Getting Collaboration Right
When did you last wander down the refrigerated section of your local supermarket? As you did, I wonder if you gave any thought to where the technology behind what you were seeing had come from. If you had done, I wonder if Formula 1 would have sprung to mind……
Collaboration has become a buzz word for many organisations and sectors navigating the challenging circumstances in which they now find themselves. Of particular note (certainly in the UK press) has been the tie-ups including design and manufacturing organisations (such as Dyson) and elite sports engineers such as those from Formula 1. Collaboration into and out of high performance sport is of course nothing new. British Cycling is famous for its willingness to look outside of its bubble in pursuit of innovation and marginal gains, leading to changes in pretty much every piece of equipment, from clothing through to pedals. Formula 1 team Williams was involved in the development of aerofoils for refrigerated cabinets mentioned above, via its Williams Advanced Engineering Arm. Williams offered its specialised aerodynamic testing, proven on generations of racing cars to optimise the design of the aerofoils in a collaboration first with Sainsburys and then other supermarkets.
But collaboration as a blanket response isn’t a silver bullet; thought and analysis needs to go both into the decision to collaborate, and then into ensuring you are giving the collaboration the best chance of success.
Set out below are some golden rules, but first of all, let’s consider what we mean by collaboration.
At its simplest, collaboration means the act of working with someone to produce something. What I am focusing on in this piece is collaboration at the team or organisational level, rather than just between a small number of individuals within a team. So the advice below will apply where one team within your organisation is considering whether to collaborate with another team to achieve something, or where your organisation is considering working with another organisation to achieve something. Where there is a process of connecting, obtaining and providing information, and participating in joint projects.
When Is Collaboration the Right Decision?
Why collaborate?
This is the crucial first question to ask. Don’t assume that collaborating with a particular team, or organisation, is the right thing to do because someone has told you to, it’s the ‘new’ thing, or because on the surface it makes sense. What’s the business case for doing so? Not every collaboration is beneficial. As Morten T. Hansen, expert author on collaboration has stressed: in determining which to choose, you should focus on Value. What’s the compelling benefit of getting together and collaborating on a product, service, project or cost-cutting exercise? How will the collaboration impact on key indicators? If you can’t express the value that a proposed collaboration will bring in a clear, compelling way, then you should be saying no. Disciplined collaboration is about only saying ‘yes’ to the few opportunities that produce compelling value.
Hansen posits the following as the guide to a ‘business’ case:
Collaboration Premium = Benefit of initiative - opportunity costs - collaboration costs.
Don’t forget or underestimate the costs of collaboration, which can often run into huge numbers.
If the premium is positive, then it’s a yes. If not, it’s a no.
Four key principles to drive success
#1: Unite everyone behind a compelling goal
‘Nothing bonds a team like a common goal’. If you want to get a group of diverse people/teams/organisations, each with their own interests and agendas, to work together, hard, in pursuit of a common goal, you have to make it compelling, relevant and emotive. You’ll know when you have this right from how it makes you feel, and the reaction you get from others. Remember though that within the compelling, unifying goal, the more you can align each team/organisation’s own interests with the overall goal, the more motivated they are likely to be.
#2: Reward the right stuff
Are you rewarding A, whilst hoping for B? Wherever you can, set the rewards up so that you can motivate people to channel their effort in pursuit of the common goal. And be careful with rewarding collaboration activities, rather than behaviours and results. If you reward people for showing up for meetings, participating in working groups and task forces, without focusing on what they are accomplishing, you won’t achieve what you need to achieve. And are you encouraging and facilitating the right behaviours? Curiosity not judgement. Group problem-solving rather than each team or organisation working in silos. An effective feedback culture - where feedback is direct, specific and applicable. Teaching people to listen, not talk.
#3: Commit
Using the business case approach, you should only be collaborating where there is a compelling reason to do so, using value as your guide. When you do decide ‘yes’, commit properly. Ensure the collaboration receives sufficient time, effort and money. If you can’t, scale it back or scrap it. Nail your colours to the mast.
#4: Build Trust, Fast
‘Progress goes at the speed of trust’. This is a saying with which many of you will be familiar. When you begin a collaboration, you are often working with those with whom you are unfamiliar. In some instances, especially where you are collaborating with ‘rivals’ you might be starting from an active position of distrust and competition. Lack of trust impedes collaboration. So what can you do?
First, try and understand why trust is an issue? Is it lack of personal relationships? Is it concern over underlying motives? Is it that the compelling goal isn’t yet strong enough? Is it lack of confidence in the ability to deliver?
Depending on the answers to this question, some or all of the following might help to boost trust:
prioritise time at the beginning to get to know each other, and build relationships;
start small (to build confidence in abilities);
get public commitment (to bolster the common purpose and neutralise self interest);
clarify and affirm what everyone is bringing to the table.
Collaboration is going to be key for so many of us as we attempt to move forwards in the best possible way out of the current crisis. But remember:
“The goal of collaboration is NOT collaboration.”
So be disciplined in your approach, and don’t assume that collaboration will automatically help you solve your problems.
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