Jim Kalbach, Head of Customer Experience at Mural, joins us to discuss innovation efforts in the world of visual collaboration.

Remote work was at nearly one hundred percent during the pandemic, creating a need for effective digital whiteboards. Not only did people need a working space, but also a space for visual collaboration to take place. Since the pandemic, new modes outside of remote work have arisen, such as in-person, asynchronous, synchronous, and hybrid. The challenge has been finding a happy medium these different modes can meet in. Jim Kalbach believes shifting the focus from getting teams remote to ensuring teams can work fluidly throughout these different modes will ensure that teams can collaborate to come up with innovative ideas.

Experimentation and Understanding

Having an experimental mindset is key while concepts are developing. It can be a challenge while experimenting with new techniques and tools, but a willingness to experiment and try different things, along with having patience when concepts don't work out, is crucial in improving visual collaboration.

As modes for digital whiteboards change, Jim says the key to understanding the new way how things work is having the proper mindset. You have to come in with the mindset that things start and end digitally. Understanding a digitally defined workplace is important because even if you are in person, other parts of your team could be remote. Therefore, it is vital to understand the platforms other team members are using so that things run smoothly.

Intentional Collaboration

Making team collaboration intentional is vital in ensuring your team is productive, creative, and innovative. Coming at situations with collaborative intelligence will ensure your teams have all they need to thrive. Having a methodology that your team follows, facilitating a culture of transparent communication, and understanding that there is room for learning will help teams effectively collaborate while using digital whiteboards.

About the Author: Jim Kalbach

Jim Kalbach is the Chief Evangelist at Mural, a collaborative intelligence company that offers a shared workspace for training on the LUMA System, the practical way to collaborate that anyone can learn and apply. Jim is an expert in the areas of experience design, visual methods, strategy, and remote facilitation. He is a world-renowned speaker, and author of the following books: the JTBD Playbook, Mapping Experiences and Designing Web Navigation.