Collaboration - how to get to it

If you expect better collaboration in your organization, you are driving one of the heaviest change projects you can find. Having been involved with that particular type of projects for 20+ years, I’ll share some insights into how to achieve the change you are likely looking for.

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Offer evidence-based arguments

In a pragmatic* and data driven organization you have the option of applying a cognitive “therapeutic” approach in convincing the members that collaboration has obvious advantages: Monetary, timesaving, growth-sparking, synergy harvesting, bureaucracy-eliminating, conflict and complexity reducing reasons are obvious arguments and should be put to good use in such organizations. “Indications of” or “belief in” is likely not sufficient. Proof is.

Find business case evidence even from remote corners of your business in which the advantages listed above has been measured and the effects can be expressed in metrics relevant and familiar to the organization’s members. Don’t pause at one example. Find multiple ones and share the findings. Keep it up for as long as the organization resists the change you want to achieve. Always have top managers endorse these findings.

If it proofs really difficult to find evidence and strong examples of why you should become more collaborative, it may indicate that it isn’t time.

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Factor in time

Changes that fundamentally alter the terms we once accepted to work under and are familiar with, will be welcomed by the few and realistically opposed by the many. One of the most significant characteristics of being change-willing is the ability to accept changes taking place over a short time span. The other larger part of the organization’s members will try to resist the change and for them to stop resisting and start accepting changes, you must factor in time and apply more of it where it proves necessary.

Once the resistance has been notably reduced, people can start learning new ways of working, figuring out how to succeed in their new reality. Give the organization time to get used to big change, by incrementally introducing smaller changes week after week and make sure that the organization does not claw back what they will experience as lost territory.

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Be completely transparent

Those that, by nature, find it the hardest to change, will question your motives every step of the way. To counter that it is important to share your intentions in full and thereby the disadvantages and drawbacks as well as the benefits that may co-occur. Be honest. The people working in your organization are as bright as you are and will not take it lightly to find that they have been misguided or led to believe this or that, when in fact it was neither entirely true nor necessary. Being transparent means sharing your real motives. Maybe you choose to drive for collaboration to save cost and thereby earn more money for your shareholders.

One aspect of this is that some of the people working for your organization may become redundant, because the synergies you have now achieved affects your need for resources going forward. If this is the case and if you don’t expect to grow organically as a result of the achieved synergies, you must be honest about this in a direct and respectful tone and allow for objections, critique and fatigue as an organizational vent. Hold on to the purpose of the project and relate the handling of the objections to it - one by one. If met with anger, lack of empathy or indifference they will have the opposites effect.

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Be a role model

You can ask for better collaboration and with reason expect the organization to deliver on it as long as you lead by example. In times of change we will be looking to our leaders for guidance on how seriously we should take the change, the seriousness of the situation and to some extent also on how to deal with the change emotionally.

Soldiers in war will look at their platoon leader to size the danger. If there is no wavering, no disbelief, and no immediate irrational fear to track in his or her reaction the platoon is far better prepared for what’s coming and more likely to succeed. The importance of being a model in times of change goes for all leaders of the organization and are not limited to the Senior Leadership Team, although there can be no lingering at this level.

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Build trust

If your organization has no history of close collaboration and trust between Country Managers, Division Leaders, Product Vertical Managers or Departments – don’t expect people to suddenly want it, merely on account of your wish for them to do so.

Building trust is on the one hand side about factoring out the obstacles and build-in resistance towards it and work systematically to eliminate them, and on the other hand side about inspiring trust by showing what huge gains and upsides can be achieved once in place. But you must show it to succeed.

Talking about it is not enough and can easily frustrate people and make it a lot harder getting to collaboration afterwards. Take collaborative action, measure, and reward collaboration, initiate cross-functional projects and reporting, centralize leadership where possible and meaningful while showcasing the advantages from the very start, and never celebrate progress by sinking into complacency. Also in this focus area claw back is a major risk. It takes a lot more to build trust than it does to break it down. Be wary of this and make sure to keep progressing until the level of collaboration you wish for is achieved.

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Measure and reward progress

Human beings are in many respects simple creatures and as a main rule we will focus on delivering what we are being measured on - and in some cases even rewarded for.

In other words, if the people in your organization can deliver on their promises (KPIs) without changing the way they operate, that is the outcome you should expect. If you want them to change the way they operate, to fit your expectations, you should change their KPI’s accordingly. Depending on the urgency of the change you plan to achieve, you can adjust the measurement of KPI fulfillment and of the rewards technically, using multipliers, dividers or addons.

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*Methods vary with organizational purpose and culture (E.g., Altruistic, Romantic, Pragmatic, Cynical organizations)