14
THE END IS THE BEGINNING
By now it should be clear that individuals, teams, and entire companies benefit when they are committed to collaboration. Bob Mudge, president of Verizon, summed it up: “Collaboration is no longer just a strategy: It is the key to long-term business success and competitiveness. Businesses that realize this sooner rather than later will be the ones who win.”1
The results from many collaborative efforts can be quantified. Recently, California chipmaker Xilinx “reported a 25 percent increase in engineer productivity by using tools that encouraged peer-to-peer collaboration.”2 Countless other quantitative and qualitative examples could be provided; many have been throughout this book.
You have read stories about how collaboration has made an enormous difference to Silicon Valley companies, their employees, and their customers. I have provided examples of companies that have been extolled for their overall approach to collaboration and for creating a unique Collaboration Ethos that fit their company’s culture.
Now it’s your turn.
CREATING THE STORY THAT DEPICTS THE STATE OF COLLABORATION AT YOUR COMPANY
I invite you to take everything you’ve learned and all the notes you’ve made and turn it into a story that depicts the State of Collaboration at your firm. The purpose of this is to create a report that you can use to talk with others in your company about collaboration. Use whatever format you feel most comfortable with and that is most acceptable in your culture. You don’t have to spend weeks laboring over it, with the goal of producing a document worthy of publication. That isn’t the purpose of this activity. When you have completed this work, you will have integrated your perceptions into a statement that highlights areas in which you are doing well and areas in which there are weaknesses.
With that story in hand, talk to your manager about the areas in which your company excels in collaboration. Talk about the possibilities for improvement. Engage in a dialogue to see if she or he shares your perspectives and your enthusiasm for making things even better. If they do, then figure out your next steps in helping your organization foster an environment where employees come together even better.
The following bullet points summarize the thinking and activities that I have suggested you undertake as you read the book. I have summarized key questions from each activity. In case you want to return to the area of the book that discussed each activity, I also included the chapter number (in parentheses).
Use this outline to remind yourself of questions that led you to meaningful realizations about your company. Those responses are the ones that you will want to capture in your report. Bring them together and create a story of how people work together currently in your company.
“Defining collaboration. What was your initial definition of collaboration before you began reading the book? Did your definition change after you read the definitions shared by Silicon Valley leaders and the working definition of collaboration used in this book? (Chapter )
“Your company’s definition of collaboration. I suggested that you ask five colleagues how collaboration is defined at your company. What do their responses reveal? Do your company’s views encourage or impede effective collaboration? (You may want to include a few highlights of those five responses. Including other people’s perceptions beyond your own may strengthen your report.) If you haven’t conducted that research yet, it isn’t too late to do it now. (Chapter )
“When, where, and how is collaboration achieved at your firm? Are employees who represent different areas brought together to create, design, and deliver the products you provide to customers? Are they able to combine their knowledge to create the best ideas? Are coworkers brought together to brainstorm problems? Are there certain groups who work better together than others? (Chapter )
“How important is collaboration to your company? Do you believe folks at your firm think collaboration is as important to your success as Silicon Valley leaders feel it is to their companies? (Chapter )
— Did you collect data about whether others think collaboration is vital to your company’s success? What composite emerges when you consider the responses of those five people? What are the implications of what they said?
“What types of collaboration are most common at your company? (Chapter )
— Is your company in a highly controlled industry, a moderately controlled one, or one with few controls?
— The three main types of collaboration are: 1) a few hand-selected individuals coming together for a specific task; 2) teams with special synergy that enables them to achieve great things; and 3) everyone being encouraged to work with others when it is appropriate. Does your company use all three types? Are one or two of these types more prevalent than others?
— If you tend to use only one or two of these types, might this hurt your company’s results? How so?
“The six characteristics of collaborators: The six characteristics are: 1) A Drive to Succeed; 2) The Desire to Contribute to Something Meaningful; 3) Persistence; 4) Acceptance of Differences; 5) Desire for Genuine Communication; and 6) Connection to Company-Wide Goals. (Chapter )
— Do you see any of these six characteristics represented at your company?
— Does your company use any of these characteristics to recruit new employees? To promote employees? Does your company conduct trainings in any of these areas? Can you see the value in doing so?
“The five core beliefs of collaborators: 1) Some projects need assistance from others; 2) Group successes are gratifying in a different way than individual work; 3) The chance to learn from others is a chief benefit of collaboration; 4) The chance to teach is a chief benefit of collaboration; 5) Networking = collaboration. (Chapter )
— Which of these five are represented at your company? Your assessment will give you clues about how ready individuals in your company are to collaborate effectively.
“Three Stories of Successful Collaboration: I presented three stories of collaboration: 1) Changing How the Product Is Delivered to Customers; 2) Grassroots Product Development; and 3) Evolving How Work Gets Done. (Chapter )
— Do any of these stories offer ideas for ways your company can do things better? For instance, do leaders share enough context with employees so they can understand and buy into strategies, directions, and decisions? Are employees given the opportunity to research and present new ideas? How are big changes made in internal processes?
“The Silicon Valley Approach to Collaboration: In a nutshell, the SVAC is a philosophy and a set of practices that foster a culture in which employees join forces when they can create better results working together than on their own. (Chapter )
— What aspects of the SVAC can currently be found at your company? Which of those aspects work well? What could be done differently to help you achieve the SVAC even better? Did reading about how it came together at Superb Software give you any additional ideas for things you could be doing at your company?
“Individual Skills: The four Individual Skills are: 1) Being True to Yourself; 2) Being True to Others; 3) Being True to the Work; and 4) Being True to the Company. (Chapters 5, 6, and 7)
— Do employees use the four Being Trues at your company? Do you see one or two of them typically being emphasized more than the others? Or do employees consider all four areas in relation to each other when they are devising solutions to work challenges?
— Are there ways your company could encourage considering all four of these perspectives even more?
“Agile: An all-purpose process to guide and manage group projects. (Chapter )
— Does your company have some sort of all-purpose project management methodology which groups can customize and use to guide their projects? How well does it work? Does the information about Agile provide ideas for strengthening your process? Might you want to explore adopting this one?
“Vital Team Tools to Help Groups Work More Effectively: Several team tools were shared. They are: 1) Strengthening trust and respect between employees; 2) Framing topics clearly and precisely; and 3) Scenario Planning. (Chapter )
— Does your company help employees get to know each other better to build bonds of trust? Could they do more? Could the SanDisk model work at your company?
— Do employees at your company frame topics appropriately? Might some of the skills and tips provided in this chapter help?
— Could Scenario Planning help structure discussions on topics that are uncertain because of unknowns about the future?
“Management Practices: People-management practices have a profound effect on the effectiveness of collaboration. The following aspects are covered in this chapter: 1) Strategic business decisions that may have unintended effects on collaboration; 2) Management philosophies; 3) Values; 4) Inspiring visions; 5) Management practices; 6) Corrective practices; 7) Shared goals; 8) Organizational structure; and 9) How senior leaders work together. (Chapter )
— Does your firm have any strategies or practices that make sense from certain perspectives, yet have a negative impact on successful collaboration? If so, are leaders aware of the negative effect of these practices on collaboration?
— Do any of the management philosophies, values, practices, people-management strategies and corrective practices examples from Silicon Valley strike you as ideas that might help your company help foster increased collaboration?
— Do groups working together in your organization often have shared goals?
— In what ways does your organizational structure make it easier for people to work together? In what ways does it make it more difficult?
— Do your senior leaders work well together and with others, modeling successful collaboration at the top?
“Employee Incentives: Financial incentives reward employees for certain behaviors. Those are the behaviors that staff focus on performing well. (Chapter )
— Do your incentive systems inspire employees to work hard and achieve stellar results?
— Do your compensation, bonus, and other monetary and non-monetary rewards reinforce collaboration?
— Where might your company’s incentives fall short in the goal of creating a collaborative culture?
“Access to Other Employees: Employees need access to each other. Included in this are: 1) Design of physical work spaces; 2) Fostering collaboration across geographic distances; and 3) Telecommuting. (Chapter )
— Are physical spaces at your company designed to maximize both productivity and comfort? Do those spaces encourage the right people to work together? Do the experiences of the Silicon Valley companies offer any ideas for your company? Are groups given input in designing their areas?
— Are there geographic distances between employees who need to work together at your company? Do leaders acknowledge those distances and do things to help employees work together from different locations? What else might they do?
— Does your company allow employees to work at home? Are they still able to work with others when needed? Do you believe your organization would benefit from any changes in the current policy?
“Collaborative Ethos: This chapter shows how some of the best companies have a distinct Collaborative Ethos that reflects their culture. (Chapter )
— Does your company have a Collaborative Ethos? If yes, take a moment to describe it. If not, is there a kernel of an idea that you could build on to help your company create your own Collaborative Ethos?
— Do leaders at your company help employees see themselves as members of many teams? Did you try the experiments suggested regarding “us” and “them”? What were the results?
Take time to organize and synthesize your responses to these questions. Summarize the key themes you notice as you read through the content. Where does your company excel? Where does it fall short? Make sure that the document you have created is as neutral and accurate a reflection of your company as you can make it.
Now it is time to meet and share it with your manager. If the two of you agree to talk with other leaders about improving collaboration, I recommend that you take one further action before you have those conversations. You can strengthen your story by creating a small task force of employees who are also committed to collaboration. Ask each of them to read the book. Then combine all of your perspectives into one composite report for leadership. The report will be more convincing if it reflects the views of a number of staff from various groups and from different levels of your firm.
If you would like assistance in pulling together the story about collaboration at your organization, feel free to contact me at my consulting firm, Critical Change.
Additionally, you may want to use an employee survey to gather widespread feedback on the current state of your culture. I have provided the following survey for this purpose.
AN EMPLOYEE SURVEY TO ASSESS THE STATE OF COLLABORATION
This survey can be used by employees individually to help them solidify perceptions of collaboration at your company. It can be also used by everyone in a group to capture their assessment of the state of collaboration within their own group, or at your entire organization. If every employee completes it, it can create a comprehensive snapshot of your company’s collaboration culture.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR EMPLOYEES COMPLETING THE SURVEY
Some of the questions in this survey ask you to rate an item based on your own individual perspectives. Other questions ask you to provide a rating based on how most employees feel or the company’s views. We realize that it’s impossible for you to be certain how others feel about something. We are only asking you to share your perceptions of their feelings or company views.
Please use the following 1–5 rating scale: 1 = Almost Never; 2 = Infrequently; 3 = Some of the Time; 4 = Most of the Time; 5 = Almost All the Time
On a separate answer sheet, note your ratings for each of these 64 questions by question number and by section.
INDIVIDUAL SKILLS
A. Being True to Yourself
1. I am aware of my values and live in synch
with them at work.
2. My current position is helping me move toward my career goals.
3. I am able to express my views in ways that they are heard and considered.
4. I understand how my feelings drive my behavior.
5. I express how I feel at appropriate times and in appropriate ways.
6. I manage my emotions rather than being buffeted about by them.
B. Being True to Others
7. I have a lot in common with others at this company.
8. I seek to understand how others feel.
9. Helping others is encouraged here.
10. We view disagreements as opportunities to
explore diverse ideas and do not take them personally.
11. People here go beyond their own turf to pitch in and help get things done.
12. Staff are committed to doing quality work here.
C. Being True to the Work
13. We view our project’s problems as our problems.
14. Employees learn and use their knowledge to create better ways of doing things.
15. We regularly adopt ideas shared by others.
16. We understand our customers’ needs.
17. We are flexible and willing to adapt to new conditions.
18. Information comes through the proper channels rather than through the grapevine.
19. There is great interaction between my group and others with whom we work.
20. Given our priorities, we know what decisions are important.
21. It is clear who is responsible for making which decisions.
22. We know who must work closely together to achieve the priorities.
D. Being True to the Company
23. I can see how my work helps achieve company goals.
24. What happens in this organization is important to me.
25. Staff take pride in telling others that they work for this company.
26. People are committed to this company’s directions and strategies.
27. When employees have to choose between doing what is best for their work group or the whole organization, they do what is best for the organization.
28. Employees are fine when it comes to adapting to changing conditions.
29. Leaders show they trust us based on the confidential information they share with us.
E. Team Tools
30. People share information openly.
31. We make a point of seeking ideas from others.
32. We encourage each other to openly and honestly say what we think.
33. Differences of opinion are used to explore ideas and reach better decisions.
34. We listen carefully to what others have to say.
35. We have work processes and tools that enable us to be effective.
36. We have a good, all-purpose process we use to guide project work.
37. Responsibilities and assignments are clear to groups that work together.
F. Management Practices
38. Our leaders help us understand the key business challenges this company faces.
39. Management trusts employees and shares relevant information and ideas.
40. Employees participate in making many of the decisions regarding work in their area, or provide input to those making the decisions.
41. Management in this organization works together as a team.
42. Managers foster collaboration between employees.
43. Management and non-management staff partner with each other.
44. We receive appropriate feedback on our work regularly.
45. Managers here deal with poor performance appropriately.
46. Our group and groups we work with have common goals and measures of success.
47. We have confidence in the fairness of management.
G. Employee Incentives
48. I know how my manager measures how good a job I do.
49. Doing a great job is rewarded at this company.
50. Each employee’s compensation depends, in part, on how well they work with others.
51. Each employee’s compensation depends on the results of both their group and other groups.
52. In the last 90 days I have received recognition or praise for doing great work.
53. My pay reflects the effort I put into my work.
54. Promotions in this organization are fair.
H. Access to Other Employees
55. It is easy for me to find and work with others when I need to.
56. Our technological tools make it easy for me to work with others who are not at the same physical location.
57. Our physical surroundings are comfortable and encourage us to want to spend time here and do our best work.
58. This company’s practices regarding telecommuting are appropriate.
I. Miscellaneous
59. Employees identify with other teams as well as their own primary work group.
60. It’s not about who came up with the idea, it’s about selecting the best ideas.
61. I am an important part of this company.
62. We have the right people doing the right jobs.
63. The work we do here is important.
64. We have a Collaborative Ethos at this company.
FINAL SCORING
Review your responses to each of these 64 questions. Note any individual items that you rated less than 4. These are the areas that, if improved, could help improve your company’s collaborative culture.
Now compile your section responses:
Add the total of your responses to Section A together, then divide that number by 6. Note your overall rating for this section on your answer sheet.
Add the total of your responses to Section B together, then divide that number by 6. Note your overall rating for this section on your answer sheet.
Add the total of your responses to Section C together, then divide that number by 10. Note your overall rating for this section on your answer sheet.
Add the total of your responses to Section D together, then divide that number by 7. Note your overall rating for this section on your answer sheet.
Add the total of your responses to Section E together, then divide that number by 8. Note your overall rating for this section on your answer sheet.
Add the total of your responses to Section F together, then divide that number by 10. Note your overall rating for this section on your answer sheet.
Add the total of your responses to Section G together, then divide that number by 7. Note your overall rating for this section on your answer sheet.
Add the total of your responses to Section H together, then divide that number by 4. Note your overall rating for this section on your answer sheet.
Add the total of your responses to Section I together, then divide that number by 6. Note your overall rating for this section on your answer sheet.
Note any of the sections in which your answers averaged less than 4.0. These would also be great places to start working on improving collaboration at your company. Working on an item that scores less than 4.0 may mean making changes in that content area. Or it may mean that leaders need to do a better job of explaining to employees why that area needs to be that way at this company at this time. (That’s what setting context is about.)
If you would like additional assistance in analyzing your survey results, feel free to contact me at my consulting firm, Critical Change.