{"id":54641,"date":"2026-08-22T17:31:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T15:31:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turner.nl\/uncategorized\/column-by-peter-de-bruin-together-is-a-verb\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T17:31:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T15:31:13","slug":"column-by-peter-de-bruin-together-is-a-verb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turner.nl\/en\/blog-en\/column-by-peter-de-bruin-together-is-a-verb\/","title":{"rendered":"Column by Peter de Bruin | \u201cTogether Is a Verb\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Column by Peter de Bruin<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\"Together is a verb\"<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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In his most recent column, Peter de Bruin argues that collaboration requires an investment in our relationships with one another. Trust is built by getting to know each other on a deeper level, beyond our respective insecurities. Working on collaboration is an ongoing process; \u201ctogether\u201d is a verb. <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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We provide customer service together. We perform Strategy Execution together. We fight the coronavirus together. We overcome the climate crisis together. We win together. We don\u2019t lose together. Every parliamentary investigation invariably reaches the same conclusion: \u201cThere should have been more collaboration.\u201d The mantra \u201ctogether\u201d then serves as a fig leaf, after which we go back to business as usual. Because actual learning from it\u2026? \u201cTogether\u201d is the biggest clich\u00e9 I know. It\u2019s certainly heavily overused in the world of organizational management as well. That\u2019s why it\u2019s good to take a closer look at \u201ctogether\u201d together :).<\/p>

\u201cTogether\u201d is a way of being with one another or alongside one another. And it\u2019s the opposite of alone. \u201cTogether\u201d requires something shared. Having something \u201cin common.\u201d A trait, a place, a hobby, a vision, an interest\u2026 or a shared concern; something that connects us. It fosters a sense of togetherness, whether it stems from love (creating something) or from fear (preventing something). Shared commonality yields many benefits\u2014such as responsibility for the whole rather than just a part. And synergy\u2014the power of the sum of its parts. <\/p>

Three factors play a role in fostering a sense of community: arguments, relationships, and context. The arguments are rational: working together makes things better, easier, faster, and cheaper. The relational drive behind collaboration is emotional: shared values, passion, or a higher purpose. You don\u2019t need to explain to anyone how cool it is to contribute to the Olympic Games. Finally, the environment matters. The rules, frameworks, situation, or phase we\u2019re in largely determine how we shape our collaboration. During the COVID-19 crisis, decision-making is small-scale, compact, and top-down. Whereas in an organizational change process, we work on a large scale, in a Multidisciplinary manner, and specifically from the bottom up. <\/p>

Anyone who works in teams can relate to this. Nobody is perfect, but a team can be. Harnessing complementarity isn\u2019t about control or constantly weighing each other\u2019s contributions. It\u2019s about sharing work styles and preferences so we can all benefit together. Not compromise, but synergy. Someone once told me, \u201cLet\u2019s work together\u2014my way.\u201d I couldn\u2019t help but laugh. <\/p>

Collaboration pays off, but it only works if there are genuine relationships between people, based on equality and a deeper level of respect and trust. That\u2019s quite difficult. On a rational level, we exchange a lot of information, but communicating on a relational level is much harder\u2014let alone sharing our true intentions with one another. <\/p>

This is precisely the area where we\u2019ll need to work toward \u201ctrue collaboration.\u201d Our crises can only be resolved through interdisciplinary collaboration. The way we go about achieving something says everything about what we\u2019ll ultimately achieve. <\/p>

What\u2019s holding us back? Most often, uncertainty. The fear of losing something prevents us from having the real conversation. In sectors such as Healthcare, law enforcement, or Education, intrinsically motivated professionals would rather cover for one another than have a meaningful conversation about how the organization works together. Isn\u2019t that the role of leaders? Dealing with others\u2019 uncertainty in the real conversation. <\/p>

\u201cTogether\u201d is a verb. Just like eating, walking, \u2026 Only by working on collaboration can we ensure that the whole remains greater than the sum of its parts, and \u201ctogether\u201d isn\u2019t just a clich\u00e9 or a fig leaf. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Meet the Author<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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