Disadvantages of Collaborating

There are disadvantages of collaboration between people or within an organization. Collaboration requires mutual trust, effort, time, and clear understanding to achieve effective communication. Time and effort needed to make the collaborations may waste progress time for a group or organization. With needed time and effort also comes an increasing complexity. Collaborative organizations may lack the authority to regulate their choices or decisions. Even after extreme effort, organizations run the risk that collaboration might not meet the project goals. Collaborating with others can discourage others who would have succeeded on their own. Unrealistic goals or lack of immediate tangible results can be discouraging to everyone in the group. Lack of trust, discomfort, or commitment to group processes can also cause a ruckus. Unequal power cause some individuals not to work as well together because they feel they deserve just as much authority. Within the collaborating group, people can have different education, language, and literacy hurdles or unfamiliarity with formal scientific methods that can slow progress as well.