I have a presentation coming up on creating cross-campus collaborations, and I found myself reflecting on what has actually made me successful at that work.

It definitely wasn’t a three-day masterclass workshop. That was never offered to me.

If I’m honest, I think it traces back to being an only child.

When you grow up without built-in siblings, connection takes intention. Friendship is not automatically baked into your daily life. You have to put yourself out there. You learn through trial and error how to connect with different kinds of people.

Looking back, those early experiences shaped how I collaborate today.

So what advice would my younger self offer about building collaborations in your organization?

Here are a few starting points:

Get to know people.
Spend time understanding people as people. What do they care about? What motivates them? What do they enjoy? When someone feels seen beyond their role, collaboration becomes much more natural.

Be the organizer.
Growing up, I played a lot of pickup basketball. If you wanted a good game, someone had to coordinate it. Getting a group of teenage boys to show up at the same time in the same place built more leadership skill than I realized at the time. Collaboration often requires someone willing to initiate.

Show up.
When people in your organization need support, be present. Even when they do not explicitly ask, presence matters. Reliability builds momentum. I learned early on that friendships deepen when you consistently show up.

Build trust.
Some people hesitate to collaborate because they have been burned before. Maybe credit was misplaced. Maybe communication broke down. Trust takes time, consistency, and integrity. When you demonstrate that you will do the right thing, you build long-term partners. That lesson started long before I had a job title.

Run in different circles.
As a kid, I moved between social groups. At work, I do the same. If you want to collaborate outside your unit, spend time outside your unit. Proximity builds familiarity. Familiarity builds opportunity.

These are just a few ways to lean into collaboration at work and in life. It is also a reminder not to overlook the skills you built early on. Your experiences, even the awkward ones, shaped how you lead today. Some choices you would repeat. Some you would not. But all of them contributed to the leader you are becoming.

What early life experiences may have quietly shaped the way you build relationships and collaborate today?

If you wanted stronger partnerships across your organization, where might you need to be more intentional about showing up or reaching out?

Steve

Forward this to a friend 🙂