Building a Collaborative
Workforce
Presented by:
Jill Lackey
Allegacy Consulting Group
Carolina Credit Union League
HR and Professional Development Conference
October 23, 2014
Collaboration is NOT:
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Reviewing other’s work
Delegating
Routing work from person to person
Editing slides
Deferring to higher authorities
Compromise
Collaboration is….
“Co-Laboring”
…bringing together the knowledge, experience
and skills of multiple people with diverse points
of view to develop something which is superior
to that which any one person could have created
alone.
Requirements for Collaboration
• Early involvement and the availability of resources
• Culture supporting trust, cooperation and teamwork
• Team skills and team member buy-in
• Defined team member responsibilities based on
collaboration
Collaborative Myths
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No Trade-offs
Its always better
Everything is a collaboration
Shared accountability….no single owner
An Example of Collaboration
Why Collaborate?
Changes in the business environment are necessitating
a new and better way of interacting:
• The frequency and amount of information which
must be digested
• The speed of business—decisions must be made
more quickly
• Downsizing, eradication of hierarchy, consolidation,
mergers, joint ventures
• Drive for increased productivity
• The employment contract has changed forever
Shifting Paradigms
• What changes do you see in the business world that
may create challenges in creating a collaborative
environment?
• What are the consequences in not addressing these
challenges?
• How do you think the increased use of email, texting,
instant messaging, etc. as a means of communicating
impacts the shift to a collaborative environment?
Benefits of a Collaborative Environment
• Collaboration fosters more positive, productive relationships
• More effective decisions result
• Accountability is shared, and thus there is a higher likelihood of a
successful outcome
• People feel more involved and included, and work satisfaction
increases
• Trust – if I trust you, I’m going to give more
• Information is shared more freely and more information is shared
• Motivation and progress not affected by leader’s absence
• More successful mergers and strategic alliances
• More energizing environment
Assessing the Workplace Environment
Traditional Workplace Characteristics
Roles are described in terms of individual function, span of
control, structures and tasks.
People are rewarded for individuals contributions;
competitive behavior may exist
Decisions are made from the top down or departmentally
Collaborative Workplace Characteristics
Roles are described in terms of team affiliations,
relationships and process
People are rewarded for collective accomplishment
Decisions are made on the basis of group or shared
leadership models
Mistakes and setbacks are handled by assigning blame and Mistakes and setbacks are handled by identifying group
assigning consequences
learning.
People are reactive when faced with problems
People are thoughtful and responsive when faced with
problems
Mistakes and setbacks are shielded in order to avoid
Mistakes and setbacks are celebrated for the risk taking
consequences
and courage involved
Conflicts are avoided or handled in a confrontational
Conflicts are dealt with in an open respectful manner
manner
People in senior leadership roles describe employees
People in senior leadership roles describe employees in
terms of expenses
terms of partnership
The culture emphasizes getting things done quickly
The culture emphasizes taking the time to do things
well
Workplace interactions emphasize being right
Workplace interactions emphasize relationship.
Your Thoughts on Collaboration
• What is your biggest concern about a
collaborative process?
• What do you see as barriers to collaboration –
in the workplace and in the individual?
• How can you overcome those barriers?
Building
Trust
Shared Purpose
Multiple
Perspectives
5-Step Model
for Effective
Collaboration
New
Possibilities
Committed Action
Establish a Shared Purpose
• Identify what each group member has to offer
and what each group member wants to achieve
through collaboration
• Create a shared mental model of the purpose and
possibilities to be pursued through the
collaborative effort
• Identify the internal and external barriers and
what needs to be done to prevent them from
diminishing the effectiveness of the collaborative
process
• Assess readiness to change
Readiness Formula
D
A
R
T
Dissatisfaction x Alignment x Resources x Trust > Opposition
Readiness Formula
D x A x R xT >O
D = Dissatisfaction with present situation
A = Alignment of Goals / Priorities
R = Resources are adequate
T = Trust among stakeholders
O = Opposition
• emotional
• cognitive
• financial
• values
• mind-set
Building
Trust
Shared Purpose
Multiple
Perspectives
5-Step Model
for Effective
Collaboration
New
Possibilities
Committed Action
Promote Discovery of Multiple
Perspectives
• Establish guidelines for effective communication of
ideas
• Endorse and encourage everyone’s contribution
• Build onto other’s ideas
• Look for the brilliance in weak ideas and unintended
consequences in good ideas
• Avoid solutions until you are each clear on the
complexity of the problems
• Avoid judgments and conclusions
Building
Trust
Shared Purpose
Multiple
Perspectives
5-Step Model
for Effective
Collaboration
New
Possibilities
Committed Action
Trust is ….
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Dynamic….and fragile
A function of perception
Impacted by power imbalance
Built over time via transactions
Trust Model
Personal
Transactional
Transformational
Personal Capacity for Trust
• The foundation of trusting relationships starts with an
individual’s capacity for trusting themselves.
• Past Experiences - what was modeled for you?
• Self Confidence and Self-Esteem
• We all have different capacity to trust….yet we tend to
project our capacity on others
• Awareness of what your own tendency is critical.
– Someone with a high personal capacity to trust might
delegate too early or trust too quickly,
– Someone with a low capacity to trust may be
controlling or overly skeptical of others motives
Trust Model
• Contractual
• Communication
Transactional
• Competence
Transactional Trust Model
CONTRACTUAL TRUST
“Trust of Character”
COMPETENCE TRUST
“Trust of Capability”
CAPACITY
FOR
TRUST
COMMUNICATION TRUST
“Trust of Disclosure”
Adapted from “Trust and Betrayal in the Workplace”
Transactional Trust
• Contractual Trust “Trust of Character”
Fostered by making and keeping agreements
–Manage expectations
–Establish boundaries
–Delegate appropriately
–Encourage mutually serving intentions
–Honor agreements
–Be consistent
Transactional Trust Model
CONTRACTUAL TRUST
“Trust of Character”
COMPETENCE TRUST
“Trust of Capability”
CAPACITY
FOR
TRUST
COMMUNICATION TRUST
“Trust of Disclosure”
Adapted from “Trust and Betrayal in the Workplace”
Transactional Trust
• Communication Trust “Trust of Disclosure”
Fostered by openly sharing appropriate information
with individuals, and throughout the organization
–Share information
–Tell the truth
–Admit mistakes
–Give and receive constructive feedback
–Maintain confidentiality
–Speak with good purpose
Transactional Trust Model
CONTRACTUAL TRUST
“Trust of Character”
COMPETENCE TRUST
“Trust of Capability”
CAPACITY
FOR
TRUST
COMMUNICATION TRUST
“Trust of Disclosure”
Adapted from “Trust and Betrayal in the Workplace”
Transactional Trust
• Competence Trust “Trust of Capability”
Built by demonstrating respect for people’s skills,
supporting acquisition of new skills, and providing a
safe place for people to learn from their mistakes
–Respect people’s knowledge, skills, and abilities
–Respect people’s judgment
–Involve others and seek their input
–Help people learn skills
Building
Trust
Shared Purpose
Multiple
Perspectives
5-Step Model
for Effective
Collaboration
New
Possibilities
Committed Action
Develop New Possibilities by Integrating
Diverse Views
• Determine what’s new and different by
integrating multiple perspectives generated in
the group
• Maximize the creative process of the group,
using intuitive and symbolic processes
(brainstorming, models, mind mapping,
metaphor creation, storytelling)
• Evolve the ideas to a new level.
Building
Trust
Shared Purpose
Multiple
Perspectives
5-Step Model
for Effective
Collaboration
New
Possibilities
Committed Action
Create Commitments for Action
• Make stretch requests of group members
• Establish desired outcomes
• Articulate specific deliverables, timeframes,
and structures for accountability
• Ask for clear verbal or written commitments
Overcoming Defensive Routines
• “Digging in Their
Heels” or rigid
thinking
• Treating Assumptions
as Facts
• Encourage and model speaking
with respect and honor the
members of the group for each
being important to the process
• Remind the group of its operating
agreements, which make explicit
the value of openness and
willingness to examine one’s
assumptions and beliefs
• Encourage people to accept
responsibility for their own
thinking —that it is their version
of the truth, but it is not the truth
Overcoming Defensive Routines
• Oversimplifying
Complexity
• It’s Not my
Responsibility
• Encourage people to
listen before they speak
and to use silence as a
means to create space
to incorporate different
points of view
• Endorse people’s “not
knowing”
• Encourage the free flow
of information
Collaborative Leadership Competencies
Traditional Leadership
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Leaders are selected for their
experience and extensive knowledge
of the work performed
There is only one or there are only
very few leaders
Leadership is equated to power,
authority and privilege
Leaders are deferred to, even when
they are wrong
Mistakes are the leader’s
responsibility
Challenging leadership is
inappropriate
Leaders make the hard decisions
The leader controls the work, the
people, and the structures.
Collaborative Leadership
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Leadership is a role, not a position
Leadership is situational
Anyone can be a leader, and there
are many leaders in an organization
Leadership emerges naturally in all
areas of the organization
Leaders promote shared
responsibility for decisions
Those doing the work hold
management of the work
Leaders are coaches, resource
specialists, and promoters of others
Leaders share information, which
supports personal and team decision
making and accountability
Collaborative Leader Competency
Assessment
“It is a misuse of our power to take responsibility for solving
problems that belong to others. The strength in the concept
of leadership is that it connotes initiative and responsibility.
Good friends in hard times. It carries the baggage, however,
of being inevitably associated with behaviors of control,
direction, and knowing what is best for others. The act of
leading cultural or organizational change by determining
the desired future, defining the path to get there, and
knowing what is best for others is incompatible with widely
distributing ownership and responsibility in the
organization. Placing ownership and felt responsibility close
to the core work is the fundamental change we seek.”
“Stewardship” by Peter Block