You collaborate in a creative multidisciplinary team, welcoming different perspectives and reflecting on your role and attitude.

1.1 You actively and constructively collaborate in a creative multidisciplinary team. 

1.2 You welcome different perspectives with an open attitude

1.3 You reflect on the influence of your own professional role and attitude within the team

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Introduction

In the Cross-over Lab, you will work in a team with people from different backgrounds and disciplines. In between these perspectives is where the magic happens. You’ll learn how to collaborate creatively, navigate group dynamics, and reflect on your own role in the team. You’ll discover how your attitude and openness can influence the group’s energy and outcomes. Working in a multidisciplinary team challenges you to listen deeply, adapt, and contribute meaningfully to a shared greater goal.  

It’s not just about getting the job done—it’s about learning how to grow together, solve problems collectively, and create something none of you could have done alone. At the same time, you’ll be working on complex challenges where the process is uncertain and constantly evolving. Your ability to embrace this uncertainty together will be key to your team’s success. 

Have look at the introduction of this learning outcome in this powerpoint: 2526-COL-LO1-Multidisciplinairy collaboration.pdf

Body of knowledge and skills per success indicator

 

1.1 You actively and constructively collaborate in a creative multidisciplinary team.

Creative collaboration means not just sharing ideas but building on each other’s strengths and staying open to unexpected directions. You will see how ideas can emerge from the group itself, not just from individuals, and how the team’s collective creativity can lead to surprising and powerful outcomes.

You will be working on complex societal challenges—problems that don’t come with clear instructions or predictable outcomes. The process will be uncertain and constantly evolving. As you uncover new insights, your direction will shift. You’ll need to iterate, rethink, and adjust your approach along the way. While planning is important, you’ll quickly learn that flexibility is essential. Your team’s ability to embrace this uncertainty, respond to change, and stay aligned through reflection and dialogue will be key to your success. This is what it means to collaborate in complexity.

 

Models and theory 

Group dynamics and phases of group development 

How do you effectively work together in teams, what dynamics may occur and how do you frame the dynamics happening in and around your team? Tuckman identifies 5 stages of group development: Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning 

 

 

 

Creative teams 

Nick Udall (2014) describes four types of teams: pseudo, operational, strategic and creative teams. In this project you will focus on forming a creative team. He describes team development of creative teams as a non-linear, emotional, and creative journey; a “rollercoaster” that teams must ride together when working on complex, innovative challenges. Unlike traditional models that suggest a smooth progression, Udall emphasizes that creative teams evolve through cycles of tension, breakthrough, and transformation. 

He outlines a process where teams move through phases of: 

    • Forming trust and psychological safety, where members begin to open up. 
    • Experiencing creative friction, where diverse perspectives clash and challenge each other. 
    • Navigating uncertainty, where the team must let go of control and embrace emergence.1 
    • Breakthrough moments, where new insights or directions arise from the collective. 
    • Integration and alignment, where the team re-forms around a shared vision or solution. 

Udall’s model highlights that conflict and discomfort are not signs of failure, but essential ingredients for deep creativity and transformation. Teams that learn to stay with the tension and reflect on their dynamics can evolve into high-performing, purpose-driven collectives. 

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Distributed creativity 

The creative idea emerges never from one person alone but is the outcome of a broader context and time. This means that creativity does not live in a single person’s mind, but is a result of social sharing, emergence over time or using new technologies.  

It’s not a solitary process, but highly interconnected in which the creative idea is central, not the person or process. Distributed or emerged creativity takes place in the space between Field (community of practice), Domain (knowledge, tools, values, practices), and Person (practitioners) (Sawyer, De Zutter).  

You will need your teammates and environment for your creative insights and problem solving. How are you going to optimally use the context you are in? What is your role in this distributed creativity? How do you relate to field, domain and persons? 

 

 

Possible exercises and tools to start with: 

  • Get to know each other through (creative) exercises (collage, team roles, card games etc.) 
  • Make (and validate) a debriefing  
  • Make a plan of action and project planning / overview 
  • Plan daily standups to define actions 
  • Weekly check-ins with coaches to reflect on process and actions 
  • Weekly team reflection on collaboration and group development 
  • Co-create together with different partners or stakeholders 

 

 

1.2 You welcome different perspectives with an open attitude

In a multidisciplinary team, you’ll encounter people who think, speak, and work differently than you do. Welcoming these differences requires more than just tolerance—it calls for genuine curiosity and openness. You’ll practice listening without judgment, suspending your assumptions, and engaging in dialogue that allows new ideas to emerge. 

To support this, you’ll explore how your own thinking patterns influence what you hear and how you respond. You’ll learn to recognize when you’re jumping to conclusions and how to stay open to other interpretations. Creating a space where everyone feels safe to contribute is essential. This means fostering psychological safety, where team members can take risks, ask questions, and share ideas without fear. 

By developing empathy and perspective-taking, you’ll begin to see challenges through others’ eyes. This not only enriches your understanding but also strengthens your team’s ability to co-create meaningful solutions. 

 

Models and theory 

Dialogic leadership  

The Dialogical Leadership model (Isaacs, 1999), is rooted in the idea that leadership is not just about directing or managing—it’s about creating spaces for meaningful dialogue. Isaacs’ work, especially in his book Dialogue and the Art of Thinking Together, emphasizes the power of conversation in shaping collective understanding and action. Dialogical leadership helps you and your team navigate complexity, embrace uncertainty, and co-create solutions through open, reflective, and inclusive conversations. 

 

Listening and dialogue 

Theory U (Scharmer, 2009) outlines four levels of listening, each representing a deeper way of engaging with others and the world:  

    1. Downloading: You listen from habit, hearing only what confirms what you already know. There’s little openness or learning.
    2. Factual Listening: You listen with an open mind, noticing new facts and data that may challenge your assumptions.
    3. Empathic Listening: You listen with an open heart, seeing the world through someone else’s eyes and connecting emotionally.
    4. Generative Listening: You listen with an open will, allowing something new to emerge. This is where deep co-creation happens. 

Both frameworks aim to shift from reactive, habitual interaction to intentional, co-creative dialogue—essential for navigating complexity and leading in uncertain environments.  

Practical tools for practicing listening and dialogue: Listening assessment  

 

 

 

Possible exercises to start with:

  • Frequent (team) reflection on listening and dialogue skills. Getting aware of your attitude in interaction with others. Noticing when creative shifts happen or when a conversation repeats itself or gets stuck. 
  • Explore a question in your assignment through open exploration together: first diverge in problem solving, then converge 
  • Practice openness and empathy through organizing an empathy walk with a person outside of your social circle or from a completely different walk of life. 
  • Exploration of the problem through city safari’s, shared trend’s research in a city. Reflect on your curiosity, openness for new perspectives  
  • Practising the art of ‘seeing the whole’, discovering different perspectives on a matter 

 

 

1.3 You reflect on the influence of your own professional role and attitude within the team

In this project you will have to take time to look at yourself; how you show up in the team, what you bring, and how you affect the group. You will explore your strengths, your blind spots, and how your professional identity shapes your interactions. Through feedback and reflection, you’ll gain insight into your creative style and how you can grow as a team member and professional. This self-awareness will help you become more intentional and effective in your collaboration.

 

Models and theory 

Creative team roles, types and mindsets 

Personality tests, especially with a focus on creative types and teams will give you a better understanding of yourself, your team and the roles.  

Here are some useful links: 

    • The seven key creative mindsets according to design firm IDEO are: Learn from failure, Make it, Creative confidence, Empathy, Embrace ambiguity, Optimism and Iteration. Take a look at the videos. What are you good at? What would you like to learn and develop? What do you have in your team? More information: https://www.designkit.org/mindsets.html 
    • My Creative Type (by Adobe ) is a playful but insightful tool that helps you explore your creative personality. It can spark reflection on how you approach challenges, collaborate, and innovate. More information: https://mycreativetype.com/ 

 

Reflection cycles

Frequently reflect on your talents, creative mindset and team role using a reflection model like Gib’s reflection cycle, a foundational model for structured reflection. It guides you through six stages: description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion, and action plan. It helps you make sense of your experiences and improve future performance.  

 

Gibbs-Reflective-Cycle.jpg   

 

More information:  

 

Possible exercises and tools to start with

  • Do one or several team role tests, share your insights and divide roles and tasks 
  • Define learning goals, gain insight and reflect on your professional skills, talents and pitfalls. 
  • Define learning goals, get insight and reflect on your creative profile and mindset. 
  • Frequently (weekly) receive and give feedback on your (team) role, attitude and mindset 

 

 

Key skills for multidisciplinary collaboration

Developing key skills is essential for turning theory into practice and growing as a professional. By actively engaging with models and theory, applying what you learn in practice and reflecting on your learning, you build the competence needed to succeed in real-world challenges. In this learning outcome you will develop in and reflect on the following key skills:

 

    • Adaptability

      Being able to adjust thinking, actions and project management in response to changing conditions, new insights, or unexpected challenges. As a team and as an individual.  

    • Listening and dialogue

      Engaging openly with others’ perspectives through active listening and constructive conversation to co-create understanding.

    • Self-awareness and reflection

      Recognizing your own strengths, weaknesses, and impact within a team, and using feedback to grow professionally. 

 

 

Used sources for this learning outcome 

 

  • Isaacs, W. (1999). Dialogue: The Art Of Thinking Together. Currency. 
  • Sawyer, R. K., & DeZutter, S. (2009). Distributed creativity: How collective creations emerge from collaboration. Psychology Of Aesthetics Creativity And The Arts, 3(2), 81–92. Download: https://keithsawyer.com/PDFs/DC.pdf   
  • Scharmer, C. O. (2009). Theory u: Learning from the Future as It Emerges. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.