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  • MIT Sloan Management Review

Improving the Rhythm of Your Collaboration

By: Ethan S. Bernstein, Jesse Shore and David Lazer
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Abstract

In this article, we summarize our research on the value of intermittency for complex problem solving at work and give practical advice on how organizations can improve the rhythm of their people's collaboration. Executives have been counseled to be collaborative leaders and to set the example at the top that they want to see in the rest of the organization. They have taken this message seriously, transparently devoting more and more of their days to in-person and online collaboration. By role modeling such ubiquitous use of collaboration technology, business leaders have helped define an era of always-on collaboration. It is now time to role model a more sustainable, productive rhythm (i.e., patterns of sound _and_ silence) of collaboration.

Keywords

Problem Solving; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Internet and the Web; Leadership

Citation

Bernstein, Ethan S., Jesse Shore, and David Lazer. "Improving the Rhythm of Your Collaboration." MIT Sloan Management Review 61, no. 1 (Fall 2019).
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About The Author

Ethan S. Bernstein

Organizational Behavior
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More from the Authors
  • Why Employees Quit By: Ethan Bernstein, Michael B. Horn and Bob Moesta
  • Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi By: Ethan Bernstein and Cara Mazzucco
  • Module Note on the Structuring of Collaborative Work By: Ethan Bernstein
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