Yep. Collaboration is a verb and communication is your well-deserved vacation.

You work with good people, you enjoy the work, and you believe in your team. Yet all the energy leaks away. Small tensions, unspoken irritations, misunderstandings, and postponed conversations. "Maybe it will change," you think. But in the meantime, it becomes increasingly cumbersome. The dynamics slightly less so. The enthusiasm flatter.

Recognizable? This is exactly where many teams get stuck. Not on intention or expertise, but on communication.

So what is collaboration really?

On paper, everything is present. The right people, the right skills, the common goal. Yet you notice that collaborating in a team is often more difficult than expected. It often goes wrong with communication. Not in the sense of 'we talk too little', but rather: we do not speak each other's language. We use the same words but mean something different. And those differences are often larger than we think.

So what is collaboration? Not just dividing tasks, but sharing meaning.

This requires coordination on how you communicate, how you make decisions, and what you expect from each other. Effective collaboration means learning to read each other. That you recognize when noise starts. And that you do not ignore that noise, but make it discussable.

Why team collaboration often creates friction

The world in which we collaborate is changing rapidly. Technology is a visible multiplier in this: from calling to voice memos, from typing to AI-generated minutes. But the biggest change takes place beneath the surface: how we understand each other. And especially: where we miss each other. Because more generations are at the table than ever, each with their own preferences, assumptions, and communication styles.

• One sends a message, the other expects a call.

• One asks for direct feedback, the other primarily hears criticism.

• One concludes a message with an emoji, the other feels not taken seriously.

Collaborating with colleagues therefore requires continuous adjustments. It requires mutual understanding.

Generational differences and communication: where it often goes wrong

Gen Alpha, Gen Z, millennials, Gen X, and baby boomers all communicate differently. In fact, numbers also clearly show the difference in experiences. While 46% of baby boomers report having no issues with generational collaboration, only 17% of Gen Z feels the same¹. Furthermore, half of those over 50 say they are annoyed by the lack of traditional tools like pens or physical notepads, while 47% of Gen Z believes older colleagues slow down the pace with outdated methods. And yes, even emojis can lead to confusion: a third of teams say they have had misunderstandings about this².

Yet these differences remain unspoken in many teams. While they are precisely at the root of communication problems and even conflict in the workplace.

Collaborating with colleagues starts with learning to speak each other's language

We often talk about output, processes, and goals. Nice and concrete. But we talk too little about how we talk to each other. While that is where the key lies. Because good collaboration means not only complementing each other in skills but also learning to understand each other. That you are aware that what you find logical can feel unclear or even unsafe for another. That noise can arise, even when you mean well. And that noise costs energy. Every day a little, until it manifests in avoidance, frustration, or even turnover.

This applies to everyone. But especially to Gen Z, who values an open work culture, transparent communication, and psychological safety more than previous generations. If you as an organization do not adapt to this, you run the risk of losing new talent faster than you think.

Strengthen team collaboration playfully

That's why we play the UNSNOOZED Generation Game with teams on the work floor. A playful, honest way to discover where there are frictions between generations and what becomes possible when you take that seriously. An experience where all generations in your team learn to step into each other's perspective. A way to see what assumptions you bring, how your team communicates, and what you actually need from each other to collaborate effectively.