The other is knowing what the collaboration brings to the table and shaping the rules of engagement to fit that expectation. Sometimes you collaborate with SMEs; they bring the domain knowledge - you don't, but you understand the goal better than them. Sometimes you are creating or refining the corporate strategy based on the actions from individual projects or partners; you are learning ground realities from them. Sometimes you need help from others to improve your take on a subject.
In each of these cases, you have to be clear about what you expect from the collaborators (and motivate them to contribute). Without being clear on what the collaboration is about and what they get in return is the number one killer of collaborative projects even though there is no ill-intent anywhere.
Decision making is one, which you emphasized.
The other is knowing what the collaboration brings to the table and shaping the rules of engagement to fit that expectation. Sometimes you collaborate with SMEs; they bring the domain knowledge - you don't, but you understand the goal better than them. Sometimes you are creating or refining the corporate strategy based on the actions from individual projects or partners; you are learning ground realities from them. Sometimes you need help from others to improve your take on a subject.
In each of these cases, you have to be clear about what you expect from the collaborators (and motivate them to contribute). Without being clear on what the collaboration is about and what they get in return is the number one killer of collaborative projects even though there is no ill-intent anywhere.