Sister Corita Kent authored a set of rules for her art classes she taught, which were picked up by John Cage and posted in Merce Cunningham’s studio.
I have found lighting designer Lara Wilder’s rules for collaboration helpful. My first experience in a collaboration following these rules was Verses That Hurt, with Grant Bowen.
Here they are:
1. Decide on the rules first. Have a discussion of ground rules/guidelines before you start collaborating. If you make up the rules as you go along, people can get cranky.
2. Minimize triangulation. Collaborators should all meet together as much as possible to avoid information loss and distortion (i.e. the "telephone game").
3. One speaker at a time. When someone is talking, the synergy that happens at that moment is often unique and cannot be reproduced. Allowing or encouraging "sidebar" conversations or conversations outside the group can cause the opportunity to get "sparked" by fellow collaborators is lost.
4. No withholding. Not every idea has to be amazing. You have the right to share all your ideas without editing. True equality includes the right to suck.
5. There must be a final editor. Know who that is at the outset.
6. The more one contributes, the more of a say they have in the project. Ideas from latecomers can be more readily disregarded by the leader/final editor, but they must pay attention to ideas from the longest/most involved/hardest working members of the group. It's sometimes hard to do, but necessary for the health of the group.
7. There will always be another show. You can re-mount a show, have a version 2.0, do a different show, etc. This frees you from holding on to any idea too tight. Cultivate a longer view of yourself as an artist and a longer commitment to your collaborators.
And here are some rules I’ve added:
8. Make something and go from there. Some thing that exists is better than the perfect thing that doesn't (or only exists in your mind).
9. Give specific tasks to specific people.