When the premise of democracy, statesmanship and compromise is under attack, as it is now, the mere idea of collaborating seems quaint and old fashioned. But the fact is it’s probably the only thing that will save us. Getting people to the point of willingness to collaborate is challenging. The flip side of the challenge is recognizing when collaboration is good, versus when it’s just a time-suck. When every innocuous decision demands a self-serving group-hug by the people involved, real collaboration suffers. Talented leaders become frustrated and burnt out, and decisions and progress suffers. Does your organization operate under a dictatorship or have you succumbed to the other extreme?