Beyond Collaboration Overload by Rob Cross is the book that will change how you think about working with others.
Everyone expects us to collaborate, all the time. Team structures are flatter; teams are self-managing. Being good at collaborating is just part of the job. Except no one teaches how to do it well.
This book is not a guide to how to collaborate efficiently. It’s a book about how to collaborate less. But more intentionally. It talks about how to know when it’s your choice to make a decision, and when you don’t need to involve anyone else.
The book presents a research study by Connected Commons, a business consortium of over 70 leading organizations, and it shows that stress, burnout and disengagement happen because of too much collaboration. Yes, you read that right. You’re performing less well because you’re collaborating too much.
It makes sense. Teams wait until everyone has had their say before making a decision, which slows down project work. We collaborate too quickly, before people have had a chance to reflect on the data. The collaboration effort itself is unproductive, because often the individuals involved haven’t had any training on how to facilitate well.
The book provides strategies for reclaiming your collaboration time and making it more relevant and productive by Building a network and real connections and energizing others.
It includes tests and exercises (“coaching breaks”) for you to reflect on your collaboration experiences and build better ones in the future by becoming more aware of ways of working and preferences.
The book takes a fairly neurotypical view of collaboration experiences, but it does at least recognize that personal productivity is only half the problem: the faster we work, the more tasks come back to us when other people have finished their part.
Beyond Collaboration Overload is a good read for anyone who feels that their team engagements are a massive time suck and that they are constantly the bottleneck in getting things done. If you are feeling like all the conversations and micro-engagements with your colleagues are weighing you down, then this book will give you permission to change the way you work.

I have been following Rob Cross' work for awhile - particularly his work on networks using Organizational Network Analysis to identify who are the key connectors and influencers in organizations who drive the work and energize others (and not surprisingly very different from who has power and influence on the organization chart!) His work has helped my organizations look at how we collaborate but also how we optimize our talent. As organizations increasingly say that collaboration is a critical value and success factor for business today, we are facing too much collaboration. Cross' book is a timely addition to his research and is an effective blend of stories about Leaders (who are similar to people I work with), his extensive research on networks, as well as practical tips for individuals called "Coaching Breaks."

I highly recommend this break for leaders, teams and individuals. There are great tips about reducing overload as well as how to maximize purpose in our lives. This is a book I will keep in my library to help me and others!

After a decade working for myself, I am returning to the office setting in a mid-sized organization. I suspect my biggest challenge will be getting collaboration right. I know from a decade of working with clients that the right ideas regarding collaboration positively influences achievement and morale. I also know from my decade working with clients that workforce collaboration is often misguided and can lead to team dysfunction.

Harvard Business Review has always been a go-to reference for me that has never let me down. So, when I saw Beyond Collaboration Overload How to Work Smarter, Get Ahead, and Restore Your Well-Being, I just knew I had to read it to get practical insight and best practices to guide me along my new career journey.

In Beyond Collaboration Overload, Babson professor Rob Cross reviews research from more than 300 organizations to distinguish productive beliefs, behaviors and procedures from misguided practices which negatively impact employee morale and team objectives. I gained insight which will hopefully allow me to avoid what Carson calls, “dysfunctional collaboration at the expense of our performance, health and overall well-being.”

I highly recommend this book to managers, leaders, consultants, human resource professionals, and anyone who must regularly work in a team environment.

This book really made me think! Coming from education, the emphasis from hgiher-ups is all above how wonderful collaboration is so they're going to make teachers so it all the time and force students to do always be in groups. I appreciated the tips on how to set intentions for a collaborative group and how to maximize efficiency without overworking.