Building and supporting collaboration in the workplace requires addressing both motivational and ability barriers to collaboration. It is important to assess when collaboration is appropriate and design solutions to break down barriers between employees. These barriers include the "not invented here" tendency to hoard ideas, search difficulties in finding helpful resources, and challenges transferring tacit knowledge between groups. Fostering a collaborative culture requires modeling collaborative behaviors, training employees in collaborative skills, and using performance programs to reward collaboration throughout the organization.
12. why should we care?
• cost savings through the transfer of best practices
• better decision making as a result of advice obtained from others
• increased revenue through the sharing of expertise
• innovation through the combination and cross-pollination of
ideas
• enhanced capacity for collective action that involves dispersed
units/functions
Morten T. Hansen
20. new partners
• forming of teams may be
“on-the-fly”
• teams formed to solve
problems or “tackle ideas”
• intrinsic motivation
• contribution by ALL
• less chance of redundancy
34. our environment is designed for
competition and independence
we launch ambitious projects in an
unreceptive environment
we underestimate the costs
we misdiagnose the problem...
...and implement the wrong solutions
35.
36. disciplined collaboration
!
“the leadership practice of
properly assessing when
to collaborate (and when
not to) and instilling in
people both the
willingness and the ability
to collaborate when
required”
!
!
Morten T. Hansen!
37. never lose sight of the goal!
• select when collaboration is appropriate
• understand the barriers that currently prevent
employees from collaborating
• design management solutions to tear down
those barriers
41. the ‘not-invented-here’ barrier
• unwilling to reach out to
others
• communication stays within
group
• protection of self-interests
• status gaps and pride
• self-reliance
43. the hoarding barrier
• competitive relationships
• fear of losing power
• “it takes too much time”
• rewarding people only for
their work…and not for
helping others
44. the hoarding barrier
!
consider a 360-degree
review process that
captures demonstration
of individual
performance and
contributions to others/
willingness to help
45. the search barrier
• people cannot find
information…or resources/
people…that can help them
• too much information
• insufficient networks
• limited ‘personal’ connecting
50. don’t start at wrong end…
“the leadership practice of properly
assessing when to collaborate (and
when not to) and instilling in people
both the willingness and the ability to
collaborate when required”
remember...!
55. when do you say “yes” to collaboration?!
when do you say “no”?!
56. does value exceed cost?!
• opportunity costs
• foregoing other projects
• collaboration costs
• delays, budget overruns, lost
sales or poor quality
• better innovation
• new business development or
cross unit product
development
• better sales
• cross selling or enhanced
customer service w/ results
• better operations
• transfer of best practices or
making better decisions
value cost
62. tools -> value creation through collaboration
top down AND bottom up
63. we now know...
• the why, what and when of collaboration
• why culture matters
• barriers to collaboration
• working smarter, not harder
64. photo credit: Getty Images George Marks!Roger L. Martin!
“Building
toward a
defined
outcome
through the
interactions
and input of
multiple
people”
no more
choiceless doers!
68. resources!
Collaboration: How Leaders Avoid the Traps, Build Common Ground, and
Reap Big Results, Morten Hansen!
The Culture of Collaboration, Evan Rosen !
The Execution Trap, Roger L. Martin (Harvard Business Review)!
Eight Ways to Build Collaborative Teams, Lynda Gratton and Tamara J.
Erickson (Harvard Business Review)!
Leadership Conversations: Challenging High-Potential Managers to Become
Great Leaders, Alan S. Berson/Richard G. Stieglitz !
3 Cs of Innovation 2.0 - Crowdsourcing, Competition, Collaboration, Hutch
Carpenter!
