Skills 360 – Fostering a Culture of Collaboration (Part 1)
Discussion Questions
1. What do you think makes “collaboration” different from other types of working
together?
2. What do you think are the benefits of having a highly collaborative workplace or
culture?
3. If you want to collaborate on a project, what will you have to give up? That is,
what can you not have if you are collaborating?
Transcript
Hello and welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast. I’m your host, Tim Simmons,
and today we’re going to look at how to foster a culture of collaboration in the
workplace.
“Collaboration” is a pretty broad term that people throw around quite loosely any
time two people’s work intersects or overlaps. But it’s not the same as
“coordination,” which is about organizing teams and their work with greater
efficiency. Two different product teams might coordinate their product launches at
different times. But that doesn’t mean they are collaborating.
And it goes a lot further than “cooperation,” which certainly involves working
together, but doesn’t include the idea of shared accountability. The marketing team
might cooperate with HR to create a new job profile, but they don’t have the same
stake in the new hire.
Collaboration is much deeper than these other forms of working together. With
collaboration, people create a shared goal or purpose. It involves a lot more sharing
of resources, knowledge, and decision-making. And it involves much deeper trust
and requires stronger communication than other forms of working together.
Collaboration might look like several people from different departments coming
together to create and implement a solution to a problem that impacts all of them.
So why should we work more deeply and broadly with others? Well, there are a
multitude of benefits to collaboration. One big one is innovation. Innovation thrives
on diverse perspectives. When different people with different ideas come together,
there’s a great creative collision that generates new ideas. Every business needs
this kind of cross-pollination of expertise and ideas if they want to compete and
stay relevant.
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Collaboration also supports shared knowledge and organizational learning. If one
product team uncovers a new approach to project planning that makes them twice
as efficient, wouldn’t it be great if that learning was transferred to other teams? If
everyone continues operating in siloes, then it won’t.
Shared knowledge and learning also leads to greater strength and resilience. Think
of a web of connections. The more that the different parts of the web are
connected, the stronger that web is. If teams are sharing their experiences, if they
know each other’s strengths, and they are giving each other knowledge, then when
one team encounters difficulty, they have more people and skills to help out.
One other important benefit of collaboration is employee engagement. Shared
learning and innovation aren’t just a boon to the company. They also give people a
sense of meaning and accomplishment, not to mention connection with others. In
the 21st century, college grads are entering the workforce expecting to be part of a
team. There’s a move toward less hierarchy and more shared responsibility. And if
we keep telling employees to just stay in their lane, they’ll begin to feel isolated
and unappreciated.
Of course, collaboration doesn’t come with a flip of a switch. And it doesn’t come for
free. There are always costs to an approach or way of working. If you want two
departments to work more closely, or if you want a group of people from different
departments to solve a problem together, it’s going to take time. So if you want the
increased innovation and impact that results from collaboration, you’re going to
have to sacrifice a bit of efficiency.
It also requires us to give up control. If I say to a few colleagues that I want to
collaborate with them, then I’m going to have to accept their ideas and approaches.
If I insist that it’s my way or the highway, they’re going to see right through it. If
I’m not willing to share the decision-making or compromise on anything, then the
others are going to disengage. Or they’ll just go along grudgingly.
So if you think collaboration is important and effective, as almost everyone says
they do, then you need to understand what it takes to make it happen. And you’ll
need to accept that having more diverse people working together, creates a higher
chance of conflict. That’s why it takes great communication skills and trust. And it’s
these conditions for collaboration, along with practical methods and systems that
we’ll look at in part two!
That’s all for today. So long. And see you again soon!
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Vocabulary
To foster: To help something grow or develop. "We try to foster good teamwork
across all departments."
Culture: The shared values, beliefs, and ways of working in a company. "Our
company culture encourages teamwork and open communication."
Collaboration: Working together with others to reach a goal. "Strong collaboration
between teams helped us finish early."
Broad: Wide or general; not limited. "The manager has broad experience in
different industries."
To throw around: To mention or use something without much care. "Let’s not throw
around new ideas until we’re ready to plan properly."
To intersect: To meet or cross at a point. "Our goals intersect with the marketing
team’s work."
To overlap: To share parts or tasks with something else. "Some of our roles
overlap, so we need to coordinate better."
Coordination: Organizing people or activities so they work well together. "Better
coordination between departments will save time."
Efficiency: Doing something well without wasting time or resources. "We need to
improve efficiency in our order process."
Product launch: The official start of selling a new product. "The team worked hard
to prepare for the product launch."
Cooperation: The act of working together to achieve a result. "Without cooperation,
the project will take much longer."
Accountability: Responsibility for your actions and results. "Each team member has
accountability for their tasks."
HR: Short for Human Resources, the department that manages employees. "HR will
help us hire someone for the new role."
Job profile: A description of a job’s tasks and requirements. "We reviewed the job
profile before posting the vacancy."
Stake: A personal or financial interest in something. "She has a big stake in the
project’s success."
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New hire: Someone who has recently been recruited and employed by a company.
"This project is a good opportunity for the new hires to get some work experience.”
Deeper: More serious or detailed. "We need a deeper understanding of the client’s
needs."
To implement: To put a plan or idea into action. "We will implement the new
software next quarter."
Multitude: A large number of things or people. "There’s a multitude of tools we can
use to manage tasks."
Innovation: A new idea, method, or product. "Our company depends on innovation
to stay competitive."
To thrive on: To grow or do well because of something. "She thrives on teamwork
and fast-paced projects."
Diverse: Made up of different types of people or things. "We have a diverse team
with many skills and backgrounds."
Perspective: A way of looking at or thinking about something. "His perspective
helped us see a different way to approach the problem."
Collision: A clash or conflict of ideas or interests. "There was a collision between the
two teams over project roles."
Cross-pollination: Sharing ideas between groups to create new ones. "Cross-
pollination between departments often leads to innovation."
To uncover: To find out something that was hidden or unknown. "Our discussion
helped uncover the real issue."
Silo: Isolated or disconnected from other parts of an organization. "We need to
break down silos to improve communication."
Resilience: The ability to recover quickly from problems. "The team showed great
resilience after the failed launch."
To encounter: To come across or face something, often unexpected. "We
encountered some challenges with the new system."
Employee engagement: How interested and involved employees are in their work.
"High employee engagement leads to better results."
Boon: A benefit or helpful thing. "Remote work has been a boon for work-life balance."
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Hierarchy: A system where people are ranked by authority. "Our company has a
flat structure instead of a hierarchy to encourage open communication."
To stay in your lane: To only focus on your own role. "Sometimes staying in your
lane limits teamwork and growth."
Isolated: Feeling alone or separated. "Working from home made him feel isolated."
Unappreciated: Not feeling valued or recognized. "She left the job because she felt
unappreciated."
The flip of a switch: Something that happens very suddenly. "Change won’t happen
at the flip of a switch."
To sacrifice: To give up something for a better result. "We may have to sacrifice
some features to meet the deadline."
To insist: To strongly say something must be done. "He insisted on reviewing every
document himself."
“My way or the highway”: A phrase meaning you must follow one person’s way or
leave. "His 'my way or the highway' attitude upset the whole team."
To see through something: To finish something you started. "We need to see the
project through even if it’s tough."
To disengage: To stop being involved or interested. "Without clear goals,
employees can easily disengage."
To go along: To agree or follow a decision. "She didn’t love the idea but went along
with it anyway."
Grudgingly: Doing something without wanting to. "He grudgingly accepted the new
role after much discussion."
Conflict: A serious disagreement or fight. "Clear communication can prevent conflict
between teams."
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Review
1. Which of the following words describes “organizing teams and their work with
greater efficiency?”
a) Creativity
b) Collaboration
c) Coordination
d) Communication
2. Which of the following are elements of collaboration? Select all that apply:
a) Competition for resources
b) Shared decision-making
c) Shared office space
d) Strong communication
e) Common purpose
f) Trust
3. What does having diverse perspectives coming together lead to?
a) Conflict
b) Innovation
c) Profit
d) Hierarchy
4. Which of the following benefits of collaboration helps to create a web of
connections that creates strength and resilience?
a) Shared knowledge and learning
b) Shared leadership
c) Shared fears
d) Shared experiences
5. How are college grads in the 21st century different from people entering the
workforce in the past?
a) They expect higher salary.
b) They work harder.
c) They don’t value collaboration.
d) They dislike hierarchy.
6. Which of the following must we accept as potential costs or trade-offs for a
collaborative approach? Select all that apply:
a) Loss of effectiveness
b) Loss of control
c) Greater chance of conflict
d) Greater team unity
e) Lower efficiency
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Review Answers
1. Which of the following words describes “organizing teams and their work with
greater efficiency?”
c) Coordination
2. Which of the following are elements of collaboration? Select all that apply:
b) Shared decision-making
d) Strong communication
e) Common purpose
f) Trust
3. What does having diverse perspectives coming together lead to?
b) Innovation
4. Which of the following benefits of collaboration helps to create a web of
connections that creates strength and resilience?
a) Shared knowledge and learning
5. How are college grads in the 21st century different from people entering the
workforce in the past?
d) They dislike hierarchy.
6. Which of the following must we accept as potential costs or trade-offs for a
collaborative approach? Select all that apply:
b) Loss of control
c) Greater chance of conflict
e) Lower efficiency
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