Collaboration isn’t simply teamwork. It’s a Culture.

If collaboration feels hard right now, you are not imagining it.

A lot of teams are full of talented, capable people who genuinely want to do great work. And still, things move slowly. Momentum stalls. Projects become frustratingly complex. Meetings multiply. Everyone stays “busy,” but progress feels thin.

That is not usually a skill issue. It is often a culture issue.

One of the most powerful things I discovered while researching Call & Response: 10 Leadership Lessons from the Black Church is that collaboration is rarely a motivational problem. It is a design problem. In healthy cultures, there are cues that make it normal to participate, safe to contribute, and clear how people work together without stepping on each other.

In many corporate environments, we ask for collaboration while still rewarding control, urgency, and individual performance. Over time, people learn to protect their ideas, stay quiet, and wait for direction instead of offering real shared ownership.

Here is a micropractice you can try this week to shift the tone on your team in less than five minutes:

The “Call + Clarify” Check-In

At the start of your next meeting, ask:

1. “What is the outcome we are building toward together?”
2. “What role do you want to play in helping us get there?”
3. “What would make it easier for you to contribute fully today?”

It is simple, but it changes the energy. It invites participation and makes collaboration feel like a shared mission, not a forced process.

If this resonates, I want you to watch today’s video in the Call & Response countdown series. And stay close. Pre-order details and a multi-city book tour announcement are coming soon.

Also, Her Next Power Move Podcast returns next week, and you will not want to miss what we are covering.

Be sure to pre-order Call and Response: 10 Leadership Lessons from the Black Church (Amistad Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishing/JVL Media) and come back here to submit your proof of purchase so that when your book is delivered you’ll also receive the companion Leadership Learning Toolkit that includes digital downloads—a workbook and audio insights from myself, the author, on each lesson.

Click on the toolkit icon here: lmichellesmith.com/callandresponse