What are collaborative leadership organizations? This is a non-hierarchical, networked organizational system. The “conventional” command-and-control organization, which has a rigid hierarchy of responsibilities and administrative power, is often the antithesis of a collaborative organization.
Although many corporate executives place a high value on collaboration, it can be challenging to pinpoint what makes an organization successful. Since no two businesses are alike, their tactics and technology may differ greatly. Initiatives for cooperation also originate from many departments, each with a distinct budget, as well as varying use cases, corporate cultures, methodologies, and success criteria. How can we determine what makes an organization successful if there is such a wide range of options available? Chess has the solution.
Tips To Grow Collaborative Leadership Organizations
1. Before technology, use a strategy
Focus on creating a plan that will enable you to grasp the “why” before the “how” before choosing that glitzy new collaboration platform. Any collaborative project must be successful in order to achieve this. You don’t want to be in a situation where technology has been deployed without your knowing why.
For instance, Penn State University Outreach was looking for a strategy to engage and connect all of its staff members. Previously, they did this during an annual conference when only a small portion of the staff could attend, so it was first come, first served. Before choosing a technology, they were better able to understand what they needed, why they needed it, and how they were going to make it work by having a clear plan in place. Instead of just a few hundred people, they can now interact and connect with the entire business.
2. Make things better
Working together can improve the world. The ability of collaboration to improve the world may be its most crucial tenet. Yes, teamwork may increase employee productivity and benefit consumers. However, cooperation also enables workers to feel closer to their work and their coworkers, lowers workplace stress, facilitates easier work, grants workers more flexibility, and, in general, makes workers happier individuals.
This translates into reduced domestic stress, fewer disputes between couples, and more quality time with loved ones. Collaboration has a good effect on employees’ life both at work and at home.
3. Set an example
Why should employees utilize and promote collaborative technologies and tactics if executives at your company don’t? Leaders can influence change and promote desirable habits extremely effectively.
A notable printing and outsourcing business is Oce. People who claimed they didn’t know anything or requested inquiries were viewed as weak or foolish because of the company’s culture. The team that oversaw the collaborative efforts to fix this issue was the first to expose themselves. Others became more receptive after noticing this.
4. Customer-centric
Workplace cooperation is advantageous to customers as well. Employee cooperation offers enormous value for your clients, even while it does solve problems that are quite diverse and specific to each employee. By having access to internal expertise, knowledge, and resources that can be used to assist consumers, employees are able to offer a better experience and greater service.
Think about a client who is interacting with a support agent who, regrettably, is unable to address the client’s issue. However, the employee has access to the entire company to identify the appropriate information and communicate it with the client.
To identify the best and quickest answer, for instance, Cisco uses a collaborative environment to crowdsource problems and requests. This improves the customer experience.
5. Comparing personal and corporate benefits
When explaining cooperation to employees, don’t concentrate on the broader business value and benefit. Employees are concerned about how this may affect them specifically. How would this simplify their lives and employment for them?
For instance, the AMP Bank in Sydney spent time working side-by-side with workers to learn how they functioned and to convey to them how new technology and approaches may improve their life at work.
6. Adapt to the way that work is done
Employees shouldn’t ever view collaboration as extra work or demand. Instead, teamwork needs to flow organically throughout their daily tasks. Create a “front door” to the organization that can be accessed through your collaboration platform, for instance, rather than requiring employees to utilize various identities, passwords, and log-in sites.
An illustration of this is the Canadian telecom corporation TELUS, which has made cooperation an integral part of employee workflow. Collaboration is one of their key principles, and they conduct collaboration scavenger hunts for new hires in addition to employee off-sites and many other things. All of their technologies are accessible via a single navigation bar.
7. Adjust and develop
It’s crucial to keep in mind that a partnership never ends. The workplace is always evolving as new tools and techniques are developed. This implies that it’s critical for your business to be able to adapt and develop when circumstances change. Keep an eye on what’s happening both inside and outside of your company. You’ll be able to innovate and plan forward thanks to this.
As an illustration, Lowe’s Home Improvement is fundamentally altering how staff members interact and work together. The firm has internally acknowledged the change in the consumer web and is adjusting to the extent that they recently held their own internal “social business” conference. Many Lowe’s employees use collaboration technologies in their daily work.
8. Get used to moving out of the way
You inhibit collaboration inside your organization by trying to enforce and police everything. It’s okay to have certain best practices and rules, but allow your staff members to complete their tasks as needed.
For instance, ING Direct Canada excels at empowering staff members. There are no offices or job titles for the staff. Leaders concentrate on reducing barriers rather than putting them in place since anybody can talk to anyone. Employees’ participation in their collaborative atmosphere is not monitored, and their CEO appreciates any team criticism, favorable or bad.
9. Show Persistence
I think collaborative projects should be corporate initiatives rather than pilots. These initiatives may need some time, but if the business decides that cooperation is the path it wants to follow, then that’s it. No retreating or giving up. Without linking employees with information, businesses cannot prosper in the future. Collaboration success is THE choice, not a possibility.
For instance, the initial attempt by Children’s Hospital to collaborate with other organizations was a colossal disaster. They put technology into use only to discover that nobody was using it. They started over, chose a different vendor, and developed a fresh plan of attack.
10. Pay attention to the employee’s voice
We are usually so insistent on hearing what the consumer has to say, but what about the voice of the employee? It’s crucial to involve workers in decision-making from the beginning when implementing cooperation inside your company. As you incorporate their comments into your technology and strategy, pay attention to their ideas, wants, and suggestions.
As an illustration, Booz Allen Hamilton formerly had excellent employee engagement. Based on input from the staff, they developed their collaboration platform in 2-week iterations. They were the case study that was discussed at the conferences by everyone. The project was eventually turned over to IT, and the employees’ voices were no longer being heard. Employee adoption and engagement levels both declined.
11. Measure what is important
An organization can measure a lot of things, but that doesn’t mean that they all ought to be measured. Pay attention to the indicators that are important to your company and are connected to a business case. Some businesses concentrate on “busy” measures like the number of comments or groups established. Others emphasize indicators like engagement (defined as how connected and passionate an employee feels about the company and the work they do).
As an illustration, Intuit is one of several businesses that may easily access various types of data through its collaboration platform. Instead than concentrating on all the data, Intuit examines things like how many new product ideas are produced for workers and how the time to market for new products is shortened.
Final thought
Make a welcoming atmosphere. It will be difficult to encourage employees to share and interact with one another if your company rewards individuals for their individual achievement as the primary factor in success. Why would they want to do that? While paying staff for excellent performance is acceptable, it’s equally important to recognize collaboration.
Organizations may, for instance, attach a portion of an employee’s incentive to how effectively they cooperate with their coworkers. A supportive workplace also entails making training and educational materials accessible to both staff members and internal evangelists.