When we come together in groups or companies, we do so because we would not be able to solve the tasks we tackle there on our own, or only much less economically. In practice, these are situations in which we are simply dependent on each other. To manage a relocation, put out a fire, build a clubhouse or perhaps even a car.
If we look around the world of work today, the awareness of this interdependence is practically non-existent. In reality, bosses dominate, always assigning similar tasks to their individual employees, who then carry out these tasks largely according to their personal standards. This also applies to larger tasks, which are split up and where everyone retreats with their slice of the overall task in order to „digest“ it alone.
Almost everyone acts as if they were completely independent of each other. This understanding is supported by the architecture of ERP systems, which are structured in such a way that each employee finds and completes their personal tasks in lists, after which the data is transferred to the next employee’s list.
In such an environment, leadership is understood as an act of work distribution with individual performance monitoring and annual targets are formulated and individually rewarded for each employee.
Developments in private life are reinforcing this individualization of collaboration: the family as a natural service alliance has become less important and, thanks to professional service providers, platforms and apps, we are less and less dependent on the information, skills or support of those close to us to manage our lives successfully.
As a result, most people today no longer have any idea what collaboration is or how it even works. The relationship with work colleagues is limited to exchanging information and results at the coffee machine in a distant but friendly manner. Sometimes colleagues tell each other about their weekend activities, but that’s about it.
So it’s no wonder that working from home is seen as an equally valid option for collaboration. After all, nowadays you only come together when something is different than it should be to discuss with all seven to ten departments involved how to solve the individual case. The various system options for the solution are then weighed up and the next steps are determined.
True collaboration is so much more and so much more effective. It starts with everyone knowing and having a common goal in mind and being aware that they can only achieve it together with the others, with each individual trying to make the best possible contribution with their personal skills.
Awareness of the dependency on the manpower and skills of others results in mutual recognition and appreciation, which can lead to open, constructive and trust-building interaction and indirectly to a sense of “we”.
Whenever people complain about their colleagues, when they ask why they have to do something at all, or what they personally gain from it, they are still a long way from this working mode. Whenever a group is in a position to coordinate largely independently, to provide each other with transparency about progress, to think with commitment about whether the approach still fits the goal, to ask the others for help, but also to offer them help and to step in for them in an emergency, the more efficient the team already is. In the sense of 1+1 equals 3, 4 or even 5.
A group that works together in this way, automatically has strong personal relationships that develop as a side effect of mutual appreciation, support, open communication and a shared sense of achievement. On this basis, the group can also find spontaneous and flexible solutions to surprises and crises and even learn from failures.
Leadership in this form of effective collaboration is a kind of meta-management that is limited to ensuring the functioning of the group as a whole and improving its performance. By bringing in information and resources from outside, naming and explaining goals, promoting the respective skills and trying to resolve conflicts and surprises quickly.
If you find yourself – unexpectedly or unintentionally – in a fragmented zombie collaboration, it’s best to always talk to everyone about the common goal, encourage your colleagues to solve tasks together, offer them help and ask them for support when difficulties arise. As soon as this understanding sets an example, change and the transition to real collaboration becomes possible.
Image: unsplash.com / Josh Calabrese
