Zoom In Together: From Digital Sanctuary to Gardens of Possibilities:
When I began developing a wellness application, my objective was straightforward yet ambitious: to create a digital sanctuary that could help individuals restore balance across mind, body, and soul. What became evident early in the process, however, is that sanctuaries are not built in isolation. Every element of the app—from the luminous orb-inspired design to the guided practices—was enriched through collaboration with designers, psychologists, technologists, and trusted peers.
Simultaneously, I was engaged in a very different endeavor: writing a children’s book titled Dina’s Garden of Possibilities. At first glance, the book and the app appeared to occupy entirely different worlds. Yet both relied on the same principle—co-creation. The illustrator infused characters with life, early readers provided insights that reshaped narrative flow, and educators helped refine its relevance for children navigating change. Even recurring symbols of the sun and moon became shared metaphors across both projects, underscoring the importance of balance and harmony in collaborative work.
Though one project was technology-driven and the other rooted in storytelling, they ultimately converged. Both serve as vehicles for growth and resilience, and both are stronger because of the individuals who contributed to their creation.
The Value of a Network
Behind every act of meaningful collaboration lies a network. Over the course of my career, I have cultivated an extensive rolodex spanning technologists, educators, illustrators, publishers, investors, healthcare leaders, and more. This network represents more than a list of contacts; it is an ecosystem of trust that enables ideas to scale and visions to materialize.
It allows me to:
1. Bridge disciplines by connecting individuals who may not ordinarily intersect—such as pairing a children’s illustrator with a digital UX designer to create more human-centered outcomes.
2. Leverage collective wisdom, ensuring that no challenge is addressed in isolation, but informed by the expertise of those who have faced similar questions.
3. Accelerate impact by reducing the need to “reinvent the wheel,” enabling projects to move from concept to implementation with both efficiency and creativity.
The result is not merely a children’s book or a wellness application, but initiatives that reach wider audiences and create greater social value.
Lessons in Co-Creation
Through these experiences, several principles about building together have become clear:
• Diversity of voices enhances depth. Each collaborator contributed insights that I could not have envisioned independently.
• Imagination must be given space. Both wellness and storytelling thrive when creativity is not over-constrained.
• Vision must be balanced with flexibility. Like the sun and moon sharing the sky, leadership in collaboration requires guiding direction while allowing others to illuminate the work.
Broader Perspective
My perspective is also shaped by my roles with Broadstreet Global (Real Estate Private Equity), Further Global (FSI and Tech Private Equity), Moshpit.live (My app developer) and our Adaptive Intelligence community. In these contexts, collaboration takes different forms: guiding investment strategies, strengthening go-to-market structures, and convening thought leaders to explore the future of collective intelligence. These experiences reaffirm that building together is not solely aspirational—it is structural. Collaboration is the foundation for resilience, innovation, and sustainable growth across industries. As an example, I’ve supported Nathan Haas from our very own AI community with his endeavors and by connecting him to industry experts.
For those considering how to apply these principles in their own work or communities, a few simple practices can be effective:
•Begin with one conversation. Collaboration often starts at the smallest scale.
•Define your “garden.” Establish a shared purpose or project that unites participants.
•Acknowledge contributions. Gratitude sustains collaborative energy and builds trust.
Closing Reflection
Whether designing a wellness platform, authoring a children’s story, advising in private equity, or engaging with peers in Adaptive Intelligence, the conclusion is consistent: meaningful progress is rarely the result of individual effort alone. Community is not a passive audience but an active builder, co-author, and mirror.
Our rolodex matters precisely because it represents more than relationships—it represents possibility. While individuals may dream, it is through collective effort that we build sanctuaries where those dreams take root and flourish.
Dina Patel
Founder & CEO, Soluna Network | Former Tech Executive
Wilmington, North Carolina, USA
​
Dina Patel is a technology executive and founder of Soluna Network, where she merges innovation, wellness, and storytelling to inspire balance in the digital age. A former partner leading enterprise transformation programs for Fortune 500 companies, Dina now channels her expertise into building a wellness app and writing her debut children’s book, Dina’s Garden of Possibilities. Passionate about mentoring and creative collaboration, she believes that life itself is a masterpiece — and every project a new brushstroke on the canvas of possibility.
The Payoff of Collaboration, and How to Make It Work
Today’s problems are too complex for one mind to solve alone. Every challenge worth tackling—whether it’s launching a new product, improving a community, or guiding a company through change—demands the combined intelligence of diverse thinkers. Collaboration is how we bridge those differences and turn them into strength. Think of it like a rowing team: the boat moves fastest when every rower pulls in rhythm, trusting the others to do their part. When people coordinate like that, shared effort becomes shared brilliance—transforming individual expertise into progress that no one could achieve alone.
​
How high‑performing organizations collaborate
Best‑in‑class exemplars illustrate different ways to turn collaboration into advantage. Pixar’s Braintrust meetings institutionalize psychological safety and candor: directors present rough cuts, peers critique the work (not the person), and ideas are decoupled from status—raising the odds that the best insight is recognized. Toyota’s andon cord empowers any employee to stop the line to surface problems early; this single ritual coordinates cross‑functional problem solving in minutes rather than weeks. Spotify popularized “squads and tribes”: small, autonomous teams aligned by shared objectives and lightweight platforms. The model balances decentralization (speed, ownership) with just enough standardization to keep interfaces stable. NASA’s Apollo 13 response showed the value of expertise mapping and rapid information sharing: flight directors pulled the right systems, life‑support, and guidance specialists into one “virtual room,” used common dashboards, and iterated solutions under time pressure. Across these cases, leaders focus on two levers: information visibility (so the right facts reach the right people fast) and interdependence management (so collaboration intensity matches the task).
Design principles for collaboration
Three ingredients consistently differentiate effective collaboration. First, psychological safety: people must believe they can ask for help, admit uncertainty, and challenge assumptions without penalty. Safety unlocks information sharing, which in turn lets skills express their full value. Second, deliberate communication architecture: a pure “hub‑and‑spoke” concentrates decisions but creates bottlenecks; a fully decentralized network boosts learning but can overload members. High performers blend both—clear points of contact for coherence plus lateral channels for speed. Third, diversity by design: combine complementary skills and experiences for non‑routine, innovative work, while ensuring enough overlap for shared language. Diversity without overlap risks fragmentation; overlap without diversity yields blind spots.
Actionable takeaways
-
Map task interdependence. For tightly coupled work, invest in upfront alignment (shared brief, roles, milestones) and daily synchronizations; for loosely coupled work, use clear interfaces and asynchronous updates.
-
Make safety visible. Leaders go first: ask for dissent, narrate trade‑offs, and thank people who surface bad news early; adopt “disagree and commit” to separate debate from execution.
-
Codify expertise. Maintain a living skills inventory so teams can recognize the true expert quickly, independent of tenure or title.
-
Choose a communication architecture on purpose. Define what is centralized (priorities, standards) and what is decentralized (methods, sequencing); review and adjust after each project.
-
Instrument information flow. Use shared dashboards, wikis, and lightweight templates (one‑page briefs, decision logs) so critical facts are searchable and persistent.
-
Engineer small wins. Start with bounded, cross‑functional projects to build collaborative muscle and reduce start‑up costs; scale patterns that work.
-
Incentivize across silos. Tie goals and rewards to shared outcomes and client impact; recognize contribution and role‑model credit sharing.
-
Design for constructive diversity. Staff for complementary cognitive and functional diversity, then create overlap through common language, onboarding, and joint retrospectives.
📘 Explore more insights in Lionel Paolella’s full chapter on collaboration and allyship here
​​
​
Lionel Paolella
Professor of Strategy, University of Cambridge Judge Business School
Cambridge, United Kingdom
​
Lionel Paolella is a professor at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School, where he teaches and researches strategy, diversity, equity, inclusion, and professional services firms. His work explores how collaboration, organizational culture, and social structures shape success in complex systems. Originally from France, Lionel brings both academic rigor and human curiosity to his teaching—balancing research with real-world insight. Outside the classroom, he enjoys time with his family and has a lifelong passion for horology.