WHEN two or more people work together on a project for the benefit of the organization, collaboration can become the catalyst for driving it forward. Collaborative efforts help in giving employees an overview of the entire organization, create a better appreciation for their role in the group, and encourage others to contribute their expertise for the success of the team.
But not all collaborative efforts are bound for success. There are several dangers and risks when different departments collaborate on a project. One danger is when a group has undefined roles and responsibilities. One example is when several managers are in the group and there is no one who is willing to take the lead. Also, when the group has senior executives and they become the default leader instead of the expert who might know more on how to manage the project than the senior executives. When roles are not clearly defined, things can easily become problematic.
There is also the danger of making the decision-making process so complex that the group ends up not doing anything at all. In an attempt to be more collaborative, some organizations think that the best way to do it is to ask everyone’s perspectives and opinions on every decision. The danger is that people get lost in interpreting what everybody else is saying into actionable resolutions. This could lead to loss of focus and unclear directions.
And with the multitude of opinions and the sharing of information from different sources, there is also the danger of information overload. Not everyone is well-versed in other department’s way of working. This could frustrate some and might even prevent them from contributing meaningfully to the discussions. And then there are also departments with a monopoly on a process that might feel threatened sharing their knowledge to other departments, especially when their value to the organization is their expertise. And since collaboration entails a high degree of trust for people, information-sharing might be challenging at best.
When your team collaborates with other teams, it also means less time to spend on their individual work. So, the more collaborative projects your team is involved in, the less time they have in focusing on their deliverables for the group. As their manager, you need to balance their involvement in cross-functional projects but also ascertain they have full exposure to other departments to have a holistic understanding of the organization.
Another danger is the possibility of top performers carrying the burden of the whole team. Not everyone in a collaborative group will perform the same amount of work or be given the same responsibilities. There will always be slackers and default members who do not significantly contribute to the team’s success. And there are members who are so driven that they do most of the work which could possibly lead to burnout. This less-than-ideal situation can be further complicated when everybody in the group is rewarded even if only a few worked on the project. Of course, since it is a group effort, the reward is typically shared to everyone regardless of contribution or effort, but this could become a cause for disengagement.
Different people also mean differences in working styles which could lead to conflict and misunderstanding. And while diversity goes a long way in increasing acceptance of different kinds of people, it may initially become an issue especially when there are personalities too strong to be tempered. Leaders of collaborative groups need to understand the different personalities in their team to understand how to allocate work and prevent clashes in personalities. When collaborative groups fail in meeting their business objectives, the whole effort is a waste of time and resources. It could even cause reputational damage to the organization, especially when products and services are affected, or when stakeholders are involved.
To minimize these dangers, it is important to set clear leadership and clear goals to get the job done. While there is value in listening to other perspectives and opinions, somebody has to take the lead and take responsibility for the end product of the collaborative work. This also helps the group become accountable to each other and understand that the product of their group is the product of their individual contributions.
There also need to be clear ground rules for communication and a devolution of the decision-making process such that action plans can be decided through accepted mechanisms—either through popular vote, expertise evaluation, or whatever mechanism the whole group deems effective in decision-making. This prevents the team from getting bogged down with bottlenecks and improves the communication of the team members to arrive at the best possible solution to issues.
It is also wise to limit the time for collaborative work. Sometimes, people belong to so many committees and groups that they spend the majority of their day in meetings. This leaves little room for individual work and to catch up, they will use their personal time to do work which can eventually lead to burnout. Sometimes, the meetings can actually just be an e-mail. A rule of thumb I learned was to add the salary per hour of the people in the meeting to know how expensive the meeting is and to decide if the meeting is worth it.
To ensure everyone is rewarded for their effort and involvement, have a clear set of rewards for group and individual contributions. It is not enough that people are rewarded as a group because some contribute more than others. While collaboration is helpful to the organization, individual effort should always be rewarded especially when they exceed expectations.
It is inevitable that departments within the organization will collaborate. It is necessary if the organization wants its people to understand other areas of its operation and how projects are interrelated and interdependent. But organizations also need to mitigate the dangers of collaboration by setting clear directions, decisive leadership, and mutually beneficial objectives.
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