Is Your Team ACTUALLY Collaborating or Just Winging it? 😏 {The Virtual PM Newsletter}


Connect with Donna on LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

Hey Reader,

According to this article by Salesforce, 86% of employees and executives cite lack of collaboration or ineffective communication as a reason for workplace failures.

That's HUGE. 🤯 And it's one of the reasons why I wanted to dive deep into it today.

A while back, I was leading a project that seemed to have all the right ingredients: a talented team, solid objectives, and regular check-ins.

But something wasn’t clicking.

Despite our best intentions, everyone seemed to be on their own page—collaboration felt like a concept, not a reality.

Turns out, we weren’t really set up for success. Very few wanted to work together.

I realized then that simply telling a team to “collaborate” isn’t enough.

True collaboration needs structure, clarity, and, most importantly, trust.

In my LinkedIn article, I break down the biggest misconceptions about collaboration and what teams actually need to work together effectively.

Spoiler alert: It’s not about forcing consensus or endless meetings. 😉

I created an infographic below to illustrate the secrets behind successful collaboration.

Join the second installment of my Lunch & Learn: Lead Smarter Series 📣

In case you missed it, for the next 4 weeks, I'm hosting a LIVE leadership training session on Wednesdays at 12 PM CST.

These training sessions are 100% FREE. If you lead an organization as a CEO, or manager, it may be a good idea to encourage your team members to join.


Here's the training schedule:


🗓️ October 30, 2024 (Wed @ 12 PM CST) 3 Critical Mistakes Leaders Make When Resisting Change

🗓️ November 06, 2024 (Wed @ 12 PM CST) 3 Tactics for Effective Delegation

🗓️ November 13, 2024 (Wed @ 12 PM CST) Stay Ahead or Get Left Behind: 4 Leadership Growth Strategies

🗓️ November 20, 2024 (Wed @ 12 PM CST) 3 Self-Awareness Habits Every Leader Must Master

CLICK HERE TO RSVP - IT'S FREE
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR WORKBOOK

FEW Slots Left! ⏰

October’s almost over, and I still have a few spots open for DISC assessments—but they’re filling up fast!

A DISC assessment is your shortcut to understanding your unique leadership and communication style.

By breaking down your behaviors into Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness, taking this assessment will reveal your strengths and areas for growth.

So if you're looking to be the kind of leader who inspires, drives action, and truly makes an impact...

Book a DISC assessment with me—now only at $37 for the month of October (normally $197).



Virtually Yours,

Donna Franklin West, MHA, PMP, CSM

CEO, The Virtual PM

☎️901-489-9850

📧connect@thevirtualpm.org

Click here to see our Business Portfolio



Newsletter / Article Reprint Permission:

Feel free to showcase this newsletter wherever you’d like—your magazine, blog, or internal newsletter. Just make sure to give me, Donna Franklin West, a shout-out as the author and include a direct link to www.thevirtualpm.org

This email may contain affiliate links, for which I receive a small commission for every purchase, at no extra cost to you.

The Virtual PM

2095 Exeter Road, Suite 80375, Germantown, TN 38138
Unsubscribe · Preferences

The Virtual PM

Get the latest in Project Management with The Virtual PM newsletter: expert tips, tech trends, leadership insights, and tools like checklists, assessments, templates. 👉🏽 www.thevirtualpm.org 👉🏽 www.thevirtualpm.digital

Read more from The Virtual PM
Do You Want to Lead People or Just Chase a Title?

Connect with Donna on LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube Hey Reader, I once had a conversation with an organization about one of their employees who had recently been promoted into management.. On the surface, it made sense. Everyone liked him. He was good at his job, dependable, thoughtful, and the person people trusted when the work got complicated. So when a leadership role opened up, promoting him felt like the natural thing to do. Until.... He was spending less time doing the work...

leadership lessons

Connect with Donna on LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube Reader, I once spent an entire morning with a leadership team that looked productive from the outside. They had the calendar invites, the project tracker, the follow-up emails, the weekly updates, and the kind of packed agenda that makes everyone feel like important work is happening. There was Marcus, who kept saying his team was “moving as fast as they could.” There was Jennifer, who had a spreadsheet open with so many...

Drive-By Leadership Training: Why Exposure Isn’t Development

Connect with Donna on LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube Hi Reader, Have you ever sat in a leadership training that was actually good? The kind where people are engaged, the facilitator is inspiring, the content they've planned for the day makes sense, and for a moment you think, “Yes, this is exactly what we needed.” And then everyone goes back to work. The inbox is still full. The meetings are still happening. The same decisions are still waiting to be made, and before long, that...