Guest Post: 3 Ways To Collaborate Like A Challenger

In the spirit of community and collaboration, we’ve teamed up with 5&Vine - the marketing agency for Challenger Brands, to discover how to collaborate like a Challenger. They are a full-service marketing agency helping market leaders and startups disrupt industries, and win. Challengers are not defined by their size, but their aim to disrupt categories and upend the status quo. They deliver both profit and purpose, and recognise the role businesses have in bettering society.

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Collaboration is key - as business owners, team leaders, and movement makers, we know that. When you’re a Challenger Brand, collaboration is even more essential. Challenger Brands are aligned in values, authentic in their actions, vocal on issues they care about, and believe that business should be a force for good.

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If you’re a team working out of x+why, there’s a good chance you’re a Challenger. At 5&Vine, we help Challenger Brands win. Whether it’s a fashion brand fighting systematic prejudice, a PropTech startup accelerating the adoption of clean energy, or a fintech teaching kids about financial literacy, we craft strategies that help teams think and act differently.

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A big part of that relies on collaboration. A better, more equitable future can’t be executed in a silo. With collaboration, you can escape tunnel vision, make the most out of your team, and find the enthusiasm and energy to work towards a central vision.

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With that in mind, we wanted to share our top three recommendations to collaborate better. They’ve been crafted to spark further research as well as sparking action you can put into practice today.

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1. “Pre-Game” Your Meetings

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A successful collaboration starts before you step into a room together. Priya Parker, author of The Art Of Gathering, calls this “pre-game”, and recommends setting the tone for meetings the day before. This way, you can get people in the right mindset and encourage ideas beforehand.

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If you want people to show up relaxed and ready, send them a thoughtful reading as provocation, or as Parker suggests, "send an email out ahead of time that includes real, heartfelt testimonials from three senior leaders sharing personal, specific examples of the transformative power that a mentor had on them."

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What can you share before your next meeting that will help your team get into the right headspace and contribute meaningfully? As a Challenger it’s likely you’ll be discussing tough topics and issues communities currently face, making the pre-game even more important. The more you can ensure you’re on the same page, the easier and more rewarding the collaboration will be.

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2. Break Away From Groundhog Day

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Being a Challenger doesn’t just mean you ask questions to challenge the status quo. It means you’re open to shifting every facet of your business. If you feel like you’re stuck in a Groundhog Day cycle, going through the same routines to achieve similar results, it’s probably time to challenge your thinking.

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As you do, work with your team to question your idea generation, collaboration process, and how exactly you and others bring ideas forward. Where some might enjoy bouncing ideas off other people in a live setting, others might prefer to go off and do their own research.

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The success of collaboration comes with understanding how each party works best. When you know that, and can establish a middle ground, you’ll be able to escape your silo and identify new ideas that push your brand forward.

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When it comes to your next meeting, reconsider every aspect of that meeting together. Always meeting in the same room? Switch up the meeting room. Always have the same person leading? Let someone else take charge. Are you always following the same process and itinerary? Open up with a thought-provoking question and shake up the structure.

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3. Build Your Challenge Network

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In his book “Think Again”, Adam Grant talks about the importance of a Challenger Network. A team of critics, outsiders, and creatives you surround yourself with who’ll question assumptions and consistently push you out of your comfort zone. Or, as Grant himself puts it, “a group of people we trust to point out our blinds spots and help us overcome our weaknesses.”

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In order to work effectively, Challenger Brands should have a challenge network or be in the process of building one. At 5&Vine we believe that you are the result of the five people you spend the most time with. This plays into that, and sets the tone for the success of collaborations. Make sure the people challenging you are bold, brilliant, and curious.

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Assess the team that you’re meeting with. Does everyone tend to agree? While this may seem like a good sign, it actually can be a sign that you need some different perspectives in the room. You want to assemble a team that is able to call out each other with a healthy back and forth, presenting new ideas that push your vision forward.

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The Take Home

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Challenger Brands are on a constant mission to upend the status quo. It’s what drives their product and dictates their approach to business. 5&Vine is here to take Challengers and their mission to the next level, identifying their unfair advantage and position them for a win.

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Find Out More

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