Key Factors of Creativity and the Art of Collaboration in Twenty-First-Century Workspaces

Abstract

According to the Chinese Admiral Zheng He, the Art of Collaboration is guided by the principle “Know your collaborators, know yourself”. This principle grows in importance when we take the rapid changes in workplaces-the Fourth IndustrialRevolution (4IR)-in global and local contexts into account. In this chapter, it is argued that not only intra-and interpersonal knowledge is needed to collaborate. It is contended that the Art of Collaboration in the twenty-first century needs a theoretical foundation which takes the strengths as well as the weaknesses of new ways of collaboration into account. These strengths and weaknesses, in addition, must not be limited to cognitive and experienced-based knowledge, but need to be expanded to the exploration of emotions and collaborative behaviour as well. Creativity, therefore, becomes a key factor in the art of collaboration in the Industry 4.0 workspaces. The positive psychology Wave II (PP 2.0) is viewed as providing a valuable foundation to work together creatively, peacefully and effectively across diverse cultural contexts. In this chapter, key factors of creativity and the Art of Collaboration will be reflected on cognitive, affective and behavioural levels. Selected examples will be discussed taking present collaborative challenges on global and local levels into account, such as growing intersections of nationality, culture and gender, the transformation of negative experienced emotions and the importance of collaborative behaviour during the breakthrough of the 4IR. Responses towards these challenges will be discussed. Conclusions and recommendations will be presented for future discourses on creativity and the Art of Collaboration in digital workspaces in the twenty-first century.