Improving Collaboration in the Workplace
Collaboration amongst individuals and between teams does not automatically happen. Collaboration needs to be fostered through the creation of the right supportive environment to encourage employees to reach out to each other for the benefit of the organization.
Often people complain of the existence of functional silos within an organization, that inhibit the discovery and execution of the best ideas. Tension exists between individuals and between internal groups that create a natural separation. This is where the leaders need to work to enhance the environment and raise the likelihood that employees will organically collaborate.
Why is Collaboration Important
Collaboration within a team is needed to find the best solutions to problems. This can take the form of two individuals working together or groups within a team, to optimize results within their area of responsibility. When handled effectively, a group of collaborators will almost always come up with a better solution than any one individual.
Collaboration between departments is equally critical to ensure that customers are well serviced, that processes function smoothly, and that goals are met. The most challenging problems always occur at the intersection of departmental responsibilities and to ensure that the opportunity doesn’t fall through the cracks, good collaboration is required at the intersections. Mind the gap! Collaboration can also result in process improvements so that hand-offs of responsibility are more consistently handled, thus improving results further.
Impact of Diversity Upon Collaboration
As diversity of a team increases, effective collaboration generally yields better results, however managing and promoting collaboration becomes a greater challenge as people will be less comfortable with one another, and more effort may be needed from individuals to be open minded. Diversity can be in terms of different communication styles, life experiences, or cultures. These differences can create tension amongst team members and the leader needs to be effective at greasing the friction points to ensure collaboration happens effectively.
Tips to Improving Collaboration
To create an environment where collaboration will occur without force, the leaders need to drive a workplace culture of respect with strong organizational trust. There also needs to be a willingness on the part of leaders and team members alike to listen empathetically to one another, and then to compromise as needed when better solutions become apparent. Here are a few actionable tips to drive collaboration within and between teams;
1. Ensure that the overall organization’s goals are clear!
Clear objectives and consistent prioritization, must be communicated and enforced the same throughout the organization. Ensure that any functional team within the organization does not have a competing set of goals that will cause them to act as a silo, and generate damaging results to the organization. This is critical. All too often, different functional teams have differing priorities, which will undermine interdepartmental collaboration.
A common example would be Purchasing working to minimize inventory of raw materials while manufacturing is trying to optimize efficiency, and Sales wants to build inventory of key finished goods to drive up timely shipments. These three objectives are contrary to one another. Gaining alignment of these different goals is critical to achieving the best outcome through strong interdepartmental collaboration!
2. Get comfortable being a role model for facilitation.
Remain neutral to find the best solution, even if you are a leader of one of the groups involved. This will happen naturally if you truly believe and support the overall organizational goals and priorities. Sometimes a leader needs to support action that best supports the organization as a whole, even though it may deteriorate that leader’s own area of responsibility.
An example might be a Manufacturing Site Director supporting the introduction of a new product at a site other than their own, because that is the best location for the product, even though their own site needs additional volume in order to maximize their own plant results.
Promote inter-team collaboration by first working one-on-one with the other department’s leader, and then bring the teams together by showing that you as leaders are aligned first.
3. Insist that all members demonstrate respectful behavior.
Respect must be given to individuals as well to other teams as a unit. Gossiping or sniping from the sidelines, or even failing to stop this behavior in others, will undermine collaboration. Sometimes enforcing good behavior will require firm managerial action with employees, or managers, who are setting a combative or disrespectful tone. Failure to deal with these members, especially if they somehow wield influence in the organization will likely doom collaboration improvement efforts and promote silo thinking.
4. Demonstrate empathetic listening.
Be the role model for listening in order to promote this behavior more broadly. To listen empathetically, we need to use our full active listening techniques, but then also try to put ourselves into the other person’s shoes. We need to try to feel what they are feeling about the topic, not let our perspective or autobiography paint the picture. Asking questions will help to clarify not just basic facts, but more importantly, to understand their perspective and feelings.
Demonstrating this communication style, of listening to truly understand, will enhance respect in the workplace and increase organizational trust – key ingredients to driving good collaboration!
Do you want more tips or guidance to improve your leadership skills? Take our Executive presence course or get an experienced coach to assist you in fulfilling your career ambitions.
