My tips for building a collaborative culture
Sometimes, terms such as collaborative culture can seem a bit buzz-wordy or explanations can seem a little bit convoluted for something that isn’t as complicated as we might think. It is just good team work and giving people the space to challenge, inspire and grow together. If you are a Marvel fan like me you will appreciate this quote from Nick Fury, Avengers:
“The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people, see if they could become something more.”
One of the things that excites me about collaboration is that you never truly know what ideas or solutions you are going to come up with, as it truly depends on what happens when you explore a challenge together.
Tip 1 - Consider your project group & everyone’s role
My first tip is to consider your project group and the role everyone will have. For example, for a long time I have believed that customer experience or journey conversations need to happen with a wide range of stakeholders from the receptionist to the senior leadership team. It isn’t about the seniority of roles, it is about what each role knows about the customer and can bring to the conversation. The power of having a wide range of internal stakeholders often results in some unknown insight or discovery that can be a real leverage to change.
That said, we are all busy in our roles and as a society we are time poor, so it is worth highlighting upfront what the project is going to involve, who is going to be involved at each stage and what commitment you’re looking for at each stage. You can even get the stakeholders involved in designing the project, so they feel included and like their time is valued.
Tip 2 - Create a safe space to engage and collaborate
It is really important to recognise when you’re mixing teams and levels within a company sometimes that can be a bit scary and intimidating and to get the best out of people you need to create a safe space for them. I’ve tried to do this in a variety of ways over the years, but I do love some workshop rules and I normally do something along the lines of:
1. We will respect everyone’s opinion and we won’t interrupt their points
2. Feedback should be constructive and never feel personal
3. No comment, question or idea is silly
As a moderator it is then my job to make sure those rules are reinforced and everyone is embodying them.
Tip 3 - Build in time to reflect as a team
Reflecting together as a team takes practice, sometimes it feels a little uncomfortable, but the value of the conversations of exploring together are really important. I have a few different tools I like to use when it comes to reflecting as a group on a project. But I think the simplest is often the better, just running a workshop asking the following three questions:
What worked well?
What didn’t work so well?
What would we do differently next time?
What have we learnt from the project/process?
If you’re reflecting on a project that has been going on for a really long time, consider building in regular reflection periods, so you can adapt the project plan based on your learnings.
Tip 4 - Model the behaviour you want
I am a big believer in leading by example, exhibit and model the behaviours you want your team to exhibit relating to team working and being collaborative. Empower your employees to take ownership and develop new ways of working to encourage more collaboration. And don’t forget to reward teamwork you see.
Tip 5 - Tools to help you collaborate in a hybrid world
Hybrid working is here to stay and if you’re anything like me you will love post-it notes and flip chart paper, but there are some great tools out there to bring those elements into a digital world, but still play to different personality types. For me the power of the post-it note connects to giving everyone a voice in workshops, especially if your team includes introverts. My favourite tool to use is Miro.
