The 3 C's and Organizations

Collaboration

Collaboration is the sharing of ideas to achieve a common goal. Differing ideas, perspectives, and expertise working together allows organizations to solve issues quickly and more effectively. Concentrating on specific actions that can reverse or improve negative tendencies and trigger organizational growth is the beginning of transformation (Alias et al., 2022). Emphasizing activities such as collaboration and mentorship are crucial in achieving organizational goals and significantly increasing positive work environments. Collaboration and change make a meaningful and lasting impact. Such organizational initiatives can better support the well-being of those working in said organizations, ultimately leading to greater productivity and success in reaching objectives.

Building trust, developing consensus, and maintaining momentum requires effective organizational communication and collaboration. Strong guiding coalitions offer the leadership needed to navigate organizational complexities and achieve sustainable results during processes (Griffin & Holcomb, 2023). Collaboration can help with a systematic approach to addressing and managing organizational conflicts (Vijaykar et al., 2021). Unaddressed conflicts often escalate, leading to a breakdown in communication and cooperation. Structured approaches to conflict resolution through collaboration, which have built trust, provide a framework for addressing issues in a controlled manner. Therefore, preventing the deterioration of relationships and productivity would not yield sustained results.

The lack of solid relationships in team management can negatively impact an organization’s overall performance. This issue often manifests in poor communication, unresolved conflicts, and a general inability for the team to reach its full potential. A fundamental weakness is the absence of trust among team members. Trust is essential to successful collaboration; without it, individuals may be reluctant to share information, assist, or rely on one another, leading to fragmented teamwork. Costa et al. (2018) highlight the critical role of trust in team dynamics, showing that environments with low trust result in reduced information sharing, innovation, and overall team effectiveness.

Communication

Clear organizational expectations and goals help improve communication, as everyone knows what is expected of them, who to report to, how decisions are made, and what the end result looks like. Communication, the transference of information, can be verbal, written, and even nonverbal social cues. According to Ullah et al. 2019), clear communication is part of the appropriate attitudes and behavior for ethical leadership. Hendrikz and Englebrecht (2019) back this up by saying that two-way communication is of normatively appropriate conduct through actions and relationships for leadership. One of the four components of authentic leadership, as written about by Braun et al. (2018), is transparent communication. A part of clear communication is transparency and not hiding anything, keeping it all out in the open.

Two different types of organizational culture can provide examples of communication. Yetano et al. (2021) write about a bureaucratic culture with an authoritarian leadership style and top-down communication. This is typical of a large organization with a high level of structure (Daft, 2021). There are clear lines of responsibility and a chain of command. These types of organizations are often centralized in their decision-making and hold a large portion of their market. The second type of leadership is relationship-based and has proven successful for an innovative culture. According to Kuo et al. (2019), this type of culture is exciting and fun to be involved in, and it is typically a creative workplace.

Coordination

The efforts of individuals all working towards the same goal must be led in a concerted way. If there is not a centralized mechanism, then chaos and disunity will abound. Effective coordination ensures that varying parts of an organization align for the larger vision in a unified manner toward the end goal. According to Aristidou and Barrett (2018), relationship coordination involves fostering high-quality communication and relationships across teams, which improves performance outcomes. Coordination plays a critical role in organizational performance and adaptability. If organizations prioritize coordination, operational efficiency, innovation, and employee satisfaction will be enhanced. As written above, Costa et al. (2018) share that effective coordination promotes sharing and trust, leading to innovation. These “C” words (collaboration, communication, and coordination) are intertwined and work harmoniously together.

Effective coordination enables an organization to respond to its fast-paced environment and frequent changes. Coordination is vital to maintaining consistency across all an organization’s elements. This can happen in formal meetings or informal interactions throughout an organization. Real-time communication and problem-solving skills must be fostered (Donmez and Norheim-Hansen, 2024). Conversely, without effective coordination, organizations will have miscommunication, replication of tasks when not needed, and lack of success from not being aligned adequately toward an expected outcome. The optimization of an organization’s operations must be coordinated for the improvement of decision-making and efficiency, which leads to better resource management.

Application in Leading Organizations

The three previous organizational principles described above find roots within the following components: Ethical Leadership, Servant Leadership, Vision and Purpose, Conflict Resolution, Stewardship, Compassion and Empathy, and Accountability.

First, Ethical Leadership is found in those leaders who build trust and credibility within their organizations. This is about their character and not the work that they do. Second, Servant Leadership is about prioritizing the needs of employees and stakeholders above their own needs and creating a supportive and collaborative environment where they may be. Third, Vision and Purpose. Leaders must communicate a vision that gives a sense of direction and purpose and will not be morally or ethically fallible. Fourth, Conflict Resolution is impacted by leadership under effective communication. The lack of clear communication with well-defined roles and expectations can lead to miscommunication and hurt a team. Harmony can be achieved through effective communication within a team. Fifth is Stewardship, which is the responsibility of all organizations to develop better communities around themselves from inside to where they are located. The resources are not only cash flow but also humans and other assets, and the wise use of all these effectively and sustainably. Sixth, Compassion and Empathy. To create a supportive and inclusive organizational culture, a leader must adhere to a principle such as this one. Finally, Accountability is a must for every leader; otherwise, trust and ethics will be questioned, and the potential for the leader's downfall and even the organization may happen. Responsibility and performance are fostered through the understanding of accountability.

Conclusion

Collaboration with multiple trusted perspectives leads to more successful outcomes. Clear communication gives a better understanding to those who are part of a team and will help to forego miscommunication, which can bring chaos and negativity and, therefore, a lack of innovation. Coordination gives stability through order and structure in achieving clarity in a collective effort.

References

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Costa, A.C., Fulmer, C. A., Anderson, N. R. (2018). Trust in work teams: An integrative review and meta-analysis of antecedents, consequences, and moderators. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 39(7), 839-858.

Donmez, M., & Norheim‐Hansen, A. (2024). Unlocking effective coordination: A knowledge‐based multilevel perspective on supplier integration into product development.?The Journal of Supply Chain Management,?60(2), 22-38.?https://doi.org/10.1111/jscm.12317

Daft, R. L. (2021).?Organization theory & design?(13th ed.). Cengage.

Griffin, G. W., & Holcomb, D. (2023).?Building a data culture: The usage and flow data culture model?(1st 2023.;1; ed.). Apress.?https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-9966-1

Hendrikz, K., & Engelbrecht, A. S. (2019). The principled leadership scale: An integration of value-based leadership. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 45(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajip.v45i0.1553

Kuo, T., & Tsai, G. Y. (2019). The effects of employee perceived organizational culture on performance: The moderating effects of management maturity. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 30(3-4), 267-283. https://doi.org/10.1080/14783363.2017.1302327

Ullah, I., Hameed, R. M., Kayani, N. Z., & Fazal, Y. (2019). CEO ethical leadership and corporate social responsibility: Examining the mediating role of organizational ethical culture and intellectual capital. Journal of Management & Organization, 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1017/jmo.2019.48

Vijaykar, S., Gupta, M., & Bhaumik, P. K. (2021). Conflict resolution in a multi-level IT-enabled outsourcing network: A structured solution Approach Conflict resolution in a multi-level IT-enabled outsourcing network: A structured solution approach.?Journal of International Technology and Information Management,?30(1), 134-169.

Yetano, A., Matsuo, T., & Oura, K. (2021). Diagnostic and interactive use of PMM by Japanese local governments: Does the context affect the fitness of use? Public Performance & Management Review, 44(1), 28-57.https://doi.org/10.1080/15309576.2020.1817108