Skills are important - don't get me wrong. Experience too. But Attitudes - they shape how effective we are at using both.
1. Curious. You retain that child-like sense of no-holds-barred imagination that makes 'What If?' lead to 'Wow!' Adventurous thinking (ideally in a culture where the safety nets overcome the fear).
2. Optimistic. You have the belief that things can be better. The combination with curiosity makes you the kind of person for whom 'good enough', rarely is. Optimists see opportunity where others see barriers.
3. Collaborative - The need for continuous innovation in today's organisations mean we must strive to connect and reconnect both with ideas and with people. The ability to organise adhoc supports this attitude. Silos do not.
4. Open: You have to be prepared to be open with others, to build the relationships of trust the quality of your collaborations will depend on.
Google research recently found (after years of research and heaps of data analysis) the consistent point of differentiation between high and low performing teams was the equality of their communications (every one gets to speak about the same amount) which was likely an outcome of their ability to empathise.
There is more to the collaborative mindset than a desire to share; to succeed in teams it requires genuine social connection - care about those you are collaborating with. And, to connect like that, requires an openness that does not come easy to all.
Given the rate at which we may move from team to team, this openness becomes a key attitude to hold, too.
For thoughts on how you can create the right environment for teams who care about each other, it's worth looking at how Google turned data into a call for emotion - here.
