Importance of Collaboration

We teach kids how to read, write, and calculate. But almost never how to collaborate. That missing skill shows up later inside companies. We reward the individual who closes the deal, not the team that made it possible. We track personal KPIs but ignore how well people coordinate. The irony is most business challenges are not technical problems. They are coordination problems. It is not about whether one person can perform, it is about whether groups can align, share information, and move together without dropping the ball. The smartest companies know this. They design systems, incentives, and cultures that make collaboration a strength, not an afterthought.

If your team’s not speaking up… you’ve already lost. Not ideas. Not productivity. Trust. And once trust is gone? Innovation stalls. Collaboration dies. People check out—or walk out. The fix? Not another tool. Not another policy. But something far more powerful: Psychological safety. It’s not a “nice to have.” It’s the hidden engine behind every high-performing team. Here’s how you build it—one conversation, one decision, one moment at a time 👇🏼 1. Lead with curiosity, not judgment. ↳ “Help me understand…” beats “Why’d you do that?” 2. Admit your own mistakes. ↳ Model the safety you want others to feel. 3. Give credit generously. ↳ Shine the light on others—often and publicly. 4. Respond, don’t react. ↳ Let people tell the truth without fear of fallout. 5. Invite pushback. ↳ Ask: “What am I missing?” 6. Remove silent punishments. ↳ Reward honesty, not just agreement. 7. Normalize “I don’t know.” ↳ That’s how real learning starts. 8. Make feedback feel safe. ↳ Correct with care. Aim for growth, not shame. 9. Start meetings with check-ins. ↳ Connection before conversation. 10. Celebrate courage, not just results. ↳ Applaud the voice, not just the victory. Because when people feel safe, they don’t hold back. They contribute. They challenge. They soar. If you want your team to rise—safety comes first. Which one of these 10 will you lead with this week? ♻️ Share this with your network if it resonates. ☝️ And follow Stuart Andrews for more insights like this.

Successful entrepreneurs understand that they don’t build businesses — they build teams, and those teams create thriving businesses. In the early stages, entrepreneurs might ask, “Can we make money? Can we get customers?” But as the business evolves, the real question becomes, “Can we build the right team?” A strong, united team brings diverse skills, ideas, and perspectives, allowing the business to scale beyond what any entrepreneur could achieve alone. Great teams turn visions into reality, overcome challenges, and fuel long-term growth. The journey from solo hustle to sustainable success starts when entrepreneurs shift their mindset from doing everything themselves to empowering others — because businesses don’t grow by adding more work, they grow by adding more capable people.

Earlier in my career, I kept seeing the same pattern: Companies would get excited about partnerships… And then rush straight into activity. “Can we send an EDM tomorrow?” “Let’s run a webinar together.” “If we partner with [big logo], growth will come — right?” What followed was predictable: A burst of motion. Very little impact. The issue wasn’t effort. It was intent. Partnerships were being treated like a tactic, not a system. No clear outcomes. No structure. Just hopeful activity. I saw this especially in earlier-stage companies: Founders with strong networks, big ambitions… And the quiet hope that a big platform would do the heavy lifting. It rarely works that way. What does work? 🟢 Designing partnerships with ROI in mind 🟢 Being brutally honest about what partners need to succeed 🟢 Building partner-led pipeline deliberately, over time Seeing this play out again and again is what pushed me to share the playbook more openly and help companies build partnerships properly, not performatively. Because when partnerships are done well, they compound. When they’re done for optics, they fade fast. That distinction matters more than ever heading into 2026.

A viral image of an ATM in Ludhiana recently caught my attention - a dangerously steep ramp ending abruptly at a glass door, with a staircase running alongside that leads nowhere. A perfect reminder of a hard-earned lesson in fintech: "Compliance isn’t just a checkbox." Product Managers: You don't want to miss saving 💾 this post for your future reference. This ramp was technically "compliant" - yes, there was a wheelchair access ramp. But it completely missed the purpose of accessibility. People had angry comments on social media about the apathy with which wheelchair-bound customers were treated and how the bank had made a mockery of accessibility. No amount of regulation can account for 'compliance as a checkbox' implementations that are designed to meet the regulation but not serve their intended purpose. It's the same trap I've seen countless fintech products fall into - implementing regulations as mere checkboxes rather than embracing them as design principles. I've experienced regulatory hurdles umpteen times in product launches; in fact, I've never experienced a straightforward implementation that hasn't hit a regulatory roadblock. BUT I can say this confidently: Compliance-first design is the secret sauce that makes the battle easier and less arduous, and inarguably 'faster' IF You just stick to the first principles of building this into your product strategy from day one . Regulations can either slow you down or become your competitive edge. To make compliance your strategic advantage, here's my 3-step playbook: 1/ Design Integration: Make regulatory adherence a natural part of the user experience rather than an afterthought ↳Embed compliance requirements into your initial product design ↳Get feedback from legal and compliance teams, and even the regulator if needed ↳Validate, Test, Iterate, Repeat 2/ Cross-Functional Collaboration: Build bridges between product, legal/compliance teams from day one ↳Involve them early ↳Make compliance & legal stakeholders brainstorm and provide feedback ↳Balance innovation with regulatory requirements using case studies and data to back up assertions instead of getting into crosshairs with them 3/ Validate Early, Validate Often: ↳Test with real scenarios ↳Get early feedback from regulators ↳Regular compliance assessments, no matter what stage of development you are in One golden tip - document everything, err on the side of caution when it comes to building and fostering trust with legal and compliance counterparts. The lesson in one line? Build WITH compliance, not around it. Instead of working around regulations, let's build with them. Because when you design within the right guardrails, innovation doesn't just survive—it scales. What's your strategy for managing fintech compliance? Share below. 👍 LIKE this post, 🔄 REPOST this to your network and follow me, Monica Jasuja

For the past year, I’ve had the privilege of co-chairing together with Carme Artigas the UN’s High-level Advisory Body on AI,which included 38 members from 33 countries. We were tasked with developing a blueprint for sharing AI’s transformative potential globally, while identifying and addressing the risks and filling the gaps that limit participation.  Following our interim report in Dec 2023, today we’re sharing our final report which outlines our key findings and recommendations to enhance global cooperation on AI governance. The report was informed by extensive consultation, including more than 2000 participants from all regions, 18 deep dives with 500 expert participants, 250 written submissions, 100+ virtual discussions, as well as research and surveys. AI has the potential to assist people in everyday tasks to their productive and creative endeavors, enable entrepreneurs and small and large businesses, transformation of sectors from healthcare to agriculture, power economic growth, advance science in ways that benefit society, and contribute to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. At the same time, as with any powerful technology, it poses risks, challenges and complexities ranging from bias, misapplication and misuse, impact on work, to potentially widening global inequities. Our work highlighted many of these themes as well as key gaps in governance and the capacity for all to fully benefit from AI.  To harness AI’s potential and mitigate its risks, we need a truly inclusive and international effort – and current governance structures are missing too many voices. Our recommendations focus on these and other findings and I encourage you to read the report. Thank you to the UN’s Tech Envoy Amandeep Gill and his team, my co-chair Carme Artigas, and my fellow members of the advisory body -- from whom I learned a lot -- for their expertise and diverse views and vantage points, partnership, persistence and commitment to governing and harnessing AI’s potential benefits for all of humanity. https://lnkd.in/gFhFWWEh Carme Artigas, Anna Christmann, Anna Abramova, Omar Sultan AlOlama, @Latifa Al-Abdulkarim, Estela Aranha, Ran Balicer, Paolo Benanti, Abeba Birhane, Ian Bremmer, Anna Christmann,Natasha Crampton, Nighat Dad, Vilas Dhar, Virginia Dignum, @Arisa Ema, @mohamed farahat, Wendy Hall, Rahaf Harfoush, Hiroaki Kitano, Haksoo Ko, Andreas Krause, Maria Vanina Martinez, Seydina M. Ndiaye, @Moussa Ndiaye, Mira Murati, Petri Myllymäki, Alondra Nelson, Nazneen Rajani, Craig Ramlal, @Ruimin He, Emma Ruttkamp-Bloem, Marietje Schaake, @Sharad Sharma, @Jaan Tallinn, Ambassador Philip Thigo, MBS, Jimena Viveros LL.M., Yi Zeng, @Zhang Linghan

The “Eternal Struggle”: PR vs. Legal – And how to bridge the gaps. There’s an old adage in corporate crisis management: You’re either at the table, or you’re on the menu. And nowhere is this more evident than in the frequent tug-of-war between PR teams and legal departments during a crisis. I’ve been on both sides of this debate—as a former lawyer and now a public affairs advisor. Here’s the truth: the “say nothing, do nothing” approach that worked 30 years ago will destroy a company’s reputation today. But going rogue with an unchecked PR strategy can tank a future legal or regulatory case just as fast and may get you fired. So how do we navigate this proverbial minefield? Here’s how to bridge the gap: 1. Understand the Stakes - Legal’s priority: Protect the company from lawsuits, fines, and regulatory action. - PR’s priority: Protect the company’s reputation in the court of public opinion (where your customers, investors, and employees live). Both priorities are 100% valid—and both are existential risks. 2. Build the Crisis Playbook Collaboratively - Pre-plan messaging for likely crisis scenarios before the heat is on. - Agree on who leads which part of the response and when. This can be tough, but dedicate the time. - Include Legal in your media training—they’ll thank you when it’s time to deliver tightly-worded, low-risk statements under pressure. 3. “Be at the Table” - Legal needs to respect PR as more than a “spin machine.” PR shapes reputations that can directly influence jury pools, regulators, and decision-makers. - PR needs to recognize legal’s expertise in risk avoidance. Reckless comments can lead to billion-dollar costs. The key: If both teams collaborate early, they can find solutions that protect both reputation and the bottom line. 4. Manage the Message - Words matter: Even a single phrase can change the narrative. Use legal-approved, precise language that aligns with PR’s strategy. - Stay human: A robotic, overly cautious response (“We are investigating and will provide updates soon.”) simply doesn’t work anymore. - Own what you can: Show accountability where it’s safe and strategic. 5. Play the Long Game The court of law and the court of public opinion don’t always operate on the same timelines. But public perception often shapes the legal and regulatory outcomes. - Losing trust with customers can lead to more aggressive scrutiny from regulators. - Winning public support can soften legal blowback or even help settle cases faster. Bottom Line: The PR vs. Legal conflict doesn’t need to be a zero-sum game. The best organizations recognize that reputation and liability are two sides of the same coin, and build a unified approach to protect both. When you’re in a crisis, it’s not just about avoiding mistakes. It’s about showing leadership when it matters most. And leadership starts with getting PR and Legal on the same team. What’s your take? Drop your thoughts and “war stories” below.

IN HEALTH EMERGENCIES, NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS IS THE BASIS FOR GLOBAL PREPAREDNESS. COVID hit us all, but how can we ensure countries do not forget the valuable lessons learned and translate them into practical ways to be better prepared for future health emergencies? This week, the first voluntary Member State led Global Peer Review took place in Geneva, to share and get feedback on key lessons learned at the earlier national level phase of the Universal Health Preparedness Review (UHPR). During the review, countries shared their national experiences, findings, challenges, and priorities. This week, CAR, Portugal and Thailand presented their national findings, challenges, and priorities, in an open, respectful, and transparent dialogue and peer to peer learning, rather than blame and shame. For example, although CAR lacked some of the more sophisticated health facilities, what it did have was a very strong community- based care system. Having recently faced and tested their early warning alert and response systems e.g. during SARS and H1N1 outbreaks, Thailand offered to help other countries and wanted to see a stronger participation in UHPR on a regional level, with bordering countries and countries with similar disease risks, and strengthening cross border health measures. Portugal spoke about challenges in terms of equitable access to health care for migrants and refugees. Like other countries, they found it helpful that the UHPR process involved all relevant ministries, and stakeholders including CSOs and the private sector. They said they were happy to share lessons learned with other countries from the region and globally, especially with Lusophone countries around the world (e.g. Mozambique, Angola, Brazil). As health security affects us all, the UHPR Global Peer Review builds on an earlier national level process, which brings all relevant ministries, civil society, private sector together, led by highest level of government as health security affects us all. For example, in Sierra Leone, the President recognized the needs and even without additional external financial resources, was able to accelerate progress by reallocating existing resources. Thailand used its existing vibrant UHC platform to respond to the UHPR findings. WHO Director General, Dr Tedros also came to the meeting to hear countries share their concluding views and recommendations to each other. He thanked the Member States for their continued support to the UHPR, highlighting that national preparedness is the basis for global preparedness. The meeting concluded with an open invitation from Member States and WHO to join the UHPR process, to keep everyone better prepared and safe in future health emergencies.

Trust is vital for true collaboration, which drives success in every industry. Teams move back and forth along the continuum of teamwork, from cooperation to coordination to collaboration. Each has different goals and requires different skill sets, but collaboration can only occur with trust. 🔹Coordination: The orchestrated efforts of individuals or groups, to align or synchronize separate actions. They exchange relevant information and resources in support of each other’s distinct goals. In other words, people co-ordinate (align/sync) distinct efforts (such as IT upgrading computers and facilities changing out desks) to create more efficiency, but they remain independent. Coordination requires basic communication and planning skills. 🔹Cooperation: The coordinated efforts of a group of two or more people to perform their assigned portion of an agreed-upon shared process or task. They are dependent on each other to execute a mutual objective. People co-operate to perform their part of a shared task as planned. For example, IT works with Finance and Shipping to ensure new computers are purchased and delivered on time. Cooperation requires a clear process for execution and accountability. 🔹Collaboration: The mutual engagement of a group of two or more in a creative effort that achieves a shared goal or vision. They are interdependent, with each unique contribution essential to the whole. People co-labor in an act of creation, and the input of all the contributors changes the result. An example would be several people and departments working together to shift an organization’s culture. Collaboration requires the most advanced skills of all. These include: building trust, engaging in creativity and innovation, and having a mindful process for resolving the inevitable conflict from this most complex form of work. While collaboration is vital for the success of every organization, it is the least understood skill. People often use the term when they mean cooperation or coordination. The author of The Collaborative Instinct, Jelenko Dragisic, puts it this way, “If collaboration does not change you, then you are not collaborating. Collaboration does not come about without some kind of organizational enlightenment.” Your team leaders and managers must build trust, psychological safety, and purpose for effective collaboration. #highperformingteams #teams #teamwork

CEPI and WHO urge broader #research strategy for countries to prepare for the next #pandemic. The CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations) and the World Health Organization (WHO) called on researchers and governments to strengthen and accelerate global research to prepare for the next pandemic They emphasized the importance of expanding research to encompass entire families of #pathogens that can infect humans–regardless of their perceived pandemic risk–as well as focusing on individual pathogens The approach proposes using prototype pathogens as guides or pathfinders to develop the knowledge base for entire pathogen families At the Global Pandemic Preparedness Summit 2024 held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, WHO R&D Blueprint for Epidemics issued a report urging a broader-based approach by researchers and countries This approach aims to create broadly applicable knowledge, tools and #countermeasures that can be rapidly adapted to #emerging #threats This strategy also aims to speed up #surveillance and research to understand how pathogens transmit and #infect #humans and how the #immune #system responds to them The report’s authors likened its updated recommendation to imagining #scientists as individuals searching for lost keys on a street (the next pandemic pathogen) The area illuminated by the streetlight represents well-studied pathogens with known pandemic potential. By researching prototype pathogens, we can expand the lighted area, gaining knowledge and understanding of pathogen families that might currently be in the dark. The dark spaces in this metaphor include many regions of the world, particularly resource-scarce settings with high biodiversity, which are still under monitored and understudied. These places might harbor novel pathogens but lack the infrastructure and resources to conduct comprehensive research The prioritization work underpinning the report involved over 200 scientists from more than 50 countries, who evaluated the #science and evidence on 28 #virus families and one core group of #bacteria, encompassing 1652 pathogens. The #epidemic and pandemic risk was determined by considering available information on #transmission patterns, #virulence, and availability of #diagnostic #tests, #vaccines, and #treatments    CEPI and WHO also called for globally coordinated, #collaborative research to prepare for potential pandemics History teaches us that the next pandemic is a matter of when, not if. It also teaches us the importance of science and political resolve in blunting its impact,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO DG. We need that same combination of science and political resolve to come together as we prepare for the next pandemic. Advancing our knowledge of the many pathogens that surround us is a global project requiring the participation of scientists from every country https://lnkd.in/ehrFV87i