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It's not ALL about collaboration ALL of the time

By Angela Ashenden posted 12-16-2014 12:06

  

While we are far from being in a position where collaboration is a foundation of every company culture, we have reach a point where it is generally recognised, accepted even, that better collaboration means better business. Whether it is about making the most of your people's knowledge and skills, or about creating new, innovative ideas by connecting different parts of the organisation more effectively, the potential benefits of better collaboration are tantalising for many business leaders.

 

But at the same time, it's important to make the point that not every activity, every business decision has to be collaborative, even in the most collaborative organisation. The final decision may well be taken by a single individual, be it a senior manager or the relevant responsible employee. Similarly, trying to force collaboration where the culture does not yet support it can actually slow down productivity, as is evidenced in Morten T. Hansen's article When Internal Collaboration Is Bad for Your Company. The goal is to create a culture where the process of informing a decision is achieved in as open, transparent a way as is possible, where individuals at all levels do not fear asking others for their views or expertise, and where people do not fear they are stepping out of line by questioning or challenging a long-held view, or that of a more senior or longer-standing colleague.

 

Even in the most collaborative organisation, some people will be naturally more collaborative than others - or  should I say, some people will be more active on your social collaboration platform than others. Over time, as your culture becomes more collaborative, the people who remain its employees - and those who are recruited in the mean time - will most likely be those who are more embracing of the idea of collaboration. But even among these, there will be some who are more extrovert and are happy to share their activities or progress regardless of its stage of completion, and other, perhaps more introverted individuals will only share once they feel they have explored their idea sufficiently independently. (Michael Sampson explores the introvert/extrovert differences in this slideshare presentation.)  Both approaches are fine - provided there is an acceptance that feedback and discussion will reinforce (not ruin) this effort.

 

The key is to remember that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to collaboration; how it work will vary from organisation to organisation, from industry to industry, and even from person to person. One thing that is vital though, is to have senior-level support for your initiative. Changing the culture, the long-held expectations about how things work and about what you get credit for, needs management buy-in and commitment; without it, nothing will change.

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