Collaboration. What might seem like a simple topic is actually a significant challenge for organizations of all sizes and across all industries. That’s because a collaborative culture is one of the hardest things to build and maintain as a company grows and scales. However, it is also an extremely important ingredient to ensure long-term success.
At CultureIQ, we use the following definition of collaboration: “In a collaborative company, people cooperate, share, and work well together.”
It’s important to understand how this plays out across the different layers within your organization. Your marketing team might work well together, but your organization could still be a long way away from having a truly collaborative culture. Therefore, we encourage you to consider the following dynamics:
- Collaboration within teams
- Collaboration between teams (think silos)
- Collaboration between leaders and employees
To help you work through these challenges, on May 10th we teamed up with ZogSports and General Assembly to bring people together to explore collaboration in the workplace.
Meredith Haberfeld from ThinkHuman kicked off the evening with a presentation about what leaders can do to inspire a meaningful, effective collaborative culture within your organization.
Collaboration, according to Meredith, is is about creating a climate where people look past their own individual success to work toward a greater goal.
Here are some takeaways from her discussion:
“More collaboration isn’t always better” — @merhaberfeld talking about collaborative overload
— CultureIQ (@CultureIQ) May 10, 2016
#collaboration is about creating a climate where people look past their own individual success to work toward a greater goal @merhaberfeld
— CultureIQ (@CultureIQ) May 10, 2016
Think about the behavior, or the building blocks, required to work toward your shared purpose @merhaberfeld
— CultureIQ (@CultureIQ) May 10, 2016
Start with the heroes, because everyone is watching their behaviors @merhaberfeld
— CultureIQ (@CultureIQ) May 10, 2016
Help people know how to play the game to win @merhaberfeld @ZogSports
— CultureIQ (@CultureIQ) May 10, 2016
Your opportunity as a leader is to reshape identity through shared purpose @merhaberfeld @ZogSports #workplacecollaboration
— CultureIQ (@CultureIQ) May 10, 2016
To shape behavior, celebrate what behaviors you want and consistently address violations @merhaberfeld @ZogSports pic.twitter.com/IhU0QQCVNc
— CultureIQ (@CultureIQ) May 10, 2016
ZogSports then facilitated an activity that demonstrated what team collaboration can look like within your organization. Attendees were divided into teams and tasked with building a pyramid out of the materials supplied.
Complete strangers (for the most part) came together to work towards a shared goal, and the results were amazing!
But the process to get there was even better…
To tie everything together, David Shanklin from CultureIQ facilitated a discussion for attendees to share their lessons from the presentation, the activity, and each other.
The question he posed: What are you doing to encourage strong collaboration within your organization … within teams, between teams, and between leaders and employees?
Here were some of the great ideas that came from it:
Tips for #collaboration from last night: Use @SlackHQ for daily team updates. Helps to manage workloads & support each other! @ZogSports
— CultureIQ (@CultureIQ) May 11, 2016
Tips for #collaboration from event: informal meetings are more productive than formal ones. Create opportunities to just hash stuff out
— CultureIQ (@CultureIQ) May 12, 2016
Tips for #collaboration from @dailymuse: instead of the 2pm coffee run, create a “judgement-free push up posse”-laugh & reenergize together!
— CultureIQ (@CultureIQ) May 12, 2016
Tips for #collaboration from Tues: “Make them WANT to talk to each other, rather than making them talk to each other” @zogsports
— CultureIQ (@CultureIQ) May 12, 2016
Tips for #collaboration b/w leaders & employees: Have C-Suite share their interests, & others will feel comfortable sharing & connecting.
— CultureIQ (@CultureIQ) May 12, 2016
Tips for #collaboration: Leaders shouldn’t be “above traditions” — having informal access to leaders makes everyone feel comfortable.
— CultureIQ (@CultureIQ) May 12, 2016
Tips for #collaboration from Tues: Give every hire a mentor from a different team– it’ll be a friendly face to provide extra support!
— CultureIQ (@CultureIQ) May 13, 2016
A huge thanks to everyone who came out and share their time, energy, and ideas!
Learn how CultureIQ can help you build a collaborative, strong culture. Schedule a discovery call.
