3 collaboration styles to foster creativity

Using music to discern 3 unique collaboration styles.
Research cited by Harvard Business Review found that specific creative collaborations in musical settings can improve subsequent performance. Those ideas translate to business settings as well.

That means creative leaders should think about collaboration as a creative decision rather than a staffing decision.

Need more from younger talent?
Pair them with an established name.

“In our study, less-established artists who released a track with a bigger star saw their radio play rise 61% over their solo work,” per Harvard Business Review.

In a business setting, this exact notion still applies. The established name not offers invaluable tools, lessons, and experience, they can also carry enough clout for the duo, signaling to others that the newcomer is worth taking seriously.

That aura surrounding the younger creative pays dividends in the form of added clarify and confidence.

Need to open a very specific door?
Pair people with overlapping skills.

“Across thousands of pairings, a joint release drew more plays when one partner brought a network that the other lacked, and both left with access they did not have before,” per Harvard Business Review.

Sometimes you need to pair people who genuinely make each other better, lending each others’ separate skill sets in a way that perfectly hits that sweet spot in the middle where great ideas thrive.

This is the Venn-diagram of collaboration styles, and the beauty of it is that it not only enhances the work, it helps the two collaborators walk away more talented than they were prior.

Need to break free of predictability?
Pair people with different backgrounds.

“In our data, a collaboration drew significantly more radio plays when the two artists had grown up in different national cultures; musical style barely mattered,” per Harvard Business Review.

Diversity of thought, background, and even culture plays a huge role in the success of developing truly unique creative ideas.

For instance, who woulda thought Cowboy Carter, a country album with collaborators like Dolly Parton, Paul McCartney, and Miley Cyrus would’ve blown up the way it did?

Beyonce. That’s who.

These unpredictable collaborations can lead to truly unpredictable and thought-provoking way. As creative leaders, our job is to design the conditions—and the collaborations—that help teams grow.