting point

*How breaking life into smaller collaborations can reduce overwhelm

*And how alignment (not apathy) helps us navigate this in-between space

👉 When Professionalism Feels Like Pretending https://lnkd.in/giunkHfb

#ThursdayThoughts #Collaboration #Leadership #Professionalism #CollaborativeIntelligence #FutureOfWork

Most organizations don’t choose their meetings. They default to them.Weekly huddles. Standing project meetings. Meetings to prepare for other meetings. I call this the Meeting Default Problem.... when meetings quietly replace trust, clarity, and momentum.This week’s Thursday Thoughts starts with a question from a project manager who said: “I’m in meetings all Monday. Honestly, they feel like meetings to meet.” If that sounds familiar, this reflection explores:*Why meetings often form around anxiety, not necessity*When the whole group actually needs to be in the room (and when they don’t)*How trust, leadership, and collaboration can reduce meetings—not add moreLink to mentioned 2024 Thursday Thoughts: “Did that Meeting Fill You or Deplete You?” https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/did-meeting-fill-you-deplete-gregg-potter-uvxoc/👉 Full email: Meeting Default Problemhttps://lnkd.in/gy9aGJeS#ThursdayThoughts #collaboration #leadership #organizationalculture #meetings #collaborativeintelligence #meetingstomeet

“Collaboration” shows up in a lot of company values.But for many people, it stays there... on the wall, not in the work.This week’s Thursday Thoughts starts with a simple question: Why do some organizations say they value collaboration… but don’t actually practice it?It turns out size isn’t the real issue. Design, intention, and practice are.👉 When Collaboration Is Only a Wordhttps://lnkd.in/geZr-BW5Got a question about collaboration you’re wrestling with? Send it my way. I’m letting your questions shape this year.#Collaboration #Leadership #OrganizationalCulture #ThursdayThoughts #collaborativeintelligence #cq #companyculture #values